Getting pregnant isn’t easy, but there are several changes you can make to help boost your fertility and your chances of conceiving each cycle.
Health changes to consider that can help with fertility
Your general health and fertility health are more closely related than you might think: fertility is just one component of your total body health, after all. Increase your chances of conceiving and prepare your body for a healthy pregnancy by keeping your general health strong. Just what does this mean? Be sure to get enough sleep, stay active, and eat a balanced diet of nutritious foods.
- Sleep: Your body rebuilds and recovers while you’re sleeping, so getting enough rest is very important to maintain the timing of your menstrual cycle. In addition, your body produces the hormone leptin while you are asleep. Leptin helps regulate your cycle and ensures that you ovulate and menstruate. Getting enough sleep will also help to prevent and manage stress, which can seriously hamper fertility. Ovia starts you out with a sleep goal of 8 hours each night.
- Activity: Another key piece of your general health is physical activity. Staying active is important for keeping your body strong (which you’ll need when you’re supporting a baby during pregnancy) and managing your weight. Regular exercise can also help you manage stress, which can often affect your cycle. So anyone who’s trying to conceive should do their best to stay active, whether that’s by walking, lifting weights, doing yoga, or another enjoyable physical activity. We recommend getting at least 30 minutes of activity each day.
- Nutrition: The human body is a well-oiled machine, and like all machines, it needs the highest-quality fuel possible to run at its best. Processed and fried foods and alcohol, among other foods and drinks, can have a considerable negative effect on your fertility. You need lots of folate, Vitamin C, and other healthy nutrients to keep your ovulation as regular as possible. Keeping to a diet high in fruits, leafy greens, and lean proteins (salmon, eggs, chicken, etc.) is sure to get your body as fertile as possible and prepare you for pregnancy.
- Weight: Having both too high and too low a weight also has a considerable effect on fertility. Individuals who are overweight may notice irregular ovulations and are more likely to experience the condition of infertility known as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Those who are significantly underweight also face a more difficult road to pregnancy, as it can seriously affect hormonal balance and cycle regularity.
If infertility is an issue, it may not be just you
If you’re actively TTC with a male partner, and it seems like infertility could be a possibility, keep in mind that in cases of infertility, both partners are often equally likely to contribute to difficulties conceiving. For example, approximately ⅓ of cases of infertility involve female infertility, while ⅓ involve male infertility, and the other ⅓ have unknown causes. The very same things that can help or harm your fertility can also affect your partner’s. On the negative side, being overweight or overly stressed, smoking and drinking alcohol, and using drugs can hurt fertility; on the positive side, getting proper sleep, staying active, and enjoying a nutritious diet can boost fertility. So it’s important that both you and your partner keep yourselves as healthy and fit as possible as you try to conceive.
Keeping your general health strong is a vital but often overlooked part of conceiving. All of the advice in the world won’t help you get pregnant if your general health is not where it should be.
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Sources
- Kort JD, Winget C, Kim SH, Lathi RB. “A retrospective cohort study to evaluate the impact of meaningful weight loss on fertility outcomes in an overweight population with infertility.” Fertility & Sterility. 101(5):1400-3. Web. 5/14/2015.
- Harrison RF, O’Moore RR, O’Moore AM. “Stress and fertility: some modalities of investigation and treatment in couples with unexplained infertility in Dublin.” International Journal of Fertility. 31(2):153-9. Web. May-June 1986.
- Dr. Walter Willett. “Nurses’ Health Study II.” National Institutes of Health. United States, 1989-. Web.
- “Patient Fact Sheet: Infertility: An Overview.” ASRM. American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 2012. Web.
- Wise LA, Rothman KJ, Mikkelsen EM, Sørensen HT, Riis AH, Hatch EE. “A prospective cohort study of physical activity and time to pregnancy.” Fertility & Sterility. 97(5):1136-42.e1-4. Web. 5/12/2015.
- Louis GM, Lum KJ, Sundaram R, Chen Z, Kim S, Lynch CD, Schisterman EF, Pyper C. “Stress reduces conception probabilities across the fertile window: evidence in support of relaxation.” Fertility & Sterility. 95(7):2184-9. Web. 6/11/2015.
