Lifestyle factors can contribute to infertility as well as fertility treatment success. Making choices to promote a healthy lifestyle and eliminating bad habits can help clear a path to a successful pregnancy.
What Lifestyle Choices Can Contribute to Infertility?
Smoking: Studies have shown that smoking while trying to conceive can reduce the chances of becoming pregnant. It is not known exactly how the mix of chemicals, smoke and other toxins found in cigarettes will affect each person individually, so it is advised for both men and women to quit smoking when trying to get pregnant. Marijuana use should also be stopped.
Weight and Exercise: Being a healthy weight (BMI range of 18.5-24.9) is ideal when trying to conceive. Being underweight or overweight can affect your overall health, and can increase chances of infertility, miscarriage and premature birth. In addition, excessive exercise can cause an extreme loss of body fat and affect a woman’s ability to ovulate. Maintaining a healthy weight and moderate exercise regime can promote the best chances for a successful outcome.
Food Choices: Eating a clean diet rich in whole foods including fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, grains and lean meats and eliminating overly-processed foods that are high in sodium, chemical additives and artificial ingredients can help both men and women improve fertility. Trying to eat organic foods when possible is also believed to be helpful as conventional foods may contain pesticides which studies have shown can negatively affect fertility outcomes.
Alcohol and/or Drugs: Alcohol and non-prescription drug consumption while trying to conceive can hinder the chances of becoming pregnant. We recommend eliminating both when trying naturally or during a fertility treatment cycle to increase your likelihood of achieving pregnancy.
Stress: Studies have shown that the stress of being diagnosed with infertility is equivalent to the stress levels associated with either losing a family member or being diagnosed with cancer. Being under stress affects the body not only mentally, but physically as well. Stress causes our body to release cortisol, a hormone to help us deal with the stress. When under too much stress for too long, this hormone can wreak havoc on our body and can impact fertility. Practicing stress-eliminating techniques like breathing, exercise, meditation, yoga, mindfulness, etc. is important, especially when trying to achieve pregnancy.
Vitamins and Supplements: It is recommended that all women trying to conceive should take a prenatal vitamin or multivitamin which contains folic acid. Folic acid supplementation prior to conception can decrease the incidence of neural tube defects. Women may also want to consider taking CoQ10 600 mg daily to help support mitochondrial function in their oocytes. It is recommended that men take a multivitamin daily along with an Omega 3 supplement and CoQ10 200 mg twice daily for possible sperm benefits.
If you have questions about your lifestyle or would like to set up a consultation to discuss your fertility, please contact us here to make an appointment.
