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[Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or medical practitioner. Any medical information is strictly my opinion based on research and personal experience, and not to be taken as advice. Always seek the advice of a licensed physician for your medical needs. Read my full disclaimer here.]
When I was researching reasons for infertility, this idea of a “cold uterus” just kept coming up. Is this for real or something people are making up? (Because I’m legitimately super cold all the time + have terrible blood circulation, so if it’s a thing, I definitely have it.) I decided to do a little research on it myself. The answers are a little complicated, so bear with me here…
The short-ish answers:
—First of all:
Well, tuns out “cold uterus” is simply a way of saying that the body is not responding well to the hormone progesterone, which thickens the uterine lining to prepare for implantation (in Traditional Chinese Medicine, that is a way of saying that a person has weak “Yang” energy — the warming energy). Low progesterone can cause infertility or miscarriage.
—So the real question, then: Does this happen because you’re too cold (or have poor blood circulation)?!
Well, that hasn’t exactly been studied…BUT what TCM says will help “cold uterus” HAS been studied. So do TCM remedies for infertility really work? Are they on to something with this idea of a “cold uterus”?
—Medical research
The medical research focuses almost completely on acupuncture (I have a whole separate post on that here.) However, TCM treatment for infertility (or “cold uterus”) can be any combination of acupuncture, moxa, and Chinese herbal supplements. TCM also suggests keeping your feet warm (wool socks and foot baths), drinking ginger tea, using a heating pad on your uterus, avoiding raw and uncooked foods, and just staying warm in general.
Medical studies investigating the connection between these TCM suggestions and fertility are very few. Like, two. I found one that studied a blend of TCM practices (see below) that doesn’t really tell us much, and another of a case study of ONE person. Again, acupuncture is really the focus (and it has seemed to work if you read my post on that here!).
—My experience
I have not tried any form of TCM per se, but I have tried keeping my feet warm, ginger tea, etc. (the things you can do from home — see more details below). Although I have not gotten pregnant, I do think there might be something to these TCM ideas for some reason. I also have extremely poor circulation.
—Conclusions?
I think “cold uterus” is actually a thing. TCM might be worth trying if you want to try something less expensive and less invasive…or if you’re cold all the time.
–How to do it:
You have to find someone specializing in TCM. TCM is very individualized. Alternatively, you could try some things at home like I did (again, see below for specifics).
Continue reading below if you’re interested in finding out more details (the long answers)…
*Or, click here for more answers to your other TTC questions!
Now, for the long answers…
The medical research
–Okay, as mentioned earlier there is almost NOTHING in the medical research on this. I did find one study.
–In this study by Jongbae, 104 Korean women with unexplained infertility (diagnosed after an average of 33.5 weeks of TTC) participated in a six-month study receiving a “therapeutic package” that included acupuncture, moxa, and traditional herbal medicine. Only 23 women ended up getting the treatment for six months (the cost of the treatment was $500/month, which is likely why they dropped out). Of those 23 women, 14 got pregnant. So, 60.9%.
–In a study by Teng, a 43-year-old woman who had failed IVF cycles (along with other infertility issues) ended up getting pregnant naturally after six months using TCM herbal medicines. (Again, that’s one person, but still.)
–Not a medical study related to TCM, but worth mentioning because it kind of relates:
Razik compared the utero-ovarian blood flow of 30 women who got pregnant within one year and 30 women with unexplained infertility. He found that women with unexplained infertility had significantly lower uterine and ovarian blood flow during the luteal phase. Is there a connection between what TCM calls a “cold uterus,” infertility, and poor blood flow? Maybe.
My experience
–I have not tried a “legit” form of TCM, but since I’m always cold anyway, I have tried some of the at-home stuff. Here is what TCM suggests that I have tried:
–Keep your midsection warm. I bought this heating pad that I put on my abdomen for 15 minutes a day or so.
–Keep your feet warm (especially the soles, as TCM believes there is a link between your soles and your uterus). At home, I always wear these wool socks and wool slippers (these ones are the best).
I wrap that same microwavable heating pad around my feet at night when I go to bed. I even bought this cheap foot bath that I use once in a while, although I take warm baths frequently anyway.
–Drink warm tea (like ginger), eat more soup/warming foods, and avoid cold/raw foods. I drink tea every morning that I make myself: Just boil a cup of water in the microwave while you’re cutting up some fresh ginger (and sometimes I add other herbs too, like thyme or mint). Use a little strainer like this one to steep the ginger and herbs in the water.
–I didn’t get pregnant yet, but I have been warmer at least!
*Click here to return to the list of TTC Tips: Fact or Fiction?
