Preconception Care

How to boost fertility to enhance conception

Improving your health before trying for a baby is the best health insurance you could ever pass on to your child. As a Naturopath, I believe that its what you do before you get pregnant that ensures the best health for mum and the baby.

Would you dedicate 4 months of your life to getting healthy if it would  improve the health of your family’s future generations? This is what preconception health care is about. Think of it as the vital “4th trimester” of pregnancy, the time you spend before you fall pregnant to ensure you maximise your chances of a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.  

Over the past 12 years I’ve practiced as a Naturopath in Brisbane and it’s been inspiring to witness the healthy pregnancies that my clients have who follow a preconception health care program. Most of them have enjoyed symptom free pregnancies,  worked full time while pregnant and delivered full term, healthy babies.

I see a lot of women who come to me for the first time after their first baby is around 12-18 months old and they’re feeling tired, run down, hormonal, have gained weight are are out of sorts.  A good pre and post natal health program ensures that the woman isn’t depleted from pregnancy and breast feeding and feels the best she possible can throughout the early stages of motherhood.

The aim of preconception health care is to:

• * boost fertility
• * improve quality of egg and sperm
• * improve uterine lining for successful implantation of the embryo
• * boost nutritional status of the mother for a seamless, healthy pregnancy
• * pass on the best quality DNA to offspring by correcting nutrient deficiencies and avoiding toxins
• * reducing exposure all factors that impair the health of egg, sperm and the foetus such as alcohol, caffeine, heavy metals  & environmental chemicals

It takes a minimum of 4 months to improve your fertility with preconception health care.

Why? Because this is how long sperm and eggs take to mature. While eggs and sperm mature, they are at risk to damage from nutrient deficiencies, chemical toxins and radiation.

Sperm formation takes 80 days, so in approximately 3 months, semen health parameters such as sperm count, sperm quality and DNA quality in the sperm can be affected by diet, lifestyle and environmental factors. Sperm health has been linked to miscarriage risk, around of miscarriages are estimated to be due to defective sperm. I’ve seen semen analysis tests improve after boosting the nutrients needed for healthy sperm formation and following a clean, toxin free diet.

Egg Maturation takes around 120 days until the egg is ready to be released at ovulation, during this time, eggs are at risk of damage due to nutrient deficiencies and toxin exposure.

A Preconception Program involves:

1. Healthy Diet

Fresh, organic produce, free of chemicals and preservatives. High in protein, lots of veggies and whole grains.

Until I studied nutrition, like many people, I thought I ate a pretty healthy diet. Once you educate yourself on the hidden additives in our food and the way most food is grown and produced, you realise that there’s a lot of room for improvement.

2. Avoiding foods that are know to reduce fertility or be detrimental to hormone health

Alcohol, caffeine, processed sugars and heavy metals such as excess copper found in unfiltered water all have adverse effects on fertility.

3. Exercise

Exercise is essential to regulate the body – obesity has been linked to reduced fertility and pregnancy complications. Exercising also helps us feel good and release stress.

4. Stress reduction techniques

Stress impacts negatively on the reproductive health of men and women, suppressing hormones vital for healthy eggs and sperm. Learning to reduce stress and sleep well is a vital part of getting pregnant.

5. Reducing environmental toxin exposure

During a preconception plan we ask you about your  cleaning products, cosmetics, drinking water, use of plastics, workplace chemical exposure and chemical exposure during childhood. A hair mineral test for heavy metals is essential and helps us to know if any metals such as mercury from amalgalm fillings, copper from copper water pipes and lead from paint/ petrol are affecting fertility.

6. Radiation

Guys – get a manbag and get those mobile phones out of your front pocket! A recent study in Hungary showed sperm production dropped by 30% in men who carried their phones close to their body eg in trouser pockets.

8. Hormone Health

A hormone test is essential to help us know if your hormones are healthy. I like to use saliva hormone testing and blood testing to get a really accurate picture of the hormones and how they are working.  The liver and the digestive system are essential for healthy hormones as they help us to detoxify and recycle our hormones in a healthy way. If you suffer from bloating, constipation, irregular bowel motions you may need some help correcting this to ensure your hormones detoxify well.

9. Love

This may sound silly, but spending time to deepen your relationship with your partner or if you’re single, your relationship with yourself is a vital part of being fertile. Love, happiness and feelings of security help our nervous system stay in a relaxed state, which is conducive to fertility.

10. Vitamins and herbs to boost fertility

We are choosing to have babies later in life and as a population, our fertility is declining compared to our grandparents generation. There’s many theories why, but I think poor diet and environmental chemicals are largely to blame. This is where herbal medicines help to improve hormone health to boost fertility. Many of my clients that I routinely test, have multiple nutrient deficiencies such as low Iron, Vitamin D, B12, Folate and Zinc. Correcting deficiencies dramatically improves energy levels and helps eggs and sperm to mature properly and reduces the likelihood of DNA damage during the maturation process.

Evidence to support preconception health care

Modern research into preconception health care was started by the Foresight Group in the UK.  They developed a “get healthy before you get pregnant” program involving healthy diet, nutritional supplements and reducing exposure to chemicals like pesticides and household cleaners.  They have completed a number of population studies into couples trying to conceive with some inspiring results.

Results of the Foresight Programme

Research by the University of Surrey on the Foresight Programme followed the progress of 367 couples. The women ranged in age from 22-45 years, the men from 25-59 years. By the end of the study 89% of the couples had given birth. The average gestational age was 38.5 weeks.  There were no miscarriages, perinatal deaths or malformations. No baby was admitted to Special Care.

Upon coming to Foresight 41% of couples had had no previous adverse reproduction history, but among these were the older couples. 37% had a history of infertility, 38% had a history of previous miscarriage, 11% had had a therapeutic abortion, 3% had suffered a stillbirth, 15% had had small for dates babies or low birth weight babies and 2% had had babies with a malformation. 70% of the mothers had no prior children; 30% had 1-3 children already.

60% of the women drank alcohol, and 57% of them smoked. 90% of the men drank alcohol and 45% of them smoked. Approximately 2% admitted smoking cannabis mostly in the past.

Of the couples coming to foresight with no history, 96% had given birth by the end of the study. (2 years)

The following problem groups had also given birth by the end of the study with these percentages:

Foresight Study 2003
Foresight completed a further, larger study with 1,061 couples. Results show similar excellent outcomes, with a conception rate of 78.4% of a healthy baby within two years of following the program.

This study also suggests a more than doubled conception success rate for IVF of 47.1% following preconception health care.

Would you like to book an appointment to get healthy before trying for a baby?

The Naturopaths at Vibe Natural Health offer appointments at our clinic at 210 Days Rd, Grange in Brisbane.
Visit our appointment diary on the top right of screen to book now.
If you have questions, please email us rather than commenting on the blog at info@vibenaturalhealth.com.au

Or phone us on (07) 3366 7970. We would love to help you!