Moxibustion is an ancient technique which involves burning of a herb (mugwort) on or close to the skin to eliminate cold, strengthen the blood, stimulate the flow of Qi and maintain general health. Moxibustion uses many of the same points for treatment as acupuncture. In fact, acupuncturists often will add moxibustion to their sessions when treating infertility patients in order to help get more of their herbs into the body. When used correctly, moxibustion allows the practitioner to treat specific areas while simultaneously cooling down or warming up other parts of the body—which helps balance out entire body system.
Never heard of Moxibustion before? Take a look at our post – What is Moxibustion and how it can help you
” Medical literatureis full of anecdotal reports of women who decide to use moxibustion to treat infertility and had amazing results. You can also use Moxibustion to treat infertility”.
Historically, this plant is grown, dried and pummeled into a solid cloud like ‘punk’ which was burnt on the skin ( direct moxibustion ) or used in the end of a needle ( indirect moxibustion ). Moxibustion is known for its ability to sooth menstrual cramps and regulate a woman’s monthly cycle.
Moxibustion is fantastic for all aspect of fertility, pregnancy, birth and even after the birth of your beautiful baby. To assist with fertility it can be used to warm and increase blood flow to the uterus, improve thickness of the uterine lining and aid acupuncture treatments to encourage smooth movement of Qi through the body. Modern medical research suggest that moxibustion can improve ovarian function and is often used in gynecologic uterine cold caused by infertility, menstrual pain, and metrorrhagia.
While pregnant, moxa can be effective in calming the stomach and alleviating morning sickness, encouraging the development and growth of the fetus, and helping with any aches and pains. The most well-known action of moxibustion in relation to fertility and pregnancy is its ability to turn a breech fetus. When warmed with moxa on a specific acupoint, it can encourage a breech fetus to turn.
- MoxibustionBefore Menstrual Cycle:
The best time to do moxibustion on ovaries or uterus/cervix would be two weeks before the period starts. In Chinese medicine, the Follicular phase (before ovulation) is where we focus on nourishing Blood and Yin Qi , and building up Blood. It means having moxibustion helps warm up the uterus, to stimulate egg production since estrogen levels peak around that time.
- Moxibustion After Ovulation
After ovulation, there still have a couple of days before the next period starts. If you are trying to conceive, now is a great time to try moxibustion on the lower abdomen. The heat of moxibustion warms the uterus, which will help make a more fertile environment for conception.
- Moxa for Implantation
Since moxibustion promotes blood circulation, using moxa just before ovulation helps promote good blood nutrients to support successful implantation.
- Moxibustion After Giving Birth
Giving birth is an extremely traumatic event for the body physically and emotionally, it will most likely leave you feeling exhausted. Moxibustion helps increase energy levels, improve digestion and metabolism, warm the meridians, and eliminate the coldness during the delivery. Burning Moxa and place it above the body, along the specific meridians and acupoints has also been empirically used to treat mastitis, a painful inflammation of breast tissue.
Putting aside all the physiological aspects of how moxibustion can assist fertility, pregnancy, and birth, it is relaxing and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, and who doesn’t need some of that throughout the pregnancy experience.
For those doing self moxibustion at home:
Moxibustion doesn’t require a prescription from a practitioner, but should be done under supervision by someone who knows about using moxibustion safely. Always consult with an acupuncturist first before doing self-moxa .if you have any concerns about its effectiveness for the specific condition because different conditions call for different treatments; sometimes acupuncture instead of moxibustion may be recommended.
How long should you burn herbs on an area?
Five to seven minutes per acupuncture point, three times a day. You should notice that the body feels warmer than usual when holding a moxa stick. If you do not feel like it is warm, then your moxibustion should be shorter in duration. However, before using moxibustion for anything be sure to discuss with your health specialist about any medical history as some people may be allergic or sensitive to it.
