How to tell if you have good uterine health.

Hi everyone, Dr. Trevor Erikson here. Today I hope to dispel an old myth, that of the  “woman’s curse”. How many of you have been raised to believe that your PMS and/ or menstrual pain are just part of being a woman, and that you should just learn to live with it? Have you ever thought this to be a bit odd, considering that when any other part of your body is in pain you are taught to dig deeper for the cause. I mean if your foot hurts, taking Tylenol won’t make the thorn in it go away – will it?

Chinese medicine has always held that cyclic discomforts, related to a woman’s menstruation, are signs that something is amiss. Painful menstruation, particularly if you struggle with infertility, could be the equivalent to a “thorn” in your uterus that needs to be investigated. Taking Advil, or even the oral contraceptive pill, is not going to address the underlying reasons for the pain – it is only going to cover it up. Menstrual pain may, in fact, be showing that your uterine health is poor, which could be a reason for your difficulty in getting or staying pregnant

A recent study published in Fertility and Sterility has shown that uterine health is more important than egg quality for having a healthy baby with IVF. So how can you tell if your uterine health is adequate? Well the tool that doctors of Chinese medicine have used for thousands of years to determine uterine health is very simple, we ask what your menstruation is like.

Menstruation should be:

* Regular
* Roughly 27 to 30 days,
* Medium flow that is a healthy red colour
* Little to no clotting, pain, and cramping
* Little to no pre-menstrual digestive or  mood changes
* No acne.

Anything different than the norm, shows an imbalance, which we would try to rectify with lifestyle adjustments, herbs, and/ or acupuncture. Some women might even require surgery to remove a fibroid or polyp.

PMS and/ or menstrual pain and cramping are not a “woman’s curse.” They are actually signs for deeper investigation, and may in fact be correctable. With proper uterine health  your chances of getting pregnant and  carrying  your baby to full term are greatly increased.

Dr. Trevor Erikson