Herbs to Help Prep Uterus/Body for TTC?

[MoonMaiden]

Hi everyone!

Since I am WTT but have had baby on the brain lately, I found myself wondering if there were any ways I could or should start prepping my body for when I am TTC. In particular, I was wondering if there were any herbs or teas to try.

Would love to hear your opinions on the matter.

 

[funinthesun]

Hi there,

I have one baby boy who is 13 months.

When I was trying to conceive, I took the herbs vitex (also called agnus castus) and dong quai. These herbs are quite well known for regulating the menstrual cycle and for fertility. My menstrual cycle was very irregular after coming off the pill and that's one of the main reasons why I wanted to take vitex.

When you move over to the TTC forums on this site you will probably see a lot of references to these herbs.

Another well known herb is macca root. I started on that but hated the taste and stopped taking it.

I would definitely read up on these herbs on the internet to make sure are aware of possible side effects and whether you have any conditions which would mean you can't take them.

 

[MoonMaiden]

Thanks for that very informative reply! Last summer, I stupidly stopped my bcp cold turkey, and my cycle has been irregular ever since. What a mess! I will definitely look into those.

 

[LockandKey]

I would take some folic acid and red raspberry leaf tea.

Folic acid helps lower the risks of spina bifida in fetuses, and the red raspberry leaf tea helps prep and ripen the uterus for conception.

I would highly recommend red raspberry leaf tea, you can take it in supplement form too, but it's very good for a woman's health, not just pregnant women and women trying to conceive. The red raspberry leaf tea increases blood flow to the reproductive system, and helps improve reproductive health over all, which will also help improve fertility. And FYI, if you hear from others that it's used to induce labor, that is just a myth and misinformation, I read up on the herb a lot during my pregnancy and drank it all throughout my entire pregnancy and made it full term.

 

[Mintastic]

It depends on when you are planning so start TTC. No need to waste money/put unnecessary things into your body too far ahead of time. Remember even herbs and vitamins can have side effects. 3 months ahead is enough for most herbs/supplements.

It is great that you are already off BC! I wish I had gone off sooner as my cycles are a mess and now taking vitex to help with short luteal phase but that can take up to 3 months to work

One thing I would highly recommend is to start charting (tracking temps/cervical mucas etc... Using a site or apo such as ovuview or fertility friend) also at least 3 months ahead of time. Some methods need 3 months of info to be accurate.

Good luck to you!

 

[Mintastic]

Oh! Also meant to say - charting can help you figure out what your specific issues are if you have any. Not everyone TTC needs the same supplements for example vitex for short luteal phase, evening primrose oil (or mucinex!) for not enough egg white cervical mucus, soy for not ovulating or late ovulating etc...

 

[spicyorange]

Just becareful, many ATs are untested unregulated and can be dangerous especially Chinese medicine, no one knows the potency and they grant been altered as safe so you could end up with more problems, best is to take some folic acid and look at your diet, weight, drinking, smoking etc to prep.

 

[misspriss]

I would recommend taking a quality prenatal vitamin before you start, not just folic acid. That recommendation tends to vary from country to country, but if you have time to prepare why not prepare the best you can!

I am taking a prenatal, Fish oil, vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium. I also tract my diet and I'm working on making sure I get better quality food and in the right quantities.

 

[tverb84]

I take a woman's one a day multivitamin which has 300 mcg's of folic acid in it. I've been taking it for about three years now and I drink a lot of water everyday.

 

[Amazeballs]

I am going to start TTC this month (I should ovulate around the mid-end of this month) and I am taking folic acid, magnesium, zinc and a general "Women's" multivitamin. I am going to start taking calcium from this evening as I've just heard that calcium is good for increasing fertility.

xx

 

[misspriss]

That's great Amazeballs! Make sure you are not getting too much taking seperate pills along with your multi. You probably aren't, but I have to be careful with my magnesium because it's in 3 different pills I take!

I'm pretty irritated with myself today, I forgot my vitamins when I went to work.

 

[tverb84]

I take mine in the morning when I eat breakfast and I also take iron supplements because my iron is low.

 

[misspriss]

Oh goodness, I take them all day. My multi is 3 pills, so I take with breakfast, morning snack, and lunch. I take calcium with dinner and before bed....so I take vitamins all day long!

 

[lomelindi17]

Some advice I got from my herbalism professor (she used to practice privately for 20+ years) when I went off the pill:

Vitex aka Chasteberry for 3 months up to 1 year to regulate cycles/balance hormones. I recommend taking a week off every 4th week. (on 3 off 1, on 3 off 1) It's a bit stronger of an herb so it just gives your body a little break.

Raspberry leaf tea and Nettle tea - tonics especially helpful for women, you can basically drink as much as you want for as long as you want, very gentle. Tone the uterus and general improvement of health. Red Clover tea is also excellent for gentle cleansing of the blood. You can mix them to make it easier. I get my herbs from JeansGreens.com. They also have a tincture called "Love Potion Female Toner" which has some good stuff for the reproductive organs. Always use organic or responsibly wildcrafted herbs.

She also recommended taking capsules of equal parts of nettle, spirulina or chlorella, kelp powder, and milk thistle seed, 2x/day for 3 months, to help cleanse out the bcp chemicals, just as a note for anyone reading. You can buy supplies to make the caps yourself or might be able to have an herbalist make them for you.

Traditional Medicinals also makes a "Female Toner" tea which has a great gentle herb mixture based on raspberry leaf which should help get everything balanced.

**If you have any medical conditions or allergies, or take any medications, ALWAYS check several reliable sources about each herb you are going to take to make sure there are no harmful interactions. And listen to your body & gut feelings!!**

Personally I would also recommend acupuncture for a couple months to get everything balanced before ttc. I have it regularly anyway and I've heard a lot of stories of how it helped people conceive.

I agree with the calcium and folate recommendations. Calcium is depleted in huge quantities with each pregnancy so it's important. I would also add omega-3's.

Hope that helps!