6 Ways to Increase Your Chances of Having a Baby
1. Do Not Smoke
If you smoke cigarettes, you should quit as soon as possible. This will enhance your chances of having a baby, not to mention your general health and the health of your baby.
If you smoke cigarettes, you should quit as soon as possible. This will enhance your chances of having a baby, not to mention your general health and the health of your baby.
Smoking cigarettes is harmful to a woman’s ovaries. The amount of harm depends upon the amount and how long a woman smokes. Smoking accelerates the loss of eggs and may advance menopause by several years. Similarly, smoking cigarettes reduces the quality and quantity of sperm, can genetically damage sperm, and can also lead to impotence.
Stopping smoking really does make a difference. About three months after you quit, the levels of nicotine and other toxic chemicals in your blood and follicular fluid or semen will begin to drop, and in about one year the chemicals should be cleared from your body.
2. Limit Your Alcohol Intake
Drink no more than two ounces of alcohol twice per week. Large quantities of alcohol, particularly for men, may damage reproductive function. Men who are heavy drinkers risk having low testosterone levels, sperm abnormalities, and erectile dysfunction.
Drink no more than two ounces of alcohol twice per week. Large quantities of alcohol, particularly for men, may damage reproductive function. Men who are heavy drinkers risk having low testosterone levels, sperm abnormalities, and erectile dysfunction.
A woman should not drink while pregnant to avoid damage to her unborn baby. Heavy drinking can lead to major abnormalities in the baby and to fetal alcohol syndrome, which results in growth, mental, and physical problems for the baby.
3. Reduce Stress
If you feel as if you are under stress, consider meditation, yoga, massage therapy, or other similar relaxation techniques. Harvard researchers have found that practicing relaxation techniques regularly for six months can help infertile women become pregnant.
If you feel as if you are under stress, consider meditation, yoga, massage therapy, or other similar relaxation techniques. Harvard researchers have found that practicing relaxation techniques regularly for six months can help infertile women become pregnant.
You may want to consider getting emotional or psychological support from a counselor. Many hospitals and community centers offer stress management classes. In these classes, you will learn techniques to deal with stressful situations and how to minimize stress in your daily life. The best fertility clinics also provide a psychologist or counselor to help you understand what may be stressing you out. If the stress has advanced to the stage that you feel depressed, it certainly is time to seek professional help. If need be, go to joint counseling sessions to work through your feelings.
4. Exercise Regularly and Moderately
Physical activity is good for your reproductive health as well as your overall health, but don’t overdo it. A man who exercises to exhaustion may show a temporary change in hormone levels and a drop in sperm quantity and quality. We recommend that our male patients run less than fifty miles per week or bicycle less than one hundred miles per week to maintain optimum fertility.
Physical activity is good for your reproductive health as well as your overall health, but don’t overdo it. A man who exercises to exhaustion may show a temporary change in hormone levels and a drop in sperm quantity and quality. We recommend that our male patients run less than fifty miles per week or bicycle less than one hundred miles per week to maintain optimum fertility.
For our female patients, it is generally recommended that they set moderate exercise limits. For example, training for or running a marathon can lead to hormonal defects in the menstrual cycle and may even disrupt menstruation and ovulation. The intensity of exercise, eating habits, body fat levels, and amount of stress a woman experiences may all contribute to menstrual problems. We evaluate each woman individually to make sure that her exercise activity is balanced by adequate caloric intake.
5. Watch Your Weight
You’re most likely to produce large numbers of vital sperm and quality eggs if you maintain a healthy weight. Too much or too little body fat may disrupt production of reproductive hormones. This can reduce sperm counts and increase the percentage of abnormal sperm and can also interfere with ovulation. A woman needs to have a body mass index (BMI) of at least 20 for her to continue ovulating regularly.
You’re most likely to produce large numbers of vital sperm and quality eggs if you maintain a healthy weight. Too much or too little body fat may disrupt production of reproductive hormones. This can reduce sperm counts and increase the percentage of abnormal sperm and can also interfere with ovulation. A woman needs to have a body mass index (BMI) of at least 20 for her to continue ovulating regularly.
If you are an obese woman or have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), your body may be resistant to the hormone insulin, and insulin resistance has been linked to ovulation problems. If you lose weight, you can reduce this insulin resistance and may improve your chances of ovulating on your own. Obese men tend to have low testosterone levels, high levels of estrogen, impaired fertility, and poor sexual quality of life. But if they lose weight, their sex hormone levels will likely improve along with their sex lives.
6. Eat a Healthy Diet
We recommend that a woman eat the freshest, healthiest food for three months before conception and for the nine months of pregnancy. The mainstays of the diet for you and your partner should be fresh fruits, leafy, green vegetables, nuts and seeds, beans and lentils, lean meat, oily fish, some dairy products, and eggs. Actually, it’s like eating the way your grandparents ate—fresh foods untainted with chemicals.
We recommend that a woman eat the freshest, healthiest food for three months before conception and for the nine months of pregnancy. The mainstays of the diet for you and your partner should be fresh fruits, leafy, green vegetables, nuts and seeds, beans and lentils, lean meat, oily fish, some dairy products, and eggs. Actually, it’s like eating the way your grandparents ate—fresh foods untainted with chemicals.
A diet of too many processed foods and not enough fruits and vegetables does not provide the necessary fertility-promoting nutrients. Convenience foods are often low in vitamin B complex and essential minerals. Fresh foods are always more nutritious.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Zev Rosenwaks, M.D., is the director and physician-in-chief of the Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical Center. He is also the Revlon Distinguished Professor of Reproductive Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology and professor of obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University. Marc Goldstein, M.D., is director of the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Microsurgery and surgeon-in-chief of male reproductive medicine and surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center. He is also the Matthew P. Hardy Distinguished Professor of Reproductive Medicine and Urology at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University. Mark L. Fuerst is a health and medical writer and the coauthor of nine books, including The Couple’s Guide to Fertility. Together they are the authors of A Baby At Last!: The Couple's Complete Guide to Getting Pregnant—from Cutting-Edge Treatments to Commonsense Wisdom (Copyright © 2010 Zev Rosenwaks, M.D. and Marc Goldstein, M.D., and Mark L. Fuerst).
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