Waiting for the desired pregnancy is a time of effort, hope interspersed with fear, but also a period when it is worth helping nature a bit. Regardless of whether you have just started your efforts for a child, or you have been trying for a while and still do not see the desired “result”, it is worth implementing ways to increase fertility.
- Regular traffic. In a healthy body, healthy mind! Also in terms of fertility. Studies show that women who regularly practice sports for a year before conception are much less likely to have anovulatory cycles. Just one hour of physical activity per week reduces the risk of such a cycle by up to 7%. Women who exercise intensively for five hours a week have the best chance of conception.
- Bet on natural moisturizers. Artificial lubricants are a thing of the past if you’re planning a baby. Researchers at the University of Texas have warned that many commercially available lubricants are just as dangerous to sperm as spermicides. That’s why it’s better to try natural moisturizers or … more intense caresses.
- Start taking folic acid. Every woman of childbearing age should take it. Folic acid is one of the best ways to protect your baby from malformations. It is good to start taking it even a year before the planned pregnancy. Another advantage of folic acid is its effect on fertility – it supports the efforts for a child by both future mothers and fathers. Men whose diet is enriched with folic acid produce up to 20% less defective sperm than others.
- Lose excess weight or gain weight while underweight. Incorrect body weight makes it difficult to try to enlarge the family. Both overweight and underweight women are up to half as likely to become pregnant as women of normal weight. Where did this problem come from? Well, ladies who weigh too much produce too much estrogen, androgens and insulin, which inhibits the production of eggs and deteriorates their quality. Skinny women’s bodies produce too much leptin, which stops ovulation, because with very high levels of leptin, the brain is told that the body doesn’t have enough fat to reproduce.
- Drink milk – you will be fertile. Whole milk in the diet supports the process of ovulation. Skimmed milk, on the other hand, works the other way around, so it is worth reaching for dairy products with 3,2% fat content. If you don’t want to gain weight, reduce your calorie intake in other foods.
- Avoid trans fats. That is, those that are formed in the curing of margarine, during frying, grilling, baking. Too much of this type of fat disrupts the functioning of cells, promotes circulatory diseases, increases the amount of “bad” cholesterol. They also reduce fertility. If you want to avoid their harmful effects, reduce the consumption of such dishes and introduce substitutes – e.g. healthy oils, in the form of coconut oil for frying or avocado for spreading on bread.