Fueling Fertility Naturally: Is It Possible?

When it comes to fertility, there’s a lot of information out there to sort through. It can be confusing when everyone, from your mom to your pregnant friends and fertility gurus on the internet, tries to give you their two cents of advice. The thing to bear in mind is that everyone is different. Some women get pregnant fairly quickly. In fact, 1 in every 3 will conceive within a month. However, for some others, the pregnancy journey is not as straightforward. In many cases, lifestyle plays a crucial role in your ability to conceive. There are several things you can do to improve your odds of getting pregnant. We have gathered a few tips below!

Keep track of your menstrual cycle

In many cases, fertility is basic math. That’s right! You need to make sure you are having sex at the right time of your menstrual cycle, which is during ovulation. Ovulation (when the ovaries release an egg every month) occurs in the middle of your cycle. If your period is regular and hits like clockwork every 28 days, you’ll ovulate around the 14th day. Your fertile window is a six-day span that ends on the day of ovulation. Sperm usually lasts 2 or 3 days inside your body, making early exposure better than late. You can increase the chances of getting pregnant by keeping track of your menstrual cycle with a calendar and having sex during high-fertility times.

Check out Beginning.com’s period and ovulation tracker to monitor your fertile days!

What if my periods are irregular?

Then predicting your ovulation is a bit trickier. It usually takes place 12 to 16 days before the start of your next period. Luckily, there are methods you can use to determine your most fertile days. You can check the amount and appearance of your mucus in the vagina. Just before ovulation, the mucus amount increases and becomes clearer and more slippery. Research by the University of North Carolina discovered that women who check their cervical mucus are 2.3 times more likely to become pregnant in a sixth-month period.

You can also get a home ovulation prediction kit. Similar to a pregnancy test, these kits test urine for the luteinizing hormone, a substance that increases in level each month during ovulation and prompts the ovaries to release an egg.

Aim for a balanced weight

Being underweight or overweight can cause fertility problems in both women and men. Underweight women, for example, develop irregular periods, which can stop ovulation. In addition, it increases the risk of miscarriage and sexual dysfunction. On the other hand, being overweight is linked to irregular periods, lack of ovulation, and impaired egg development.

In both cases, the best course of action is to reach a healthy body weight. However, it is important to note that there is no “ideal body weight” for everyone. Some factors should be taken into consideration such as age, height, sex, body shape, muscle-fat ratio, and body fat distribution. If you are struggling with finding your ideal body weight, contact your doctor for further advice.

Follow a healthy diet

You’ve probably heard it dozens of times and might be jaded by now. But following a healthy diet is more important than you think, especially when it comes to fertility. While there are countless “miracle foods” and “fertility-boosting diets” on the internet, there’s not enough evidence to support these claims. Nevertheless, healthy food choices can provide crucial nutrients for hormonal production and balance. And that’s not all! Healthy diets store nutrients that will come in handy for supporting your growing baby. So, what should you eat and what should you avoid?

• Eat more fiber (whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables) to balance your hormones and blood sugar.
• Say yes to foods rich in antioxidants (vegetables, fruits, nuts, and grains), which might contribute to higher levels of implantation, pregnancy, and live birth.
• Eat plenty of proteins (lean meat, poultry, fish, nuts, legumes, and beans) — they are crucial for the body tissues’ creation and repair, as well as for the manufacturing of hormones, enzymes, and blood cells. But don’t overdo their consumption since too many proteins can impair fertility.
• Reduce refined carbs (white pasta, white bread, white rice, sugary foods, and sugary drinks) consumption. They can contribute to the development of insulin resistance.
• Avoid trans fats (margarine, processed products, baked goods, and fried food) as they are linked to a risk of ovulatory infertility.

Want to learn more? Make sure to watch Beginning.com’s Fertility and Nutrition masterclass!

Ditch bad habits

If you are thinking about getting pregnant, consider ditching unhealthy habits such as drinking alcohol, excessive caffeine intake, and smoking. It’s not clear how much alcohol can cause infertility. However, a recent study proved that having more than 14 alcoholic drinks per week makes it harder to get pregnant.

Research on caffeine intake and pregnancy isn’t conclusive either. Whereas older studies suggest that women who consume more than 500 mg of caffeine per day take up to 9 months longer to get pregnant, other researchers have not found a strong link between caffeine consumption and infertility. In any case, excessive caffeine is not good for your health, so you should consider drinking it moderately.

Smoking can also impact fertility by affecting eggs and sperm. The chemicals present in cigarette smoke speed up the loss rate of eggs, which leads to premature menopause in many women. Male smokers can experience a decrease in sperm quality and motility (ability to move). It can also lower the sperm’s ability to fertilize the egg. Infertility rates in both male and female smokers are twice higher than those of non-smokers.

Rethink lube

Lube can make sex much more comfortable. However, multiple studies show that a significant majority of commercially available lubes can negatively affect sperm motility. Yet, other studies find that fertility rates don’t decrease for lube users. Experts recommend that male partners who experience low sperm count or motility issues should skip lube or use different brands to improve pregnancy chances.

Get active (but don’t overdo it!)

This is another one you hear a lot everywhere. But it’s absolutely true! Exercising on a regular basis, let’s say 20 to 30 minutes a day, impacts weight management, muscle strength, and brain activity. It may also reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Researchers proved that women who eat healthy meats and get regular exercise have a 69% less risk of ovulatory disorder infertility. What’s more, women with irregular cycles and PCOS who lose up to 10% of their body weight through exercises experience a positive effect on ovulation.

Of course, everything in excess harms your health. Overly intense exercise (around 5 hours a day) may only benefit women with high body-fat percentages. For other women, such vigorous routines harm their odds of becoming pregnant.

Manage stress levels

If you’ve been trying to get pregnant, stress may be on your plate. Many people feel stress and anxiety when they aren’t able to become pregnant as soon as they want to, which only leads to even more stress and anxiety. According to The American Society of Reproductive Medicine, there is no proof that stress alone leads to infertility. However, stress can cause performance issues for men and may delay ovulation in very extreme cases. Under severe stress, some people may turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms such as drinking alcohol and smoking which, as you already know, harm fertility.

You’ll want to keep these stress levels in check if you wish for a healthy pregnancy. Experts recommend relaxation techniques such as yoga, deep breathing, and meditation to let go of stress and negativity.

Eager to relax? Listen to the most immersive 3D sound journeys to fuel relaxation and mindfulness.