Is Your Lifestyle Encouraging Conception?

When it comes to your body and fertility, there are various factors that can influence your outcome. Even something as simple as your lifestyle can make a difference when it comes to conception, your pregnancy, and the health of your developing baby.

The good news is, while you don’t always have control over other factors, you do have control over your lifestyle choices and affecting your success in these areas, particularly when it comes to fertility. For a successful conception, consider evaluating your lifestyle choices to determine whether they support or hinder your chances of success.

 Your daily dietary intake will affect your fertility success rate. We recommend the Mediterranean diet, which focuses on consuming a variety of protein and vegetables. Fish, in particular, is a healthy wellspring of the omega 3 fatty acids. A healthy balance is key, as is limiting consumption of ocean fish, such as swordfish and tuna because of their concentration of mercury.

Include healthy whole grains, and limit or avoid processed foods including white rice, white bread, etc. Limit your consumption of simple sugars to fresh fruit when possible. We do encourage eating the darker pigmented fruits–blueberries, blackberries, cherries, and pomegranates, as they are high in vital antioxidants. Antioxidants provide healthy egg and sperm rates as well as quality.

 Your overall health will have a direct impact on your fertility success. For instance, if you have high or low body weight (BMI) this can affect your ovulatory function. BMI is the measure of your body fat based on your weight compared to your height. For those who are over 35 with a high BMI index, they have a harder time getting pregnant and a higher risk of miscarriage when they do. Before conception, we encourage achieving a healthy BMI index to increase the success of ovulation and fertility.

 One of the ways you can decrease your BMI is by increasing your exercise levels. Not only will this help to stabilize healthy weight levels, but exercise, such as cardio workouts (brisk walking, jogging, indoor cycling, indoor rowing, swimming) 20-40 minutes 3 days a week encourages fertility rates in both men and women. It promotes weight maintenance while lowering stress levels and increasing healthy levels of blood flow. Moderate exercise is key, however, since strenuous exercise can have the opposite effect, negatively affecting your fertility.

If you would like to know about how fertility is impacted by your lifestyle choices, we invite you to call our team at Utah Fertility Center at 801-785-5100. We will be happy to schedule your consultation with one of our experienced Reproductive Endocrinologists in Pleasant Grove, Murray, Ogden, or St. George, Utah. We look forward to supporting your fertility and conception success!