As adults, we sometimes find out that conceiving a child isn’t nearly as easy as it was made out to be in high school health class. For many couples, conceiving not only takes time but may also require the help of a fertility specialist. It’s also common to unintentionally do things you don’t realize are hampering your chances of conceiving.
If you are TTC, it’s important to STOP doing these five things:
1. Holding On to Unhealthy Habits
Most of us have at least one or two unhealthy habits. Maybe you keep yourself running with caffeine all day, indulge in comfort foods when you’re stressed, spend too much time sitting, wind down each evening with a few glasses of wine, or have been a lifelong smoker. These habits are hard to give up, but they could be working against you while you’re trying to conceive.
Consuming too much alcohol and caffeine, smoking, using drugs, eating an unhealthy diet, and being overweight have all been linked to fertility problems. Even your sleep schedule, stress levels, and (for men) exposing your genitals to heat, can interfere with your efforts to conceive. Fortunately, improving your chances of conceiving may be as simple as letting go of unhealthy habits.
If you are TTC, do your best to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Eat a healthy diet, get plenty of sleep, practice mindfulness, and aim for a moderate level of exercise. If you use large amounts of caffeine, try to cut back or eliminate your consumption. And stop using alcohol, tobacco, and other substances. We know this may not be easy, so talk to your doctor if you need help quitting.
2. Exercising Too Much or Too Little
When TTC, the right amount of exercise is more important than you think! Your weight and the amount you exercise has a profound effect on your body’s hormones and overall fertility.
Believe it or not, exercising too much or too little can hamper your efforts to conceive. If you’re overweight, and particularly if you have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), beginning a moderate-intensity exercise regimen may help you lose weight, balance your hormones, regulate your menstrual cycle, and improve semen quality. Conversely, if you regularly engage in high intensity exercise, you may need to lighten and limit vigorous workouts that can interfere with ovulation and lower semen quality.
In general, moderate intensity workouts a few times per week are a great way to boost your fertility. Talk to your doctor about how much exercise is right for you.
3. Ignoring Health Problems
Your overall health has a big influence on your fertility. If you’re TTC and have chronic conditions, like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or autoimmune diseases, it’s important to do your best to manage them. And if you’ve been ignoring undiagnosed health problems, it’s essential to seek treatment.
Fortunately, many conditions that impact fertility can be well managed with medicine and lifestyle changes. Be sure to let your doctor know you’re trying to conceive so that your medicines can be adjusted and you can be appropriately monitored.
4. TTC Without Tracking Ovulation
If you’ve been TTC without tracking ovulation, stop not tracking. That doesn’t mean you can’t have intercourse at other times of the month, but you only have a short window of time–five days before you ovulate and the day of ovulation–to conceive. Knowing when you’re ovulating and ensuring you have intercourse during that critical window greatly increases your chances of success.
If you have regular 28-day cycles, ovulation typically occurs around Day 14 (with Day 1 being the first day of your period). Many women don’t have regular cycles, and you may need to try other methods. Options include using ovulation predictor kits, fertility monitors, hormone blood testing kits, and monitoring your basal body temperature.
Once you have a better idea of when you ovulate each month, you can predict your fertile window. Reach out to a fertility doctor if you have questions on how to best track.
5. Waiting Too Long to Seek Help
Finally, don’t wait too long to seek help at a fertility clinic. Many people delay seeking treatment out of social stigma, fear about a potential infertility diagnosis, or simply not knowing how to wait before seeking help.
How long is too long? Because female fertility drops sharply after 35, experts recommend seeking help after 12 months of trying to conceive if you’re under 35 years old and after 6 months if you’re over 35. But if you’re still within the 6-month or 12-month window, don’t panic. Most people have a 15-25% chance of conceiving during any given month, and it’s totally normal for it to take some time for you to conceive.
What to Take Away
Making simple lifestyle changes may go a long way toward helping you conceive, though these changes aren’t always enough. If you’ve been TTC for 12 months (6 if you are over 35), have a known condition that may impact your fertility, or simply want to learn more about your personal fertility, Halo Fertility is here for you. Schedule an appointment today to get started.
