7 Fertility Tips to Ring in the New Year

Are you ringing the new year under the frustration of not getting pregnant as planned? Or, is this yet another year your infertility diagnosis has made it impossible for you to get pregnant on your own? Then odds are you’re ready to kick start your chance of fertility success.

7 Tips to Help You Get Pregnant This Year

These 7 tips will certainly get you started in the right direction. From there, your diligence, and the assistance of the right fertility clinic, will get you closer towards your dream of becoming parents.

1. Seek an accurate fertility diagnosis. If you haven’t sought the assistance of a fertility specialist yet, the sooner the better. If your infertility is, indeed, the result of a medical diagnosis, an infertility diagnosis is critical in establishing the right fertility treatment for you. The more time you waste, the longer it will take to get pregnant. If age is at all a factor, time is of the essence in a very real way.
2. Get serious about lifestyle changes. Prior to an infertility diagnosis, many couples remain in denial about the ways certain lifestyle changes affect their ability to get pregnant. Here are some of the things that decrease your chances of conceiving and/or carrying a healthy baby full-term: smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, over-exercising or being underweight, using illicit drugs (including marijuana), excess caffeine consumption – all are associated with lower fertility rates.
3. Lose weight (or gain weight). Your BMI is directly associated with your fertility Those who are overweight – or underweight – are more likely to struggle with infertility. Obesity affects fertility in both men and women, being underweight (typically due to eating disorders or extreme exercise routines or athletics) can inhibit or halt ovulation in women.
4. Eat a healthy diet. It makes sense that a healthy diet is related to a healthy body – and a healthy body is more likely to get pregnant. However, diet impacts fertility in more complex ways. We’re learning that insulin resistance and infertility are linked – this is especially true for women with PCOS or diabetes. Therefore, we recommend all of our patients eat healthy diets – and we’re particularly fond of anti-inflammatory diets – to ensure your body is getting everything it needs and preventing it from ingesting the things it doesn’t. Dr. Weil’s anti-inflammatory diet page has excellent guidelines for crafting your own version of an anti-inflammatory diet.
5. Be honest with your OB/GYN or fertility specialist. We know how it is; you had a life in the past and that life may include a history that your partner isn’t entirely aware of. Perhaps you had more partners than he/she realized. Or, you may have had an STD that you addressed – and then never discussed with future partners. We understand your desire to keep certain things mum, but it’s important that your OB/GYN and fertility specialist know the truth. This provides insight into specific causes of infertility that we may not have examined as closely at first. For men, undiagnosed STDs can cause potential scarring that blocks sperm from getting out when they ejaculate; in the case of women, STDs can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and/or additional scarring that prevents ovulation or healthy implantation.
6. Develop a relaxation practice. There is no denying now that stress is linked to lower fertility chances. This connection isn’t altogether understood. One thing we do know is that chronic stress leads to chronic inflammation – and inflammation is detrimental to the immune system, healthy ovulation and fetal development. Do all you can to reduce the stress in your life. Take a yoga or Tai Chi class, look for an acupuncturist who specializes in fertility and learn to say, “no,” so you have plenty of time for rest and relaxation on days off.
7. Kick endocrine disruptors out of your home and life. Let’s face it; common sense tells us that chemicals that kills living things may not be good for human bodies. Now, science is proving that as well. In addition to elevated cancer rates, many of the chemicals used to grow and preserve our foods are also considered endocrine disruptors, meaning they affect your natural hormone production and levels. Certain plastics and linings of food containers are also endocrine disruptors, as are many of the chemicals used in commercial bath and body care products. Getting rid of these products can help keep your body and hormones in better balance.

Taking on these 7 tips will certainly put you in prime position to get pregnant in this new year. Thinking it’s time to consult with a fertility specialist? Contact the team here at RRC. We’re ready to make this the year your fertility dreams become a reality.

 

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