Lymphatic Drainage is the perfect complement to both natural and assisted Fertility. Lymphatic Drainage for Fertility, IVF and egg retrieval helps detoxify the body, balance hormones, increase immunity, and reduce inflammation.
How Does Lymphatic Drainage Improve Fertility?
- Detoxifying The Body: Toxins in the body can be a significant cause of fertility issues. They can also affect painful and irregular periods, bloating and Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOS). By reducing your body’s toxins through lymphatic drainage, your body will grow more fertile. This means your chances of conceiving via IVF, or another fertility treatment will improve.
- Hormone Balancing: The lymphatic system plays a key role in hormone balance. It can help to promote a more healthy and predictable delivery of reproductive hormones throughout the body. One specific hormone that can be affected by poor lymphatic drainage is estrogen dominance. This is a condition where there is an excess of estrogen relative to other hormones and can occur when estrogen is not effectively eliminated from the body. This can lead to weight gain, irregular menstrual cycles, mood swings and even an increase in certain cancers. Lymphatic drainage helps to maintain a healthy level of estrogen in the body, which is crucial for the stimulation of Luteinizing Hormone production, and in turn ovulation.
- Boost Immunity: A healthy immune system is essential to fertility. Immune disorders and autoimmune diseases can affect your ability to get pregnant. A healthier immune system helps to increase the outcomes of IVF treatments.
- Reduce Inflammation: Inflammation is a normal bodily process in response to infection or injury; however, prolonged sub-chronic inflammation can confer adverse effects on fertility, including disrupting menstrual cyclicity, implantation failure, endometriosis, and recurrent miscarriage. Moreover, inflammation can interfere with cell trafficking pathways that are central to normal ovulatory function. In men, inflammation has been shown to have a negative impact on sperm quality, a key factor underlying fecundity. Lymphatic Drainage Massage for Fertility can help reduce localized inflammation and swelling in the pelvic and reproductive organs, providing a more favorable environment to optimize fertility.
- Reduce Stress & Improve Emotional Well-Being: High levels of stress can negatively impact fertility by disrupting hormonal balance. Coping with infertility can be emotionally challenging. Regular lymphatic drainage massage can provide emotional support, reduce anxiety, improve an overall sense of well-being, in individuals trying to conceive.
What other treatments should I receive alongside Lymphatic Drainage for Fertility?
We recommend you combine your Lymphatic Drainage sessions with Abdominal Massage. Many of the issues that contribute to infertility can be linked to scar tissue, facial restrictions, and lymphatic congestion in the pelvic region. Abdominal Massage can access some of the deeper structures such as fallopian tubes, uterine and ovarian ligaments, and neighboring structures. Abdominal massage for fertility can also improve blood supply to the reproductive organs to heal them as well as remove waste.
Fallopian tube occlusion is a common cause of fertility issues. Most often these women are told that they need surgery or IVF to increase their chances of conceiving. A small medical study revealed that manual pelvic therapy ( lymphatic drainage, pelvic floor PT, and visceral manipulation), using techniques designed to address soft tissue adhesions, micro-adhesions, and pain, of the reproductive system.
How should I plan my Lymphatic Drainage sessions for Fertility?
Preparing the body for conception, IVF or Egg Retrieval: (Not actively trying to conceive):
Lymphatic Drainage sessions can be received at any time throughout the menstrual cycle. When planning on getting pregnant we recommend getting 2 to 4 lymphatic drainage sessions 3 to 6 months prior to trying to conceive.
Preparing to conceive naturally:
If you are actively trying to conceive, we recommend you receive 1 weekly lymphatic drainage massage in the follicular stage of the menstrual cycle (between day 1-14 of cycle)
Deep abdominal lymphatic drainage is contraindicated in the luteal phase (day 14 to menses), in case you are pregnant.
Preparing for Egg Retrieval:
Egg retrieval is a surgical procedure done to remove the eggs from a woman’s ovaries undergoing Egg Freezing or Invitro Fertilization (IVF). Hormone stimulating injections are given to the woman 2-4 days after a woman’s natural menstrual cycle and taken for about 10 to 12 days. The amount of medication and the day of Egg Retrieval is based on follicular and egg development. Then the woman is injected with Lupron or HCG which stimulate the final maturation of the eggs and triggers ovulation. The eggs are removed before they are truly ovulated, and the Egg Retrieval is timed to catch the eggs shortly before they start the journey from the follicular sac toward the uterus.
