Raspberry leaf, aka Rubus idaeus or Fu Pen Zi in Chinese medicine, happens to be one of the most common herbs I use myself and prescribe to my patients. It is a gentle yet powerful uterine tonic, it is safe in pregnancy, and when brewed as tea or an herbal infusion it's a good source of dissolved minerals.

And, you don't have to be pregnant or even a woman to benefit from this amazing herb. It also has benefits for digestion, skin, lungs, and gums. In fact, for many of it's benefits you don't even have to drink it, you can use it as a soak or add it to your bath. I'll explain how.

Crystals for Fertility, Cycle Health & Pregnancy

As an acupuncturist I work with crystals quite a bit and since my speciality is uterine health I tend to use mostly stones that have an effect on fertility, balancing hormones, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, or postpartum. I'll tell you about some of my favorites and if any of them call to you, they're all available in my online store.

The 4 Phases of the Menstrual Cycle

If you are trying to conceive, starting to chart your cycle, or if you just want a better understanding of the changes your body undergoes each month, understanding the 4 main phases of the menstrual cycle is a good place to start. Unfortunately there is a ton of confusion about these phases, when they happen, and what each means, especially for women with irregular cycles. But I'm here to break it all down for you!

10 Other Reasons Birth Control is Used

In honor of last week's news that Trump is rolling back employer requirements for birth control coverage, I want to share some of the other reasons birth control gets used besides just preventing pregnancy.

To be clear, I believe that women should have affordable and easy access to birth control no matter why they choose to take it. But it truly enrages me to hear so many arguments against coverage made on the basis that it is simply used when women want to be promiscuous, thus they should learn to "control themselves" or "settle down and have a family."

These arguments are made by ignorant men who will never be at risk of experiencing some of the painful and/or dangerous conditions that birth control can help to manage or treat. Denying women access to medication that can reduce pain, save money, prevent surgery, and in some cases can even be life saving, is truly cruel, inhumane, and totally fucking sexist.

So let's talk about it. Let's make them impossible to ignore. Let's teach men and children about these conditions. Let's de-stigmatize birth control coverage for every woman whose life depends on it. It's our right.

I'm on TWO of my Favorite Podcasts!

Jacqueline GabardyAugust 28, 2017podcast, menstruation, women's health

Intro to Basal Body Temperature Charting

Women's hormones change so significantly during the course of their cycles that just by looking at graphs of daily temperatures you can see when ovulation occurs, if implantation has taken place, or when the period is about to start. It can even spot subtle signs of hormone imbalance, for example, if enough there's not enough progesterone being produced to sustain pregnancy.

Not just any temperature though, specifically our basal body temperature (BBT) is what must be measured to better understand what our hormones are doing. Basal refers to the bottom, in this case it's the lowest our temperature gets each day. For most people, that happens to be when you first wake up in the morning, after your body and metabolism have been resting several hours.

I wrote earlier about the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM,) which uses temperature charting as a major component of tracking the menstrual cycle and determining a woman's fertile window. Click the link above to learn more about FAM and if it's right for you.

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