Trying to get pregnant?
The road to parenthood is an exciting part of life.
But when you try over and over again with no result, it’s normal to start feeling frustrated and hopeless.
The statistics are in your favor: about 80% of couples successfully conceive within a year of trying.
And to increase your chances of getting pregnant, there are a few useful tips and natural ways in which you can boost fertility.
We’ll share the 10 most helpful ways in which you can work towards boosting your fertility, starting today!
Let’s dive in!
10 Tips to Boost Fertility
#1. Have a Healthy Diet
Having a healthy diet is the first and most crucial step to boosting fertility naturally.
The food that you consume has a significant effect on your bodily functions, hormone levels, and therefore fertility. That’s why it’s so important to maintain a healthy diet that can boost fertility.
This includes:
Eating Foods Rich in Antioxidants
Foods rich in antioxidants help you to detoxify your body. This way, you reduce the number of free radicals that damage egg cells and sperm.
Eating foods packed with antioxidants like vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, lutein, and folate will help you in the long run.
Some studies show that adult men who eat 75 grams of walnuts a day have better sperm quality while women who have higher folate intake can increase their chance of implantation.
Foods rich in antioxidants are:
- Green leafy veggies like spinach and kale
- Avocados
- Nuts and seeds like walnuts, cashews, almonds, sunflower, and sesame seeds
- Seafood
- Lean meats
- Whole grains like bran, brown rice, and quinoa
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Chickpeas and kidney beans
Eating a Bigger Breakfast
Eating a bigger breakfast and a smaller dinner can increase your fertility.
Research shows that getting the biggest amount of calories in the morning instead of the night can improve hormone imbalances caused by polycystic ovary syndrome.
So, if you have this condition, making a change in your eating habits can decrease insulin by 8% and testosterone up to 50% which can result in a fertility boost.
But keep in mind that if you increase your calorie intake during breakfast without reducing your dinner size, this might cause you to gain extra weight.
Eating Healthy Fats
Healthy fats can boost fertility and improve your overall health.
Including more healthy fat foods in your diet and avoiding trans fats can improve both yours and your partner’s fertility.
That’s because trans fats contain many preservatives and chemicals. In turn, this results in health risks, higher insulin resistance, and an increased chance of infertility.
Trans fats are found in foods like:
- Vegetable oils
- Peanut butter
- Margarine
- Processed foods
- Baked goods
- Fried food
Instead, aim for foods that contain healthy fats. For example:
- Avocados
- Fatty fish
- Nuts
- Coconut and coconut oil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Chia seeds
Cutting Down on Refined Carbs
Foods like white bread, pasta, pizza, and pastry are a source of mainly refined carbs. However such carbs can spike your blood sugar and insulin levels.
When the majority of your diet consists of refined carbs, your insulin levels are constantly high.
But insulin resembles some ovarian hormones that are responsible for your proper ovulation.
So the high insulin tricks your body into thinking it doesn’t need to produce more of the reproductive hormones. In turn, this affects the proper egg maturation and ovulation process.
Also, if you have polycystic ovary syndrome cutting on carbs overall and maintaining a low-carb diet will improve some of your symptoms like:
- Maintaining normal weight
- Having regular menstruation
- Reaching normal levels of insulin
- Reducing body fat
Eating More Fibers and Plant-Based Protein
Eating more fiber-rich foods can help your body release excess hormones like estrogen and progesterone.
Some studies show that having a high-fiber diet can decrease infertility risk by 44% for women above 32 years.
But you should also not consume more than the recommended daily dose of fiber since this can also lead to a hormone imbalance. For women, the recommended dose is up to 25 grams and for men up to 31 grams.
If you're unsure about how much fiber you should consume, consult your doctor to understand whether you should make any changes to your fiber intake.
Some high-fiber foods are:
- Fruits: pears, apples, strawberries, bananas
- Veggies: carrots, broccoli, artichoke, beets
- Legumes: lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans
- Grains: quinoa and oats
Also, pay attention to where you get your proteins from. If at least 5% of your protein comes from plants instead of animals, you can decrease ovulatory infertility by more than 50%.
Plant-based protein sources are:
- Green peas
- Spinach
- Asparagus
- Lentils
- Chickpeas
- Quinoa
Choosing High-Fat Dairy
If you consume one or more serving of high-fat dairy, you reduce the risk of infertility by 27%.
So, once or twice a week you can consume high-fat Greek yogurt or have a glass of whole milk instead of the low-fat alternative to boost your fertility.
#2. Reduce Stress
Modern life is stressful enough. But when you’re also trying to get pregnant that puts extra pressure on you and your partner.
But the more stressed you are, the less you’re predisposed to conceive. Stress has many negative effects on your mental health, hormone levels, and fertility.
While eliminating stress is impossible, you can try to reduce it. By reducing stress, you are naturally boosting your fertility.
Make time for yourself. Once or twice a week take your mind off all the chores you have to deal with daily.
You can also try to practice some relaxing activities like yoga, meditation, and journaling that will bring more balance and harmony to your daily routine.
#3. Use Natural Fertility Supplements
Maca is an ancient plant grown in the Peruvian mountains. This adaptogenic herb is a natural fertility booster for both men and women.
Maca can also improve sperm quality in both fertile and infertile men. It is an all natural product that can help boost your fertility.
This adaptogenic herb has a positive effect on your libido and supports the health of your reproductive system.
Apart from boosting your sex drive, maca can improve your energy levels, boost your mood, and optimize your metabolism.
