Lifestyle, Nutrition and Supplements

The usual period to conceive can be up to 36 months. Making small changes to your lifestyle could dramatically improve your fertility potential and help you to achieve a pregnancy. The key is ‘everything in moderation’.  Here are some examples:

Coffee

You should try to limit yourself to one or two cups per day (20mg max.). Caffeine can cause infertility for example by damaging sperm DNA.

Timed intercourse

Aim to try around your ovulation on days nine, 11, 13 and 15. This is when the womb lining is the most receptive to the implanting embryo.

Stress

High stress levels can have a negative impact on your fertility. You should find ways to manage stress for example exercise, acupuncture or yoga.

Smoking and vaping

Harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke can affect many aspects including poorer egg and sperm quality as well as disrupting embryo development. Furthermore, it is linked to miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, smaller babies and stillbirth. Vaping might be safer but there are links with sperm damage.

Alcohol

National guidance recommends that no alcohol should be consumed during the preconception period (NHS policy).

Diet

You should try to eat a healthy diet. A Mediterranean diet for example, has been shown to improve sperm quality.

Multivitamins and supplements

Zinc, selenium and L-cartinine are key ingredients for sperm production and taking multivitamins containing these could improve sperm quality over months.

There are some reports that the supplement Coenzyme Q10 can improve egg quality (200-600mg daily). The benefits of the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) however are not clear.

Multivitamins and supplements can be purchased from any health shop.

BMI

Maintaining a healthy weight is important. Ideally, your body mass index should be between 19 – 30 for females and under 35 for males. Body mass indexes outside of these ranges could impact upon your ability to conceive.

Occupation and shift work

Certain types of work can interfere with your ability to conceive. Some jobs can be extremely stressful and you need to find coping mechanisms. Working with chemicals and high heat could damage sperm. There are also emerging reports of shift work also affecting one’s ability to conceive.

Testicular temperature 

Maintain a lower testicular temperature can improve sperm quality. Examples include avoiding hot baths, electric blankets, tight underwear, and heated car seats.