Egg development takes 90 days. To improve the quality of their eggs, women should do everything possible to for healthy eggs at least 90 days prior to retrieval. Egg quality is a major factor in IVF success. You may receive lymphatic drainage massage all throughout your cycle with Egg Retrieval. We recommend you follow the same process to prepare your body for fertility mentioned above prior to egg retrieval to improve the quality of your eggs. And, then 1 to 2 times per week after retrieval to help you regulate your bodies hormones.
Benefits of Lymphatic Drainage Massage for Fertility:
Benefits of Lymphatic Drainage for Egg Retrieval Recovery:
- Improve abdominal bloating and cramping.
- Decrease abdominal pain.
- Regulate constipation.
- Regulate hormones.
- Eliminate toxins and excess fluid.
- Decrease chances of infection.
- Reduce breast tenderness.
- Improve circulation and overall health of reproductive system
Many people experience side effects of the Egg Retrieval and IVF process, including weight gain. IVF injections can slow down your metabolism. They can also affect food cravings, and water retention. If you are freezing your eggs and not planning on immediately getting pregnant, we suggest you complement your lymphatic drainage for egg retrieval sessions with Ultrasonic Cavitation, to help you get rid of the excess fat your body deposited.
Benefits of Lymphatic Drainage for IVF- In Vitro Fertilization:
Assuming you’ve followed the treatment recommendations prior to egg retrieval, we recommend you receive 1 weekly lymphatic drainage massage for 2 sequential weeks during the follicular stage (Day 1 to 14 of cycle) prior to implantation.
Lymphatic Drainage for IVF helps to:
- Improve circulation in pelvic organs.
- More effective and predictable delivery of reproductive hormones.
- Regulates body’s immune responses.
- Boosts fertility.
- May improve egg quality.
Benefits of Lymphatic Drainage during Pregnancy:
Generally, it is recommended to receive lymphatic drainage sessions after the 1st trimester. You may receive them prior, with your doctor’s approval. During these sessions we work mostly on the peripheral lymphatic system, helping relieve symptoms of swelling in the feet and legs, hands, face, and breasts. We don’t work on the deeper abdominal structures that we would have worked on prior to getting pregnant. Usually during the 2nd trimester, when there are less symptoms, moms get lymphatic drainage massages anywhere between weekly to monthly. During the 3rd trimester, when more uncomfortable symptoms of swelling are present, they feel most relief with lymphatic drainage sessions weekly to every other week. And during the last month of gestation, 1 to 2 times a week.
Most pregnant moms tend to complement their lymphatic drainage sessions with Pregnancy Massage for the utmost relief.
Benefits of Lymphatic Drainage Post-Vaginal Delivery:
You may receive lymphatic drainage anytime after a vaginal delivery. It can be helpful to reduce the inflammation and swelling caused by the effort of birthing as well as the micro-tears that may occur as a result. Tearing that may occur during vaginal birth includes perineal tears, periurethral tears, clitoral, and peri-clitoral tears, labial tears, sulcus tears, vaginal wall tears.
It is very common to have peritoneal tear after vaginal delivery, 85% of births result in a grade 1 or 2 tear. This can leave the new mom’s abdomen swollen and sore, and often there is edema in arms, legs, and face. Lymphatic Drainage will help to reduce the swelling as well as regulate pregnancy hormones.
We recommend a series of lymphatic drainage for pregnancy sessions in combination with gentle Abdominal or Visceral Massage to help the organs get back to their pre-pregnancy location.
Benefits of Lymphatic Drainage after C-Section Delivery:
Lymphatic drainage massage helps to detox the body from medications and anesthesia received during the c-section. It will also help to reduce the swelling from the incision.
- Increases healing.
- Improves energy levels.
- Reduces inflammation.
- Speeds recovery.
- Helps relieve tired, swollen, feet, legs, and arms.
- Helps heal scar tissue.
- Promotes lactation.
It is beneficial to begin lymphatic drainage soon after delivery.
We look forward to being part of your fertility and pregnancy team. Our goal is to help you achieve your most cherished dreams.