FERTILITY ACUPRESSURE FOR A RELAXED CERVIX

WATCH THE VIDEO ↑

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IUI, IVF, miscarriage, period clots, HSG, scopes, uterine biopsies — this acupuncture and DIY acupressure point is such a fantastic treatment to add for many situations where things need to pass through the cervix and you want them to feel more comfortable.

Give it a watch and let me know what you think! Then, get to know a fantastic companion point which helps with pelvic relaxation and blood circulation.

Enjoy,

Nicole

Nicole Lange

LICENSED ACUPUNCTURIST
HOLISTIC FERTILITY EDUCATOR

• VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

  Would you believe there's an acupuncture point that has been scientifically shown to help soften and relax the cervix and decrease uterine and cervical pain? This point can not only make uterine procedures like hysteroscopies, IUIs, and IVF transfers smoother, but also make periods miscarriages and DNCs less painful and come in real handy during birth too. This point is called Spleen 8. You're about to learn all about it. This is the Relaxed Cervix video.

  Hello again, Nicole here. And today the technical name of our acupressure point is Spleen 8, which is abbreviated as SP8, and here is what you're about to learn. You'll learn how to find it, what it's good for, and in this section I'm going to share a really cool study to prove why, and the best ways to stimulate it.

  Spleen 8 is on what we acupuncturists call the spleen channel. This is a channel that starts on the outside of the big toe, goes up the inside of the leg, through the pelvis and abdomen, up to the chest and to the side of the rib cage.

  Now, Spleen 8 is often often combined and used with another point on this same channel called Spleen 6, which happens to have its very own video already on this channel, called the Acupressure for Pelvic Relaxation and Circulation video.

  You should definitely combine these two points for even stronger, better results.

  To find Spleen 8 we want to start by running our fingers up the inside side of the tibia. That's the shinbone. Now again, we're on the inside, the big toe side of the leg. We're working our fingers up the side of the shin bone. We're sliding up towards the knee. This alone might feel a little bit tender on a lot of bodies.

  Now, we'll get towards the top of the bone and we're eventually going to hit a point as we get to the knee where the bone starts to flare out and widen at the top, and you're not going to be able to go straight up any further without following that curve outward.

  Right in that little curve's nook, almost like a little pit in that hollow, there's a point called Spleen 9. [laughing] That's not our point. Spleen 9 is mostly used for digestion and for something we call 'draining dampness' in TCM. So think about water retention, feeling bloated, foggy, boggy, and stuff that involves mucous and discharge. Fun times.

  As fun as that point is, we're looking for Spleen 8 and our point is three cun down below Spleen 9.

  Now, "What is this word 'cun' you say, Nicole?" If you've watched other videos in this playlist, you might already know that in acupuncture we have a special way of making customized measurements on different sized bodies. And that unit of measure is called cun.

  So one cun is the width of one of the person you're doing the treatment on's thumb. Three cun is the width of the person's four fingers squeezed together. So remember, three cun on a tiny body is going to be different than three cun on a bigger body.

  So for this point, we squeeze our four fingers together to get that three cun measurement. We line up one side of our finger on Spleen 9 in that tender little nook. And on the other side, we'll find Spleen 8 on the backside of the shinbone. That is our point for today, the relax cervix point.

  Again, this point's ability to relax the cervix makes it useful whenever something has to go up and through the cervix, like for a scope, or a biopsy, or an IUI, or prior to an IVF transfer. In IVF it makes it easier for that catheter to slide up into the uterus and not get gummed up, which allows the embryo to be pushed out more gently with less pressure on it, which helps the odds.

  Because of this ability, this point is one of the most common pre IVF transfer protocol points.

  Now this point can also relax the cervix to let things down and out of the uterus too. It can help pass clots and decrease pain during periods. It can speed up miscarriages. It can help with cervical ripening and dilation and childbirth and more.

  Now, I know that this 'down and out' function might freak some of you out if you're here for fertility. The idea of a more comfortable path 'up and into' the uterus sounds lovely. But you might be worried that something could then fall out if you do this point and that's really scary. But remember these three things.

