Practicing Healthy Habits
Try to manage your stress in a healthy way. Whether it’s going for a long walk, calling a friend, or watching a comedic movie, do whatever you need to at the end of each day to destress. It can be extremely hard not to worry when you’re trying to conceive, and sometimes being told not to stress can make it even worse! Just do your best to tackle each day as it comes. Your body produces cortisol when you’re stressed, and cortisol can negatively affect your ovaries, follicles, and oocytes, leading to poor egg quality. If you’re dealing with extreme stress, consider talking with your doctor or a therapist. They can help you come up with some tools to work through your stress and anxiety.
Follow the Mediterranean diet to benefit from antioxidant-rich foods. Fruits vegetables, lean proteins, and antioxidant-rich foods, like berries, pomegranate, chocolate, cumin, ginger, and turmeric, can help combat oxidative stress, which can contribute to a lower fertility level. Avoid red meats and saturated fats as much as you can. Chicken, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, and beans are great sources of lean protein.
Get 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Quality of sleep may have a big impact on your fertility, so it’s really important that you make sleep a priority when you’re trying to conceive. If you have recurrent insomnia or issues with staying asleep, talk to your doctor. Try going to bed and getting up at the same time each day to help your body get into a good rhythm.
Exercise at a moderate-intensity level to help your body ovulate normally. Vigorous exercise can interrupt your body’s ability to ovulate like it normally would, so curb the intensity of your workouts if you’re trying to get pregnant. You can still exercise, and doing so is great for your physical and mental health! Just try to keep vigorous exercise to 5 hours or less each week, or modify your workouts to be less intense. Signs of vigorous exercise include breathing fast and deep, sweating soon after you begin exercising, and not being able to say more than a few words without pausing to take a breath. If you’re hitting 70-85% of your maximum heart rate, you’re vigorously exercising.
Removing Harmful Elements
Cut back on how much alcohol you consume on a daily basis. Alcohol may negatively impact your chances of getting pregnant, and completely abstaining from drinking may give you the highest chance of conceiving. If you’re not willing to cut out all alcohol, don’t have more than 5 drinks a week, max. Drinking has been linked to a higher chance of developing an ovulation disorder. Try substituting your normal alcoholic drink for a fun mocktail—just because you’re not drinking or are drinking less doesn’t mean you can’t still have a nice beverage!
Limit your caffeine intake to 200 milligrams of coffee, or 1-2 cups, per day. Depending on how much you rely on your daily cup of coffee to get going each day, this may be a hard habit to adjust. If you drink more than the recommended amount, try cutting back gradually until you’re having just 1-2 cups each day. High doses of caffeine have been linked to difficulties getting pregnant, as well as a higher chance of having a miscarriage. Consider switching out your normal coffee for decaf, half-caf, or even black or green tea.
Avoid using any forms of tobacco. Smoking can make your ovaries age faster and cause you to lose eggs more quickly than you would otherwise. If you need help cutting out tobacco, talk to your doctor. Think of it this way—you’d be highly encouraged to stop using tobacco while pregnant, so this is a great opportunity to both increase your chances of conceiving while also preparing for pregnancy.
Steer clear of toxins and pollutants to protect the quality of your eggs. As much as you can, avoid chemicals, pesticides, exhaust, dry-cleaning solvents, and other toxins. Stay in well-ventilated areas and get as much fresh air as possible when you do come in contact with air pollutants. Pollutants may disrupt your menstrual cycle, making it harder for you to get pregnant. Household cleaners often give off strong odors and contain chemicals that could be problematic. If you can, consider switching to natural cleaning products.
Supporting Optimal Fertility
Maintain a healthy weight to promote regular ovulation. Talk to your doctor about the ideal weight for your height and body-frame. Having too much or too little body fat can negatively affect your chances of getting pregnant and may have an impact on your hormones, too. Having a low body weight can contribute to irregularities in your menstrual cycle, making it harder to predict when you will ovulate. For women struggling with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), losing weight can help regulate your hormones by lowering your blood glucose levels so that your body uses its insulin better. By regulating your hormones, you can help improve your fertility.
Prevent and treat STIs to protect your fertility. Certain sexually transmitted infections, like chlamydia and gonorrhea, can cause female infertility. If you suspect you have an STI, visit your doctor to get tested as soon as possible. For bacterial STIs, like chlamydia, your doctor can prescribe an antibiotic to clear it up. Using condoms is a great way to reduce your chances of getting an STI. Of course, if you’re trying to get pregnant this may not be an option for you, but you should still use caution if you or your partner has symptoms or knowledge of an STI.
Have sex often to increase your chances of getting pregnant. Having sex near your ovulation date is key to conceiving, but you may also benefit from regularly having sex even when you’re not ovulating. Try having sex every day, every other day, or at least 2-3 times a week after your cycle ends. The more often you have sex, the better the chances that your egg will get fertilized.
Increase the blood flow to your ovaries with acupuncture treatments. Acupuncture may help balance your hormones as well as potentially promoting good ovarian health. Visit an acupuncturist therapist who specializes in fertility treatments, and plan on going back several times for additional treatments for the best results. Acupuncture isn’t guaranteed to help, but some studies have shown it can be a benefit if you’re trying to conceive. Your partner might also benefit from acupuncture, as it can help increase sperm quality.
Avoid taking herbs and supplements said to increase fertility. While you may want to do everything you can to help promote healthy eggs and a higher chance of getting pregnant, you should always use herbs and supplements with caution. If you’re interested in taking something, talk to your doctor first and get their advice. For example, you may hear that vitamin C or chasteberry can improve your fertility, but research hasn’t shown that that’s true. Many herbs and supplements that are said to increase fertility haven’t been approved by the FDA.
Seeking Medical Attention
See your gynecologist regularly to stay on top of your reproductive health. Even if you’re not ready to try and get pregnant yet, you can still be proactive by getting regular exams. Depending on your age, health, and sexual history, your doctor may want to see you annually for an exam, or every 2 years.
Talk to your doctor if you’ve been trying to get pregnant for a year or more. For some women, it just takes a while to get pregnant. Even if you’ve been trying for a while, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re infertile—talking with your doctor can help ease your anxiety and determine if there are any other steps you should be taking. If you’re over 35, talk to your doctor after 6 months of trying to conceive. Trying to get pregnant can be stressful and hard, especially if you’ve been trying for a long time. You and your partner should both meet with a doctor to determine if there is something that can be done on either side to increase your fertility.
Have your doctor test you for PCOS if your periods are irregular. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) can cause your body to stop ovulating or ovulate infrequently, which can make it extremely hard to get pregnant. Similarly, other thyroid issues can affect your hormones, making it harder to conceive or stay pregnant. Other symptoms of PCOS may include excess facial hair, hair loss, severe acne, type 2 diabetes, and difficulty losing weight. Your doctor will generally run some labs to check out your hormone levels and may do a physical exam, too. PCOS is typically treated through lifestyle changes and hormone therapy. There are also some medications that your doctor might prescribe to help you ovulate so you can continue trying to get pregnant.
Have fertility treatments if your body needs help producing eggs. Your doctor may prescribe a medication that can help your body produce extra eggs to increase your chances of getting pregnant, or you may be able to take something that causes ovulation so you know exactly when to try and get pregnant. There are also other reproductive options, like IVF or IUI, that are really common and often help women conceive. IVF stands for in vitro fertilization. Your doctor will extract eggs from you and fertilize them outside of your body. Once they’re fertilized, they’ll be transferred back into your uterus. IUI stands for intrauterine insemination. This is where your doctor will place sperm directly into your uterus when you ovulate for the highest chances of egg fertilization.
Comments
0 comment