You might be concerned in your fertility and whether you can boost it if you're trying to get pregnant. Some factors, such health conditions that impair your ability to conceive, may be out of your control. However, your lifestyle decisions might also affect your fertility. The capacity of a woman to conceive a biological child is known as female fertility. If you've been trying to conceive with frequent, unprotected sex for at least a year — or at least six months if you're older than 35 — without success, you and your partner may start to doubt your fertility.
Female fertility problems can be caused by a number of medical conditions, such as:
- Ovulation abnormalities, which alter how the ovaries release eggs. These include thyroid issues, hyperprolactinemia, and hormonal conditions such polycystic ovarian syndrome (hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism).
- Abnormalities of the uterus or the cervix, such as fibroids or polyps.
- Fallopian tube damage or obstruction frequently brought on by pelvic inflammatory illness.
- Endometriosis, a condition in which tissue that usually lines the interior of the uterus begins to extend from the uterus.
- Primary ovarian insufficiency, or early menopause, which happens before the age of 40 when the ovaries stop producing menstrual blood.
- Pelvic adhesions, which are bands of scar tissue that bind organs following surgery for the abdomen or pelvis, an appendicitis, or a pelvic infection.
- Medical disorders include poorly managed diabetes, celiac disease, and several autoimmune diseases like lupus that are linked to the absence of menstruation.
Age also has an impact. Delaying pregnancy may make it more difficult for you to conceive. Age-related changes in your eggs' quantity and quality make it more challenging to get pregnant.
Making healthy lifestyle decisions can support fertility.
- Continue to be a healthy weight. Normal ovulation can be delayed by being overweight or considerably underweight.
- Avoid sexually transmitted diseases. For women, gonorrhea and chlamydia are the two most common causes of infertility.
- Try to avoid working the late shift. Consistently doing the night shift could increase your chances of infertility through affecting hormone production, among many other things. Try to get sufficient sleep at day time if you do the night shift.
Although stress won't stop you from becoming pregnant, you should think about reducing stress and using good coping mechanisms, like relaxation techniques, when you're trying to get pregnant.
Healthy lifestyle choices count here, too. To protect your fertility:
- Quit smoking. Lower fertility is related to tobacco usage. Smoking ages your ovaries and causes an early egg shortage. Ask your doctor for assistance in quitting smoking if you currently do so.
- Drink only a moderate amount of alcohol. Ovulation abnormalities are linked to an increased risk of heavy drinking. If you want to get pregnant, you might want to fully cut out alcohol. Since there is no known safe level of fetal alcohol consumption, abstinence is generally advised at conception and during pregnancy.
- Limit caffeine. Caffeine consumption below 200 milligrams per day does not appear to have an impact on female fertility. One or two 6- to 8-ounce cups of coffee per day might be the maximum amount of caffeine you should consume.
- Watch out for resistance training. Too much intense exercise can prevent ovulation and lower progesterone levels in the body. If you are healthy weight and planning a pregnancy soon, think about keeping your weekly amount of rigorous exercise to less than five hours.
- Keep away from pollutants. Pesticides, dry cleaning solvents, and lead are just a few examples of the environmental toxins and contaminants that can harm fertility.
Bottom line is talk to your doctor if you're thinking about getting pregnant and are anxious about how your lifestyle choices will affect your fertility. He or she can assist you in determining how to increase your fertility and raise your likelihood of becoming pregnant.
ZS DMO II Karla P. Calapardo, RND
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