Archive for September, 2009

Boosting Fertility With a Diet

If you are having problems on getting pregnant, maybe the answer could be found in your kitchen.  There are certain foods which you will want to include in your diet if you are working yourself to be fertile and have that pregnancy.

A woman who wants to be a mom should be eating high-fat dairy products. According to studies, a woman who includes at least a serving of high fat dairy in their diet each day reduces their chances of suffering from infertility related issues by 25%.  It is said that the dairy food increases the function as well as health of your ovaries.

Fatty acid-rich foods should also be added in that diet.  Fatty acids help in making your ovary healthy and functioning and many women have diets lacking fatty acids.  Foods that are rich in fatty acids include nuts as well as fishes.

As always, fruits and vegetables should be included in a diet of a woman wanting to be pregnant, particularly fruits and vegetables that are rich in beta carotene.  Vitamin A helps produce hormones needed to ovulate.  Foods such as peaches and carrots help make sure that you have enough vitamin A in your body.

A woman-to-be-mom must also have enough protein each day.  She must make sure that she gets 45 g of protein each day.  Protein-rich foods include fish, nuts, as well as milk and dairy products.  Eating plenty of low fat protein is important for egg production that is why if it is possible, stay away from red meat. Although protein is good, more than 45 g can keep the embryo from implanting that is why you should also take into consideration that you just take enough protein.

To have enough cervical mucus to carry the sperm to the egg, make sure you get plenty of water. In addition, water is crucial for keeping your egg follicles and womb healthy and fertility friendly.

If you want to be pregnant, you should also be eating foods high in folate.  Green leafy foods are rich in folate.  Folate decreases the chance of your baby having neural tube defects such as spina bifida.  Your partner should also be consuming enough folate as folate increases sperm health.

Your partner should also be eating foods high in zinc.  He should eat plenty of beans, seeds, nuts, eggs and oysters.  Zinc is responsible for making the outside tail of the sperm.

Doctors believe that diet is one of the main contributors and causes for infertility that is why having a fertility diet increases your chance of having that conception.

Getting Pregnant After Age 35

The trend today with regards to having a baby is when you are 30.  The rate of women trying to conceive during their 30’s going to 40’s is increasing.  Other people suggest that our “30’s is the new 20’s”.  The world we live in today is quite different than the world of our parents or grandparents and there are a number of reasons why getting pregnant at this age is happening more than before.  One reason is that, today, more and more women are focusing on careers or education than in previous generations.  Most couples will succeed in conceiving but other couples may face difficulty making them turn to fertility treatments.  The older you are, the higher your chances of encountering various fertility obstacles, challenges, and delays. In other words, our fertility declines as we age.

Couples with any age have only a 20% chance of achieving a pregnancy each menstrual cycle.  Active fertility charting and ovulation testing, however, will increase those odds substantially.  A woman who is trying to conceive in her 30’s have a chance of less than 15% to conceive.  The monthly odds of conceiving decrease as a woman age due to various physiological issues such as hormonal balance.  This means it is much harder to get a positive result that you are pregnant if you are in your 30’s.  To increase your odds in becoming pregnant, you should stay fit and stay healthy.  Predicting your ovulation is also important as well as charting fertility.  By knowing your ovulatory cycles, you will your days when to make love and increase your chances of conceiving.

As we age, the balance of hormones also decline and with this, our fertility also declines.  The balance between reproductive hormones is crucial for regular ovulation.  A woman’s egg and hormones do not flow with the same balance and stability when she is in her 30’s.  The quality of these eggs as well as the capacity to stimulate maturation also is affected.  Because of this, menstrual cycles are difficult to predict and sometimes, ovulation does not also take place.  The presence of cervical mucus also plays a vital role in fertility.  As we age, cervical mucus also declines.  This may be related to hormonal imbalances as well.  Tests such as follicle stimulating tests can be used at home to assess whether you have reproductive hormone imbalance as well as the condition of your ovaries in producing eggs.

To optimize your chance of being pregnant at the age of 35, the first thing you should do is to have a healthy mental well being.  To do this, calibrate your expectations and realize that you may or you may not get pregnant.  Note that even for someone that is in their 20’s, the chance of getting pregnant is only 20%.  Simply realize that you may not get pregnant in just one night.  Reducing stress or anxiety is the second step for boosting your pregnancy chances. The less you worry, the better your mind and body work together.

Along with healthy well-being, a healthy physical well-being is also important.  Maintaining the proper weight is crucial as being overweight or underweight can adversely affect hormonal balance and cycle regularity.  Eat a healthy diet as well as exercises like yoga can help you.  Taking prenatal vitamins also contribute to the success of you having a conception.

You should also chart your basal body temperatures.  Knowing when you are ovulating will give you a widened opportunity of getting pregnant.  If you know when you ovulate and can time intercourse for your most fertile days, your chances will increase.  However at age 35, guessing your ovulation period is not sufficient, that is why starting an ovulation calendar is important.  If you have some cycle irregularities, herbal fertility remedies such as red clover and raspberry leaves can help.

The best thing to do if your 35 years old or older is to arrange a preconception visit.  It is best that you discuss your medical history, health status, and medications that you are taking with your doctor.  You can clarify your doctor about conceiving tips as well as expectations and they will point you in the right direction.  Your doctor will likely see if you have any interfering fertility issues as well.

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