Many women struggle to conceive; the issue can also stem from age, hormones, or a medical condition. However, sometimes, it comes down to something a little more in one’s control, like diet and lifestyle. Whatever the case, many women wonder if they can improve their fertility – and the answer is yes. Here’s what hopeful parents need to know about boosting their chances of conceiving.
What Can Women Do to Improve Fertility?
Medical conditions and age aside, leading a healthier lifestyle can help promote fertility.
1. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Being underweight or overweight can inhibit a woman’s ovulation, potentially leading to fertility problems.
2. Avoid Smoking
Tobacco use and smoking can reduce fertility; it ages the ovaries and prematurely depletes eggs.
3. Prevent Sexually Transmitted Infections
STIs are a significant cause of female and male infertility. These include gonorrhoea and chlamydia.
4. Adopt a Healthy Sleep Pattern
Sleep is essential for hormone production, which, if affected, can lead to fertility problems. For instance, women who regularly work a night shift are at a higher risk of infertility due to impacted hormone production.
5. Abstain from Alcohol
Heavy drinking can increase the risk of ovulation disorders. Also, alcohol abstinence when trying to conceive, as well as during pregnancy, is strictly advised since there is no determined safe level of fetal alcohol consumption.
6. Lower Caffeine Consumption
Studies suggest that a caffeine intake below 200mg daily does not affect female fertility (although some recommend keeping it under 100mg a day).
7. Avoid Toxins
Environmental toxins can affect fertility. These include lead, dry-cleaning solvents, and certain pesticides.
8. Don’t Overexercise
Excessive and vigorous physical activity can lower progesterone production and inhibit ovulation. That’s not to say exercise isn’t beneficial – it is. But women trying to conceive should avoid overdoing it and perhaps consider gentler workouts instead.
What are Common Fertility Treatments?
Many couples opt for fertility treatments to enhance their odds of conception. In some cases, only one person requires intervention; however, both partners might undergo combined treatments together for maximum effect.
One example is undertaking acupuncture for fertility – a therapy that boosts blood flow to the uterus and ovaries to support healthy ovarian follicles and the woman’s uterine lining. This type of treatment can also reduce inflammation and rectify small hormonal imbalances in males and females.
Technology also plays a prominent role in fertility. Typically, fertility treatments comprise medications that assist with ovulation and hormones – which may also be complemented by minor surgical intervention.
In particular, though, Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is widespread; it entails numerous procedures that can make it much easier for sperm to fertilize an egg. Plus, these procedures can help the egg implant in the woman’s uterine lining.
Some forms of ART include egg/embryo donation, cryopreservation (the freezing of sperm, embryos, and eggs), and gestational carrying (surrogacy). Some of the most common ART fertility treatments include:
1. Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
After healthy sperm is collected, it’s inserted into the uterus directly during ovulation.
2. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
Eggs are removed from the woman’s ovaries and fertilized in a lab with the male’s sperm. The fertilized eggs develop into an embryo in the laboratory, after which they are medically placed into the uterus.
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