"What is wrong with me?", "Why it seems so easy on other
but not me?", "I'm ready but it just doesn't happen…", "I'd
been trying for so long, but it just…" I understand how you feel, trust me...
I do. So here I am sharing you some tips that I'd gathered and I hope this will
help you too!
Build Up Your Foundation
This seems to be the easiest, but not to all of us... Some of us
struggled forever to get this right, like myself. I'm a foodie and love all
kinds of food, for sure, not the healthy type. Hahaha!!! Having a solid
foundation will go a long way, and it is not a one-day process:
- Have
a Balanced diet
I'm not asking you to
whopper down all the healthy food in huge proportion, just to cut down on fatty
food and fast food. You still have your cheat day, once or twice a week. Start
off by reducing oil, fats, sugar and salt intake. You can refer to this link
for a guideline: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/balanced-diet-women if
you want go on a strict healthy diet. Or alternatively, here's a rough guide I
gave myself:
- Drop
those bad habits
If you smoke, quit! If
you drink, cut down! Try to have at least 6-8 hours of undisturbed sleep. I'm as guilty as you are, so cut it down….
- Top
up with Supplements
Hmm… I have to
emphasize again that I'm neither a doctor nor a nutritionist, but these are the
set of supplements I took after long research and study. It does not harm but doesn’t
mean you should eat in huge quantity.
- Vitex
Vitex, also known to
many as Chasteberry is said to correct hormonal imbalances in women and
resulting in a regular menstrual cycle and increase of level of progesterone[i]. Although
there is insufficient evidence to proof that Vitex alone can cure infertility,
it does have great results in improving the probability of fertility in woman[ii].
Dose: One tablet per day
Where to get it: You can buy this herb easily over the counter. I got
mine from GNC in case you cannot find them.
NOTE: STOP TAKING THEM ONCE YOU ARE PREGNANT!
- Royal Jelly
Although there is no
documented evidence in human of RJ's increase in fertility rates, but there are
evidence that it may be effective in improving pregnancy rates in ewes[iii].
I used to be a sickly
child and had been taking RJ since the age of 20. It does helps to boost up my
immunity and health[iv].
Hence, I think there's no harm since it also contains antioxidants, and helps
beautify your skin.
Dose: One tablet, alternate day (alternate this with
Coenzyme), you can get your hubby to take them too (same dose). How much to take
per day depends on dosage recommended for the brand you buy, but I don't take
it every day since I'm taking RJ.
Where to get it: Easily available over the counter. No preferred
brand, Mine is originated from Australia.
NOTE: STOP TAKING THEM ONCE YOU ARE PREGNANT!
- Coenzyme Q10
We all know that one of the main requirements for a
healthy pregnancy is "egg quality", especially for 'mature' woman
like us. It is an antioxidant and known mitochondrial nutrients, which may help
in our eggs performance[v].
Even if it doesn’t have evidence showing that it'll help,
it’s not going to hurt to take it as a supplement since it is not expensive and
have positive skin benefits to help you stay young and beautiful[vi]!
Dose: One tablet, alternate day (alternate this with Royal
Jelly), you can get your hubby to take them too (same dose). How much to take
per day depends on dosage recommended for the brand you buy, but I don't take
it every day since I'm taking RJ.
Where to get it: Easily available over the counter. For me, I got
Blackmores as I trust the brand (there's no need for you to go for high dose).
NOTE: STOP TAKING THEM ONCE YOU ARE PREGNANT!
- Folic Acid
If you are planning to
get pregnant, please start taking folic acid, or at least have diet with a good
yield of folate. Evidence shows that birth defects occur within the first 3-4
weeks of pregnancy. So it's important to start early when your baby's brain and
spinal cord are developing. Well, I'm not asking you to take 5mg as prescribe
by gynae, just have it in your system rather to totally omit.
Dose: 2 tablets of 500 mcg per day
Where to get it: Easily available over the counter. For me, I got
Blackmores Folate, as I trust the brand (there's no need for you to go for high
dose).
NOTE: Has to continue even after you are pregnant. It vital for 1st trimester.
- Zinc
This mineral helps to
keep your immune system strong, strengthen your health. It does not help in infertility,
but we all know that we need a healthy body to begin this journey isn't it?
Dose: One tablet per day (depending on the dose suggested
for the brand you purchase)
Where to get it: You can buy this mineral easily over the counter.
NOTE: You can continue this after pregnancy, to boost your
immune system. Take it with Vitamin C for better results.
- Vitamin C
Boost your immune
system and beautiful skin!
Dose: One tablet (500mg) per day
Where to get it: You can buy this herb easily over the counter.
NOTE: If you are taking enough of the daily dose of
vegetables and fruits, you can skip the tablet, like I always do. I have this
in the list as I sometimes do not have enough of vegetables in my diet.
