5 Ways to Support Your Fertility Naturally

No matter where you are on your fertility journey, it’s important to give your body all the necessary building blocks to support your fertility. Fortunately, there are several great ways to boost your fertility naturally. 

1. Kick Unhealthy Habits

One of the best things you can do is kick unhealthy habits that harm your fertility and overall health. Using recreational drugs, drinking too much alcohol, smoking, and consuming too much caffeine have all been linked to fertility problems. 

Quitting any, or all, of these habits can be difficult. There are often social pressures to have a drink, and you may rely on caffeine to get you through your day. And infertility is stressful, so it’s easy to rely even more on unhealthy habits to cope. However, it’s important to cut out harmful substances–for both you and your baby.

Many of the same substances harmful to you can also cause your baby to develop serious conditions, like fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), before you even know you’re pregnant. Talk to your doctor if you need help. 

2. Eat a Healthy Diet

Eating a healthy diet has many beneficial effects on fertility. It helps you achieve a healthy weight, which has been strongly linked to improved fertility for both men and women. A healthy diet also ensures your body has all the nutrients it needs to produce sperm, ovulate properly, or prepare for pregnancy. Plus, eating a healthy diet reduces your risk for many common pregnancy complications, like gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. 

What should you eat to support your fertility? Aim for complex carbohydrates, plant-based or lean sources of protein, plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes; and healthy fats from sources like salmon or avocados. There’s a reason that the  Mediterranean-style diet, in particular, has been linked with improved fertility, thanks to its focus on primarily plant-based nutrition, along with ample omega-3 fatty acids from sources like fish or olive oil, and large amounts of antioxidants. 

3. Take Your Vitamins

No matter how healthy we eat, we sometimes don’t get enough of certain nutrients our bodies need for optimum fertility, and that’s especially the case when it comes to supporting a pregnancy. It’s easy to make up for any nutritional gaps by taking vitamins. 

Prenatal vitamins are a good choice because they contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, including folic acid, which is crucial for your baby’s brain development. However, certain vitamins may not contain enough, or even too much, of what you need, so it’s important to read labels carefully and talk to your doctor about which vitamins and dosages are right for you. 

Some vitamins that are important for fertility are:

• Vitamin D
• Folic acid
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• B Vitamins
• Omega-3 fatty acids
• Iron

4. Engage in Moderate Exercise

Along with eating a healthy diet, engaging in moderate exercise is an excellent way to support your fertility naturally. Exercise improves your overall health, helps you achieve a healthy weight, and helps regulate your hormones. Engaging in moderate exercise has been linked to improved sperm quality and quantity, more regular menstrual cycles and ovulation, higher pregnancy and live birth rates, and a greater number of oocytes during egg retrievals. 

Moderation is key when it comes to exercise while you’re trying to conceive. High-intensity exercise, like long-distance running, can be especially harmful for women, and may cause you to stop ovulating altogether. 

5. Get Plenty of Rest and Relaxation

Finally, getting plenty of rest and relaxation is necessary for optimum fertility. Giving yourself time to rest and recover is essential for your body’s health, and managing your stress levels. 

Aim for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep every night, and, if you work nights, if possible, ask about switching to day shift while you’re trying to conceive. There is some evidence that working overnight shifts has a negative impact on fertility. 

It’s important to find a good source of stress relief. Talking with friends, enjoying hobbies, meditating, and practicing yoga or tai chi are all excellent ways to help manage stress. If you find that you still feel overwhelmed or anxious, it’s important to seek help from a professional. At RHWC fertility, in addition to yoga, our wellness services include spiritual counseling and fertility therapy as part of your comprehensive care.

No matter where you are on your fertility journey, supporting your fertility naturally will help your body have what it needs to conceive and support a pregnancy. Still, while healthy lifestyle changes are beneficial, they aren’t always enough to overcome infertility. If you’ve been trying to conceive for more than 12 months (or 6 months if you are over 35), schedule a consult with Dr. Rosencrantz and the team at RHWC.