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Just recently I spoke to a group of women about the link between sexual pleasure and conception. Between the laughter and the giggles, I got the feeling that no one had ever talked to these women before about the link between sexual pleasure and fertility. But that shouldn’t really surprise me - talking about sexual pleasure can make some people uncomfortable. I asked the ladies if they knew why many IVF centers were recommending acupuncture to their patients and I got lots of very good answers such as:
“Acupuncture increases blood flow”, “Acupuncture restores the bodies balance” and “Acupuncture reduces stress”. All of these answers were right on. And guess what? You can also get all of these benefits from sexual pleasure! There have been many studies that are now demonstrating that sexual pleasure can increase conception rates. This is because sexual pleasure increases blood flow, restores balance and reduces stress. But there are also other reasons as well such, as better sperm quality, increase lubrication and the muscle contractions in orgasm can help conception.
How does your body respond to sexual pleasure?
According to Sexologist Ellen Heed, creator of the Women’s Sacred Anatomy Project and one of my mentors in human sexuality and pleasure, there is a special part of the brain called the hypothalamus that triggers a hormonal cascade that speaks directly to the parts our pelvic floor that respond when we get “turned on”.
Did you know that women have a ring of engorge-able tissue that completely surrounds the entrance of vagina – think of them as the rings of Saturn. I like Venus better – but I have been told that it doesn’t have rings. This ring magic ring of engorge-able tissue fills with blood when you are allowing your body to surrender to pleasure. This is not so different than when a man gets en-gored in their sexy parts – for us girls it’s under the skin and just harder to see. Women have beds of special blood vessels that fill with blood during our arousal and hold the blood until it is pumped back into normal circulation during our climax. The amount that we lubricate is dependent on that entrapped blood to drive the lubrication to the surface so that sex feels great and aids conception.
This ring of engorge-able tissues helps the sperm stay closer to the entrance of the uterus – which is where we want it to be. Did you know that your uterus can have an orgasm? According to celebrated women’s anatomy author Sheri Winston pelvic floor engorgement triggers a special response in the muscles that connect the uterus to the engorge-able tissues of the pelvic floor. When these special tissues engorge with blood, the “round ligaments” of the uterus contract pulling the uterus into what I call “uterine flight” – which is when the uterus flies up and back and down again. And then the cervix does something magical as well – it moves up towards the back of the vaginal canal inviting the sperm right into the opening of the cervix and into the uterus, to eventually meet with your waiting egg.
You can begin to work this pleasure loop of blood flow in your body to not only increase your sexual pleasure but to support your baby making efforts!
Please check out “Shameless Baby Making” a fabulous mind/body meditation where I take you through the entire pleasure loop so that you can better understand, visualize and access this the incredible conception tool of sexual pleasure.
Don’t dismiss sexual pleasure when you are trying to conceive – even when you move onto assisted reproduction. Remember – acupuncture is a tool to increase blood flow into your reproductive organs. Orgasm does the same thing. What if you did both?
