A healthy diet is crucial to a successful pregnancy and a healthy baby, many people are unaware of the fact that diet can help to correct hormone imbalances that may affecting your ability to conceive. There are also certain foods and drinks that are known to lower fertility

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• Diet - to optimise fertility and reduce chances of miscarriage your diet needs to include the best nutrition. For eg non-organic meat has the potential to damage egg health and quality as well as the quality of  sperm. Farm fed fish is often fed antibiotics, try to eat wild rather than farmed. Eat plenty of organic vegetables, fruit and protien sources - fish, lentils, beans, quinoa. Pesticides on fruit and vegetables are hormone disruptors and can cause problems with reproductive hormone levels. Whole grain nuts and seeds are rich in fibre and healthy fats, zinc and selenium all of which improve sperm production, motility and morphology. pumpkin seeds, sunflowers seeds, pecans, brazil nuts, walnuts and hazelnuts.

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• Reduce Toxins - give up smoking, alcohol, caffeinated tea and coffee - all of these can reduce fertility. Smoking can reduce fertility by as much as 40%. Smoking has been linked with infertility in women and can also bring early menopause. Smoking also decreases sperm count in men, making the sperm more sluggish, and increase the number of abnormal sperm. There is lots of evidence to show that caffeine, particularly in the form of coffee, decreases fertility. Drinking as little as one cup of coffee a day can half your chances of conceiving and just two cups a day increases the risk of a miscarriage. One study showed that problems with sperm: sperm count, motility and abnormalities, increase with the number of cups of coffee consumed each day. Recommendations are to try and give up gradually over a period of weeks to avoid withdrawal symptoms such as headaches.. Alcohol also has a devastating impact on sperm morphology and mortality and general health and well-being. Alcohol has a pre-conception impact upon the quality of eggs. The current guidelines from the royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on drinking alcohol during preconception period and early pregnancy that no alcohol should be consumed for woman trying to conceive and in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

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• Avoid workplace and environmental pollution - store food and drink filtered water from glass containers, avoid plastic or cling film which can contain xenoestrogens. If possible, avoid potential cosmetic toxins such as those found in some hair dyes and nail polishes. As the foetal nervous system begins to develop during the first 4 weeks of pregnancy.

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• Sleep - is vital to our health and well-being, if sleep is poor, interrupted, or erratic the body can’t undertake the important repair work that keeps it functioning at its best. Poor sleep impacts all the body’s systems including its ability to produce healthy sperm in men and thriving eggs and a fully functioning menstrual cycle in woman. In addition, poor sleep patterns promote weight gain which in turn upsets the balance of our reproductive hormones. Fat cells produce their own oestrogen leading to excess oestrogen in the body, upsetting the menstrual cycle in woman and interfering with sperm production in men. Woman who are involved in shift work may be at an increased risk of irregular menstrual cycles, endometriosis, infertility, miscarriage, low birth weight babies or pre-term delivery.

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• Stress - is a complex condition which affects almost all parts of the body in some way: Cortisol; a hormone released in response to stress, can cause the release of an inhibiting hormone that reduces the production of Follicle Stimulating Hormone and Luteinizing Hormone. Both these hormones are integral to the release of the egg and the implantation of embryo after fertilisation. Stress can be detrimental to the chances of a successful pregnancy as stress of modern life can be long-lasting and shut down our reproductive system for a long time. Stress is an issue for both sexes, so it is equally important that both partners undertake some method of reducing their stress levels. 

 

• Exercise - moderate amounts of exercise such as brisk walking for 20 minutes 3 times a week, yoga, swimming re important for maintaining health. Too much exercise however can negatively impact fertility. In particular, because it builds muscle and reduces body fat it can lower oestrogen.

 

• Water - should be increased in the second half of cycle – post ovulation. For implantation to take place the endometrium requires good blood flow – and blood flow is hampered if we are dehydrated. Small amounts of water hourly is recommended to ensure constant hydration from ovulation until bleed.

  

• Supplements - scientific research has shown that to maximise your chances of conceiving and staying pregnant eliminating nutritional deficiencies and improving sperm production and mobility you can dramatically increase your chances of getting pregnant with a good quality multivitamin and mineral.

 

• Supplements for men that can have a negative impact on fertility - St John’s Wort, Echinacea, and Ginkgo Biloba -Can affect sperm quality and the sperm’s ability to penetrate the egg.

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• Useful blood tests - include Vitamin D levels, Vitamin B12 levels, folate and feritin levels, thyroid function, FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) levels and LH (luteinising hormone) levels.