It’s also pretty nutritious and provides your body with a healthy dosage of iodine and iron.
However, you might find the taste of maca to be too strong, so it’s better to take the supplement as a capsule.
#4. Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is important to maintain normal bodily functions, energy, and hormone levels.
If you’re trying to get pregnant, sleeping at least 8 to 9 hours every night will help you. It's a great natural step to take if you're trying to boost your fertility.
This way, your body is rested and your fertility increases.
Lack of sleep, on the other hand, can disrupt the regularity of your menstrual cycle.
So, if you have the habit of staying up late and have irregular sleeping schedules, try to follow a bedtime routine.
If that seems too hard, you can try to do something relaxing at night before sleeping. Don’t do any work-related tasks and stay away from bright screens.
#5. Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine
The more alcohol you consume, the more you decrease your fertility.
That’s because alcohol interferes with the normal production of estrogen in your body and the chances of egg implantation reduce.
And even though a glass of wine from time to time probably won’t hurt, it’s better to stay away from alcohol altogether to reach optimal fertility levels.
Alcohol can also harm your partner’s sperm quality. In this case, he should avoid binge drinking and limit the number of drinks to 14 alcohol units the most.
Also consuming more than 500 mg of caffeine a day may result in a long time to get pregnant. Just cut back on caffeine as much as possible. To be on the safe side, you can entirely remove it from your daily routine.
But if you find this difficult, try to keep your caffeine intake to no more than 250 mg which is 1 to 2 cups of coffee a day. This amount of caffeine should not affect your fertility.
And if you're tracking your caffeine intake, remember that caffeine is contained not only in coffee but also strong teas like black and green tea and chocolate.
By avoiding alcohol and caffeine intake, you will be boosting your fertility naturally.
#6. Quit Smoking
Smoking is bad for you even if you don’t have fertility problems. It leads to many health issues, accumulation of toxins in your body, and the risk of lung diseases.
And if you’re trying to get pregnant, smoking affects both yours and your partner’s fertility.
Cigarette smoke contains many toxins that affect your ovaries’ health, makes them age prematurely, and depletes egg supply faster than the normal rates. Also, smoking affects sperm quality in men.
The result? Smokers take on average 2 months longer to conceive.
And fertility decrease is not the only negative effect. If you want to conceive, you have to quit smoking also to protect the health of your baby.
So, the faster you quit smoking, the sooner you'll start cleansing your body from all the toxins and start naturally increasing your fertility.
#7. Watch Your Weight
Weight is another crucial factor that affects your chances of getting pregnant.
Being both underweight and overweight can lead to many more fruitless tries to get pregnant.
If you’re overweight, your estrogen levels might be too high, mess up with the ovulation process in your body, and result in irregular menstruation and impaired egg quality.
So, if you’re in the overweight range, consult your doctor on how you can lose some weight and naturally increase your chances to conceive.
You can try to do some exercises and eat a healthy and nutritious diet. Especially if you suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome, exercise can help you regulate your hormones and insulin sensitivity.
And being underweight also leads to lower fertility and irregularities in your menstrual cycle. So, it would take more time to conceive.
To boost your fertility, you can try to put on some weight. But do this the healthy way. Combine active exercise regime with 3 full meals a day with lots of nutrients, protein, carbs, and healthy fats.
#8. Know Your Cycle
Needles to say, your chances of getting pregnant during ovulation are much higher than other times of the month.
So, knowing your cycle and ovulation periods can be super useful if you want to take advantage of the most fertile time of the month.
But to do that you need to know the length of your cycle and the days in which you ovulate.
For every woman, that’s strictly individual since cycle lengths vary from 28 to 35 days. So your period starts on the first day of menstruation while ovulation starts halfway through to your next cycle.
And it’s even harder to predict it if you have an irregular cycle. So, tracking it might be even more challenging.
However, you can always get an ovulation prediction kit in almost any drug store. With the kit, you can test your urine to see the levels of the luteinizing hormone in your body and predict with accuracy your next ovulation.
This hormone is higher than usual when you’re ovulating and it stimulates your ovaries to release an egg. So, once the levels of this hormone start rising (usually 3 days before you ovulate), you test positive and you know it’s time to get busy.
Another way to figure out the time of ovulation is to get an ovulation calculator app and track your cycle and fertility peaks with it.
[featured-product handle="positively-pregnant"]#9. Exercise Regularly
Getting regular exercise can naturally boost fertility, however, avoid heavy workouts.
Most women who train intensely have trouble conceiving. If you’re working out already, that’s great! But make sure your workouts are not exhausting.
Try to stick to lighter workouts, don’t lift heavyweights in the gym, and cut back on your workouts (if you’re training every day).
#10. Pay Attention to His Health Too
Your partner’s fertility is just as important as yours. A good amount of exercise, a healthy diet, and some natural fertility supplements can go a long way. Also, avoiding things like drinking, smoking, stress, and lack of sleep can increase sperm quality and mobility.
However, if you both follow a regime and still do not get any results within a year, you should consult a doctor.
Women over 35 who haven’t conceived within 6 months should also go through fertility evaluation with a medical expert.
Conclusion
There are many natural ways in which you can boost fertility - both yours and your partner’s.
With little patience and healthy changes to your lifestyle, you have a better chance of conceiving and getting on the exciting journey of being a parent sooner than you expected.
So, don’t give up, keep trying, and you’ll see a boost in your fertility very soon.