It probably comes as no surprise that the most common birthday in New Zealand is 29 September. With ten of the most common birthdays occurring between 22 September and 4 October, it seems “summer loving” is alive and well.
But for many modern couples, fertility is a heart-wrenching journey, often taking years for the magic to truly happen. Myself and the BePure Clinic have been supporting couples’ fertility for more than 15 years and some of our most surprising success stories have come in this field.
It appears to me that once you give the body what it needs and it’s able to get back into balance, the process of conception often occurs effortlessly.
Here are some of BePure’s priorities for successfully supporting fertility.
“It takes two to tango”! Often, infertility discussions focus on one partner, but we’ve found the best success occurs when both partners look to improve their overall health and hormonal balance.
Stress can lower testosterone in men and progesterone in women – and stress can come in many forms, from mental/emotional to financial, physical or even nutritional.
The key is to reduce stress as much as possible in every area. Research shows that taking control of areas of our life can reduce perceived stress, so take control: ensure you are sleeping 7+ hours a night, eating as well as you can, exercising some (but not too much), making sure you have plenty of downtime and taking high-quality extra nutrients to support your system.
Take extra nutrients
Extra nutrients are of vital importance for both parties at conception and in the long run for the mother-to-be.
For sperm production and motility, I recommend a high-quality multi that contains male fertility essentials such as zinc, selenium and vitamin D and E, as well as high-quality fish oil with levels of EPA and DHA above 1000mg per serving.
For mums-to-be, the support is unsurprisingly more complex, since she’ll be growing a completely new human within her. Look for products that will support gene expression (containing B9, iodine and B12), bone development (containing vitamin D, calcium and vitamin K2), blood production (B6, B9, B12 and iron) and brain development (choline and broad-spectrum B vitamins).
I’d also recommend high-quality fish oil, a DHA, one of the active ingredients of fish oil, is also very beneficial to the baby’s brain development.
Avoid hormone-based contraception
Look to move away from hormone-based contraception for at least a year prior to starting to try for a baby, so the body has adequate time to return to a natural hormonal balance, which is key to supporting natural fertility.
If you’ve been diagnosed with hormonal dysfunction like endometriosis or polycystic ovarian syndrome, then most likely you’ve got a little more work ahead of you; however, I’ve seen successes in many couples who have focused on supporting hormonal balance.
I’d recommend seeing a naturopath where they can run a DUTCH test or visit EVE Wellness for a home test kit that comes with complete interpretation and recommendations to support your hormone balance.
While you’re working on the above it leaves plenty of time for practice. Enjoy your summer.
