10 Evidence Based Tips To Boost Your Fertility

01 GET TO KNOW YOUR CYCLE Understanding your cycle and feeling empowered to take back control of your fertility can make all the difference. In fact, research shows that fertility awareness knowledge can reduce your time to conception significantly, and even up to as much as 6 months. Are you having regular cycles or are your cycles a little haphazard? Start to chart the length of your cycles, starting with Day 1 as the first day of your period and the last Day of your cycle is the day before your next period. You can choose to use an App to help you chart your cycle dates. However, if the only information your supplying to the App is period dates, avoid relying on the App to predict when you will ovulate as this is unreliable. To really understand your cycle then it is important to monitor and chart your natural fertility indicators – your temperature and cervical mucus. This information, along with your cycle dates can help you to work out when you’re ovulating and your fertile window. Arrange a consultation with us if you would like to learn how to use fertility awareness accurately to help you conceive.

02 TAKE THE RIGHT SUPPLEMENTS FOR YOU If you have a healthy and nutritious diet it’s not necessary to take a heap of supplements, however there are some supplements that are crucial for fertility. Folic acid helps to increase your maternal folate levels to prevent against neural tube defects such as Spina Bifida. You should take 400mcg of folic acid when trying to conceive and for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Vitamin D is often referred to as the sunshine vitamin because it’s produced by the body’s reaction to the skin’s exposure to the sun. However, during the autumn and winter months it becomes harder for us to get all the Vitamin D we need from the sun’s rays. Public Health England recommend that every adult should consider taking a daily supplement of 10mcgs, particularly in the colder months. There is good evidence to suggest that Vitamin D also assists in human reproduction. It may also play a part in regulating the symptoms associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome and help in reducing inflammation in women with endometriosis. So, vitamin D is a good all-rounder when it comes to fertility and not only for women. Evidence suggests that Vitamin D also has a beneficial effect on sperm quality and that supplementation may improve sperm motility.

03 HAVE REGULAR SEX It might sound strange, but we find, and it is well evidenced in the research, that couples who are trying to conceive just aren’t having enough sex. These days are lives with work and other commitments are full on and sometimes we’re just too tired to have sex. To maximise conception, you should have sex every 2-3 days throughout the cycle. Don’t just wait for around ovulation, maximise sperm health by having regular sex and increase this during your fertile time.

04 STOP SMOKING Did you know that smoking is possibly the worst thing you can do to your fertility? This is the same for both men and women. For men smoking damages sperm significantly and for women evidence suggests that smoking ages the ovaries. The good news however is that once men stop smoking, after 3 months the sperm can improve. This rate of improvement is dependent on how much damage has been done to the sperm, but a healthy lifestyle will always start to make a difference. If you’re struggling to stop smoking, as we know it’s not easy, make an appointment with your doctor to see what help might be available to you.

05 BE MINDFUL OF YOUR EXPOSURE TO TOXINS The fertility of men and women is known to be affected by certain toxins present in the environment. For example, plastics, lead, mercury, and certain chemicals used in paints, adhesives, beauty products and cleaning products. Where you can it is advisable to reduce your toxin loading. Sadly, toxins are all around us and it’s impossible to remove them all. Consider what toxins you might be exposed to in the home and at work and see if you can make some sensible switches. If this all feels a little overwhelming, we’ve got you covered. As part of a fertility consultation we assess your toxin loading and provide you with manageable alternatives.

06 REDUCE YOUR ALCOHOL INTAKE Alcohol intake damages egg production but also impairs the absorption of essential vitamins and minerals. The Department of Health recommend that women should stop drinking alcohol completely when trying to conceive. Recent research has also identified that fertility is reduced per cycle when a woman consumes alcohol in the ovulatory and luteal phase. The evidence is a little conflicting when it comes to men. What we do know is that binge drinking severely impacts sperm and this damage will remain for the 3-month life cycle of the sperm. 07 REDUCE YOUR CAFFEINE INTAKE Evidence suggests that excessive caffeine intake may delay the time it takes you to conceive. Therefore, reduce your intake of coffee, tea, and caffeinated fizzy drinks. Replace these with naturally decaffeinated drinks, herbal tea, fruit teas, and water and fruit juice. Try not to consume more than 2 caffeinated drink per day (and that includes your intake of chocolate which also contains caffeine).

08 MAINTAIN A HEALTHY WEIGHT We totally understand just how hard it is to maintain a healthy weight and how triggering it can be to hear that you need to lose weight to conceive. However, we do need to include this important lifestyle factor in our top tips because sadly, having a BMI over 30 can prevent you from accessing fertility treatments and we want you to be aware of this. Being overweight also increases your risks of struggling to conceive, having a miscarriage, experiencing problems such as gestational diabetes during pregnancy and problems giving birth. Here at Your Fertility Journey, we support you in achieving a healthy weight because we know just how horrid it is to be told you can’t have fertility treatments and then not to be given any support. We’re here for you.

09 ENJOY EXERCISE We’re frequently asked if it’s OK to exercise when trying to conceive and the short answer is – yes absolutely! Exercising helps you to maintain a healthy weight but it is also the most amazing stress buster, and we really recommend adding exercise to your weekly routine. If you’re going through IVF treatments, you may be advised to moderate your activity and we can help you come up with an exercise plan that is best for you.

10 GET EMOTIONAL SUPPORT Struggling to conceive or going through fertility treatments is exhausting, both physically and emotionally. We are all very quick to support ourselves on the physical aspects and often forget our emotional health until it’s too late. Interestingly, research tells us that stress doesn’t actually impact on our fertility directly but it’s what we do in response to this stress that does impact our fertility – such as smoking, increasing alcohol, not eating well or over-eating etc . We believe that everyone struggling to conceive should have access to emotional support. Here at Your Fertility Journey, we offer fertility coaching to help you navigate the turbulent waters of your fertility journey.

DISCLAIMER All the material contained in this document is provided for educational and informational purposes only. No responsibility can be taken for any results or outcomes resulting from the use of this material. While every attempt has been made to provide information that is both accurate and effective, the author does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or use/misuse of this information. Any information given should not replace that given by your doctor. Copyright Your Fertility Journey 2021 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

to your fertility? This is the same for both men and women. For. men smoking damages sperm significantly and for women evidence suggests that smoking ages the ovaries. The good news however is that once men stop smoking, after 3. months the sperm can improve. This rate of improvement is. dependent on how much damage has been done to the sperm .