Other tips… Try avoid
cold drinks, your body will conceive better with warm body. This is an advice
given by most Chinese physician. So, start drinking warm water, tea, coffee,
malt drink, etc. BUT, PLEASE STOP ALL CAFFEINE DRINKS ONCE YOU ARE PREGNANT,
i.e. no coffee, tea or even chocolate products. If you must, limit to 1 small
cup per day…
Start an Exercise Regimen
Whether you are above or below your ideal BMI, you still need to do some
workout. If you are below, eat more and gain some weight. If you are above,
then you may consider work-out more, instead of the minimum of 30-minutes. You can check you BMI via this link here: http://tunza.com.au/ThePlanet/templates/theplanet-00/BMICalculator-Index.htm
Well, I'm not asking you to be a triathlon champion or participant. Haha!
I'm asking you to do a minimum of 30-minutes exercise per day, as it helps you
to improve you stamina, boost your health, strengthens and tones your body,
improve your quality of life and as a form of weight management.
Go for a Simple Check
I'm not saying that's something wrong with you, but just to make sure
you are in perfect condition to have a healthy baby! At the very least, go for
a fallopian tubes blockage scan, especially if you are in your mid or late 30s.
This is a very common phenomenon and I can assure you, there's nothing for you
to be ashamed of. You may be surprise to know that THIS IS ONE OF THE TOP
REASONS FOR INFERTILITY (top 3 in some countries)!
Here's how it happens… During a normal menstrual cycle, the lining of
your uterus will thicken and be ready for pregnancy. In cases if your egg is
not fertilized, this lining will shed and the process will repeats itself. In
the case of fallopian tube(s) blockage, for some reasons, tissue similar to the
lining tissue (endometrium) may sometimes grow in the structures grow outside
of the uterus, in various places that it shouldn't. I.e. in or on the ovaries,
the fallopian tubes, the various structures that support the uterus, and the
lining of the pelvic cavity[vii].
This results in blockage or scarring of the fallopian tube and prevents egg
from being fertilized by the sperm. Or worst, partial blockage may end you with
an ectopic pregnancy. Here's an illustration that may help you understand more…
The test sometimes helps to 'unblock' the tube and you may not even need
any medication and will be able to conceive naturally, like me. Otherwise, the
gynae will advice you further.
Some other test that you may be interested will be the transvaginal
ultrasound – to see your supply of eggs, your pelvic health and your uterus
wall conditions; blood test and semen analysis. Ask your gynae for more details.
Stay Happy and Relax
Stress is definitely not good. Different people react to stress
differently. Some women stop ovulating due to stress and causing them unable to
conceive[viii].
Keeping a positive mindset and a relax body will help you go further. I mean
both you and your partner. Man will have more sex urges when they are not
stress.
Kept this from your partner
We all know, man stressed easily. Do your ovulation cycle monitoring via
thermometer and all of the above. So long both of you have consensus, there's
no need for you to spell it out to him to have sex with you on the "peak
dates". The moment you do, he will feel stress and will not have the urge
to touch you. Girls… try to avoid urinating and washing up after sex, give the
sperms a chance to move up to your Fallopian tubes.
Good luck and tell me if this helps!
[i] Westphal, L. M., M. L. Polan, and A. Sontag Trant.
"Double-blind, placebo-controlled study of Fertilityblend: a nutritional
supplement for improving fertility in women." Clinical and experimental
obstetrics & gynecology 33, no. 4 (2005): 205-208.
[ii] Westphal, Lynn M., Mary Lake Polan, Aileen Sontag Trant, and S. B.
Mooney. "A nutritional supplement for improving fertility in women."
J Reprod Med 49, no. 4 (2004): 289-93.
[iii] Kridli, R. T., and S. S. Al-Khetib. "Reproductive responses in
ewes treated with eCG or increasing doses of royal jelly." Animal
reproduction science 92, no. 1 (2006): 75-85.
[iv] Ramadan, Mohamed Fawzy, and Ahmed Al-Ghamdi. "Bioactive
compounds and health-promoting properties of royal jelly: A review."
Journal of Functional Foods 4, no. 1 (2012): 39-52.
[v] Bentov, Yaakov, Navid Esfandiari, Eliezer Burstein, and Robert F.
Casper. "The use of mitochondrial nutrients to improve the outcome of
infertility treatment in older patients." Fertility and sterility 93, no.
1 (2010): 272-275.
[vi] Prahl, S., T. Kueper, T. Biernoth, Y. Wöhrmann, A. Münster, M.
Fürstenau, M. Schmidt et al. "Aging skin is functionally anaerobic:
Importance of coenzyme Q_ {10} for anti aging skin care." Biofactors 32,
no. 1-4 (2008): 245-255.
[vii] http://www.webmd.com/women/endometriosis/endometriosis-and-fallopian-tube-problems
[viii] Seibel, Machelle M., and Melvin L. Taymor. "Emotional aspects
of infertility." Fertility and sterility 37, no. 2 (1982): 137.
