It wasn’t too many years ago that I was excitedly imagining the day I’d learn that I was pregnant. And somehow I found myself standing over negative pregnancy tests, confused and heartbroken month after month, sitting in a cold doctor’s office with questions and being told there is nothing they can do until I’ve tried unsuccessfully to conceive for a full year or more.
As I left that doctor’s office, I wanted to know that I was doing everything in my power to enhance my fertility before we tried other methods to conceive. Over the course of making the changes in the four areas I detail below — some big, some small — I did get pregnant. As a registered nurse, I support and am grateful for conventional medicine — and I now realize that there is so much more I can do to improve my health than just following my doctor’s orders to wait.
Fertility Factor #1: Environment
A factor that we commonly underestimate is our environment. Chemicals in our personal care products, on the food we eat, and in our home materials are invisible and yet they negatively impact us on a daily basis. Many of these toxins work as endocrine disruptors, messing with the body’s hormone production and balance. The amount of chemicals in a single product may seem minimal but collectively they can significantly affect fertility. By minimizing the exposure to these toxins in our environment, we will produce higher quality eggs and pave the way for a healthier pregnancy, too.
Fertility Factor #2: Nutrition
Everyday we are bombarded with messaging about nutrition that makes it confusing to know what foods are truly healthy. And with our busy lifestyles, it can be challenging to find time to cook meals from scratch or not eat while we are “on the go.” But no vitamin or supplement can compensate for the nutrition that we gain from eating whole foods. What we consume lays the foundation for healthy eggs and hormones, contributing to a balanced body that is well-prepared to carry a pregnancy to term.
Fertility Factor #3: Rhythms
Did you know that our bodies can react to stress by refusing to become pregnant? Stress tells our body: “Alert! There’s too much going on right now to bring a baby into the picture!” As many of us live busy, stressful lives, this is a hard pill to swallow! Our lifestyle may be directly hindering our fertility. While we might think we don’t have time to sleep, journal, or meditate now, it may be costing us our fertility.
Fertility Factor #4: Mindset
Addressing our underlying beliefs, fears, anxieties, and insecurities is a key component to optimizing our fertility. IKEA conducted an anti-bullying campaign that compared two plants, one that had negative phrases spoken to it, and another that had affirming phrases spoken to it. After 30 days the first plant was withered and droopy, while the second was healthy and vibrant. If plants are affected by negativity and positivity, how much more so might humans be? Our bodies are listening to our inner voice that critiques, worries, and despairs. Breathe life into your fertility by adopting a loving and affirming mindset towards your body.
Overwhelmed with Where to Start Making Changes?
Struggling with infertility is mentally difficult enough, let alone trying to get our heads in the game to implement changes to our lifestyle. Purchase my Preparing for Pregnancy: Your Fertility Empowerment Workbook — it’s designed to simplify health recommendations, guide you into deeper reflection about your health and body, and provide a structure that enables you to make small, sustainable change in order to produce lasting results — empowering you to enhance your fertility.
All information, content, and material of this website and workbook are for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.