Boost Your Fertility: 5 Natural Ways To Get Pregnant
For couples who are looking to have a new addition to their family, it's time to skip the calendar, charts, and countdowns of when your partner is expected to ovulate and boost your fertility naturally. According to Womanshealth.gov, approximately 10 percent of women in the United States between the ages of 15 and 44 have trouble conceiving or staying pregnant due to problems with ovulation, blocked fallopian tubes, physical problems with the uterus, or uterine fibroids. While some risk factors of infertility cannot be altered — such as age — women can modify behaviors that have been tied to low fertility rates, such as smoking, excess alcohol consumption, and poor diet. "Know your body!" said Lisa Pugliese, R.N., of Conception Wellness, a holistic women's health clinic in San Diego, to Medical Daily. "Some women who have had difficulty conceiving have been trying at the wrong time of the month!"
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The inability to conceive is not always connected to a woman's body. Male infertility can also play a role in a couple's chances of getting pregnant. Low sperm accounts, poor sperm quality, or both, account for more than 90 percent of reported male infertility cases, says the University of Maryland Medical Center. For males, infertility can be addressed through drug therapy that can treat hormonal disorders or surgery to repair any damage in the male reproductive system.
For women who want to boost their fertility naturally and increase their odds of getting pregnant, Pugliese and other medical experts have shared some tips with Medical Daily to help you get that baby bump.
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1. Gluten-Free Diet
Pugliese advises women to cut out the bread. "Many women have sensitivity to gluten, which can lead to infertility in women," she said. Findings published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, found that celiac patients — people who have a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and disrupts the absorption of nutrients from food — who did not adhere to a gluten-free diet showed signs of "delayed menarche, secondary amenorrhea, a higher percentage of spontaneous abortions, anemia and hypoalbuminemia." However, celiac patients who did follow a gluten-free diet had normal pregnancies. Screening for a gluten syndrome can be an option for infertile couples.
2. Get tested for an STI or infection
A sexually transmitted infection (STI) or any other infection that is undiagnosed can affect a woman's ability to conceive. "Testing is easy and affordable!" said Pugliese to Medical Daily. Planned Parenthood Federation of America offers free to low-cost services to those who qualify. To see if you are eligible for free STI Testing, visit Planned Parenthood's website.
3. Take folic acid
Women who have a genetic mutation that does not allow them to convert folic acid into its usable form, 5MTHF, are susceptible to infertility, said Pugliese to Medical Daily. Not only does this genetic mutation increase women's risk of infertility, but may also lead to miscarriage. For women trying to conceive, taking folic acid in the form of 5MTHF is highly important to increase odds of pregnancy.
4. Exercise
"One study showed that three days of fitness a week for 30 minutes can increase ovulation more than a low-calorie diet in women with PCOS," said Angela Grassi, MS, RD, of the PCIS Nutrition Center to Medical Daily. The form of exercise does not have to be intense but it must be consistently done in order to be effective.
5. Keep stress levels under control
Cortisol, the stress hormone, is one of the biggest factors that contribute to hormonal imbalance. For a woman to conceive, her hormones must be in balance, so when her stress levels are too high, especially chronically, she will have a difficult time getting pregnant. "Cortisol throws off all of the hormones because it places the body in a flight or fight state so that the other hormones do not have a chance to do their own jobs," said Mindy Berla, certified holistic nutrition and fitness specialist at Brooklyn Academy Roots in Oakland, Calif. to Medical Daily. Focus on your body and find a place to sit at peace and take deep breaths to naturally relieve the tension and stress levels in your body.
Read more: Addicted to Pregnancy? Couple Expecting 17th Baby, Used Fertility Drug Clomid
For more tips on how boost your fertility naturally, visit Parenting.com.