4 ways to naturally improve your fertility

Sleep

Melatonin also known as the sleep hormone is responsible for regulating your sleep-wake cycle. This hormone is a powerful antioxidant that scavenges free radicals that are wreaking havoc in your body. So necessary is this function such that melatonin is found in the follicular liquid of the follicles which host the eggs that will later on be released for ovulation. It helps preserve egg quality and contributes to the release of viable eggs, increasing chances of ovulation and a healthy conception. Melatonin production peaks at night and is suppressed during the day to keep you awake. Sleep deprivation in the form of sleeping late, ‘pulling an all nighter’, cutting sleep short, waking up multiple times at night and insomnia deregulates melatonin production. Also, exposure to blue light at night from phones, laptops etc disturbs melatonin production.

What to do: Put screens away at least an hour before bedtime. Aim to be in bed by 10pm and sleep in a dark room. If you find you are restless and can’t sleep only to feel tired when you wake up the next morning consider using an adaptogen like this vitality blend to help counter the effects of stress and fatigue.

Think

Whether you think you can or you cannot, you’re right.’- Henry Ford

Stress, anxiety and even depression are not uncommon in women who are having trouble conceiving. Unfortunately, this only further drives the body into ‘defence mode’ where your body chooses survival over fertility, putting aside other processes like conceiving and digestion to manage stress. Find out more here. Anti-depressant drugs are commonly prescribed to help women manage anxiety and depression. These drugs have shown to reduce fertile cervical mucus, suppress ovulation and increase prolactin(high levels of prolactin suppress ovulation).

Your mind is a powerful force that has the ability to create its own reality. When we picture meditation, we perceive it to be sitting on a mat, shutting your eyes and trying to stay still which is often difficult especially when dealing with anxiety. But guess what? you meditate everyday! What you focus on, what you dwell on, what you draw you attention to, the thoughts you spend energy on, that’s meditation!

What to do: Replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts, speak out loud what you want to see happen. Every time those anxious thoughts creep in whispering in your ear that you’re infertile or your body is too broken to conceive, counter it with ‘my body is capable, it knows how to do this, it can and will carry life.’ As you repeat this you rewire your brain to see the same situation in a different light and over time your body responds to these positive messages. Journaling and speaking with someone you trust will help you externalise the anxiety alleviating the physical stress it causes on your body.

Eat

You are what you eat. Eating fertility-friendly diet is of utmost importance when trying to conceive (TTC), pregnancy is the most taxing event on a woman’s  body and it requires good quality nutrition for you and baby. Nutritional deficiencies have been linked to ovulation problems and early miscarriages.  Essential fatty acids (EFA) like Omega 3, 6 and 9 play an immense role in fertility. A diet deficient in EFAs has been linked to inflammatory conditions like diabetes, hepatitis and obesity.There is also a correlation between a lack of dietary EFAs and hormone imbalance particularly oestrogen dominance and recurrent miscarriages. EFAs are healthy fats that help reduce inflammation in the body improving conditions like hormonal acne, PMS and endometriosis. They are also necessary for proper blood circulation in the uterus, healthy follicle formation and egg quality as well as proper brain development of the foetus.

What to do: Avoid unhealthy fats in fried foods and processed foods, they cause inflammation. Reduce intake of dioxins (a toxin) largely found in the fat of meat and in plastic water bottles. Dioxins are hormone diruptors, inflammatory and carcinogenic.

Nuts, seeds, avocados, olives and their oils are excellent sources of EFAs that will regulate hormones, improve fertility and aid a healthy pregnancy. Consider Seed cycling, a method used to  balance hormones and stabilise an irregular menstrual cycle by using flaxseed and pumpkin seed in the first half of the menstrual cycle, then sunflower and sesame seeds in the second half.

Move

Stagnant waters are the breeding ground for diesease, this is no different for your body, especially your pelvis. Poor circulation in the pelvic region is synonymous with conditions like fibroids, endometriosis, blocked fallopian tubes, early miscarriages and dark/brown coloured menstrual blood. When it comes to fertility, keeping active is important and mindful movement is vital. The health and tone of a uterus can not be overstated, it is needed for proper menstruation, sustaining a pregnancy and preventing cancer, fibroids and other growths.

What to do: Fertility yoga(a form of mindful movement) can help strengthen the core and improve hip mobility, a little more hip would make the baby making process more adventurous right?! Be sure to add pelvic floor exercises to your workouts. Along with exercises to improve uterine tone, try this herbal tea with Red raspberry leaf an excellent uterine tonic used to prepare for pregnancy. It strengthens and nourishes the uterus with essential vitamins and minerals needed for the childbearing year.

For more information on tracking your fertility plus making your diet and lifestyle more fertility-friendly, listen to Season 2 of the podcast which covers natural fertility.