  One, in IUIs, sperm is actually chemically drawn towards the homing beacon of an egg. It's definitely not going to whip a U-turn and come back out your cervix.

  Two, in IVF, the embryo is placed about two centimeters from the very top of the uterus. And the uterus is more like a peanut butter sandwich then a pinball machine. If you want to learn more about this you should definitely sign up to watch my IVF Insider Guide. Watch the video about transfers there. There's even real life ultrasound images to help put your mind at ease about all of this.

  And last but not least, number three, in every single example where this point helps things come down and out, that movement is already being helped by other things. Like prostaglandin, which makes the uterus squeeze to get our periods out or during birth. Or medications that induce similar cramps like in medical abortions and inductions or also by mechanical surgery. Things like a DNC.

  The bottom line is that this point is not just going to let something fall out when nature wants it to stay put.

  So let's talk cool research. In a study of 200 women who were having a DNC for miscarriages, they wanted to look at pain reduction effects in four groups. Two different combinations of acupuncture points with electrostimulation, one group with cervical numbing lidacain cream, and one group with no pain reduction treatment to be a control group.

  Now, in the group that had Spleen 6, that's the acupressure for pelvic relaxation point that's also on this channel, plus this point Spleen 8, the pain reduction scores beat all the other groups. Even numbing the cervix with lidocaine. When the surgery itself was happening, the surgeons were also asked to rate the degree of cervical relaxation. And again, this two point combination with electrostimulation beat the other groups. So we see, less pain and a more relaxed cervix.

  Some good old fashioned finger pressure and gentle repeated press and release or circling motions can be lovely on this point. Do it for two to three minutes at a time per side.

  Now there are also some pretty great knobby massage tools like this that can give you even firmer pressure without tiring out your hands and fingers. If you don't own a massage tool like this, the handle of a makeup brush or a wide rounded handle on something like a rubber spatula could also totally being used.

  As we saw in the study I just mentioned, more and more research on acupuncture also includes electrostimulation. Now, electrostimulation involves a special machine, and I'm going to show you a couple that I use, like this, where we hook little clips with wires onto the metal acupuncture needles to send a little current of electricity through the needle and into the point and into the body.

  Now remember, if acupressure is the equivalent of turning a thermostat on the body a couple of degrees to give a message to do something, like in this case 'relax the cervix', acupuncture with needles turns that dial a little bit more, and adding electrostim is like turning that thermostat even more. For many bodies you're going to get even stronger effects.

  Doing manual acupressure between acupuncture, with or without electrostim visits, can be a great way to maintain or prolong the effects of those actual treatments. But even if you don't work with an acupuncturist and you aren't getting needles, you can just press and massage and you'll still get some really great results.

  Or you might even consider investing in a TENS unit. TENS unit is a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation unit. And TENS machines deliver a very similar electrical message to the body's thermostats, only instead of going through a clip into an acupuncture needle, it just uses a stick on patches that you stick on your body.

  If you've got a home TENS unit, you could put one patch on Spleen 6, the pelvic relaxation point, the other point on Spleen 8, this point, and do one set of patches on your right leg, another set of patches on your left leg. I'd leave them on for at least 10 minutes and up to about 30 minutes.

  So that's it. Spleen 8. Super useful point for lots of gynecological and fertility and obstetrics situations that involve the cervix.

  Now you know how to find it, what it's good for, and the best ways to stimulate it.

  Please leave me a comment. Let me know how you use this point. Let me know how it goes. Please also subscribe and check out more Baby You Want videos and share them with friends. These things all help this channel pick up steam and show up on more people's suggestions, and that means that more people can have better, more comfortable fertility experiences and better outcomes too.

  Remember, if you're doing IVF you should definitely sign up for my IVF Insider Guide. I've also got a free Fertility Medication Guide that explains how medications work, what the most common side effects are, and which acupressure videos on this channel will help lessen those side effects. I'll put links to both of these things in the video description.

  There's also a ton more at thebabyyouwant.com.

  As always, remember, I'm out in the world cheering you on and thank you so much for spending this time with me.