You are not alone in wanting a baby and considering every possible option. While in vitro fertilization (IVF) is becoming the choice of fertility treatment nowadays, the cost is a huge barrier for some families.
Setting aside medical treatments for a moment, there are ways that you and your partner can try to boost your fertility and result in a pregnancy. These recommendations are natural, involving conscious efforts to improve health and fitness, which serve as the perfect foundation for a conception.
A healthy mother means a healthy baby, after all. Start your journey here.
Take Your Breakfast (and Go Easy on Dinner)
Your favourite mantra may soon be Adelle Davis’s “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.”
A study in 2013 found that women who took their biggest meal at breakfast time (980 calories out of 1,800 calories) showed higher levels of ovulation than those who took a larger dinner. The big-breakfast group also saw their insulin resistance fall by 8 per cent and androgen levels by 50 per cent.
The women in the study have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal imbalance that affects fertility. The research did not say anything about eating a big breakfast resulting in getting pregnant faster. However, it can still be a good reminder to start your day with a proper meal.
Be Careful What You Eat
Speaking of meals, you can follow a fertility diet that will help achieve and maintain a healthy weight suited for pregnancy.
- Bank on fruits and vegetables. They offer antioxidants that play a beneficial role, especially in male fertility.
- Stay away from or cut back on sugary and processed foods. They contain added sugar, which contributes to weight gain that can sabotage your plans to get pregnant.
- Consume more vegetable protein, like beans and nuts, than animal protein to reduce the risk of ovulatory infertility.
- Get your dose of calcium from milk, cheese, and other dairy products.
- Drink supplements and multivitamins. Never skip on folic acid.
- Replace trans fat with monounsaturated fats found in olive oil, avocados, and nuts.
Move It
A research article on PLOS One found that physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour are independent risk factors to infertility in men and women.
Regular exercise helps you achieve your ideal weight to get pregnant and makes you feel good, too. Make time for this physical activity in your weekly schedule with brisk walking, running, swimming, and strength training as top choices.
Get adequate rest, and don’t overdo your workout. Too much exercise or a strenuous routine can adversely affect ovulation. It can also result in body discomfort. Consider applying sports tape on the sore muscles to help reduce pressure and pain.
Strive for a Healthy Lifestyle
At this point, it makes sense to leave out the habits that can affect your baby-making prospects and the future baby itself. Alcohol and drugs taken during pregnancy can cause congenital disabilities.
- Smoking cigarettes is a no. Women smokers have decreased fertility, according to a pamphlet from the ReproductiveFacts.org. The inhalation of passive smoke also harms a possible conception. Smoking in men lowers their sperm count.
- Drinking alcohol, even at moderate levels, can be a factor of infertility, per the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
- Using drugs like marijuana is not advisable before, during, and after pregnancy, especially for breastfeeding mothers.
Avoiding substances for months also increases the likelihood of passing any upcoming drug test as it happens in employment. For more information on how to get weed out of your system, check out this ultimate guide. Go over the methods possible, taking into account your and your future baby’s safety.
Involve Your Partner
It takes two to conceive. A woman can only do so much; her partner must also do his fair share in the baby-planning process. You can speak to a doctor together and help each other out.
Infertility is a serious issue among couples, as common among men as it is among women. It’s best to share the burden of finding solutions to the quest to becoming parents and raising a child someday.
Hopefully, your efforts to conceive as bolstered by the natural ways above will bear fruit.
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