15 Tips to prepare your body for Pregnancy
Common thought: I want to have a baby soonish, maybe in a year or so but I’m worried I’m going to struggle to conceive, what can I be doing now to prepare my body for when I am ready?
The below is in no way an exhaustive fertility boosting list. It is a reminder that making a baby is probably the most hard and energy demanding thing your body will ever do. So, it’s some tips to boost your health to make it as easy as possible for your body to have enough energy and use it efficiently.
These tips boost health generally so even if you are not looking to conceive anytime soon or you are a 50 year old man, following these guidelines is still beneficial!
Track your cycle - this is not so you can go crazy tracking your exact fertile period and jump on your partner. It’s about learning to listen to your body. Do you know if you ovulate? A surprising amount of women have no idea (I’ll do another post on how to tell soon). Do you know when you are about to get your period?
Exercise less - How much someone should exercise varies, but as a general rule, if you are running and doing high intensity workouts 4/5+ days a week, this is probably too much. You are depleting your body of that energy it needs to make hormones, babies etc. Opt for more restorative forms of exercise like yoga and walking in nature, particularly in the 2nd half of your cycle (from ovulation to period), and whilst you are bleeding.
Eat enough - Most women know that eating disorders like anorexia nervosa stop your periods, (over exercising is doing the same and there is a shocking number of people that come into clinic with disrupted cycles due to overexercise). You don’t have to have an eating disorder for this to be true. Food is fuel, without it your body functions below par. Under eating means that precious energy you have from food is spread thin and making a baby is harder. If you are thinking about having a baby soon, this is not the time to try to be your skinniest ! Opt for 3 balanced meals a day.
Having said that…If you are obese, try to shed the excess weight. Being overweight negatively impacts your health & fertility. For one, fat tissue makes and releases hormones, these mess with everything else.
Balance your meals & your blood sugar - Opt for a form of healthy fat, protein, fibre and complex carbs in each and every meal (yes, including breakfast). If your intake of food is unbalanced, and you are having sugar spikes and crashes throughout the day you are messing with your insulin levels. Insulin is a hormone that affects all the other hormones including cortisol (stress hormone) and the sex hormones you need to make a baby. This means once again energy expenditure is in the wrong place. E.g. Healthy fats (avocado, nuts, seeds, organic extra virgin olive oil), protein (nuts, seeds, lentils, chickpeas, quinoa, organic lean meat, eggs), fibre (nuts, seeds, veggies, quinoa), complex carbs (quinoa, whole grain bread/pasta, brown rice, amaranth).
Eat antioxidants regularly: we all eat badly sometimes, and I think everyone in this group lives in polluted busy cities so our exposure to free radicals is high. Consuming antioxidants helps neutralise them and boosts our overall bodies health. E.g. berries, ginger, turmeric, extra virgin olive oil, veggies, flax seeds
Eat a whole load of veggies, especially the dark green ones daily, yes. Every. Day. I’m not going to go into detail about the benefits of each and every veg, but believe me when I say they are important and full of nutrients and minerals that you need. Veggies are your friend, especially cruciferous veggies (broccoli, kale, spinach Brussel sprouts etc). Opt for 7-8 handfuls a day (this means veg with breakfast + snacks too - hello to hummus and crudités) if you struggle to fit them in smoothies are a good way to boost your veg intake (remember 80% veg to 20% fruit and smoothies retain the fibre over juicing).
Sort out your vitamin D levels - Vitamin D is required for everything from your immune system to your baby making. Get sunlight exposure and if it’s winter take a supplement. I cannot stress this enough. Vitamin D + K2 by Better You is a spray you can get for £7 off amazon. Order it right now.
Sort out your stress - yes, it’s easier said than done I know. But, if you are working until late every night and then buzzing and can’t sleep and feel constantly anxious and like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, and you then wake up at 6am for your 10 mile daily run…well, hopefully I’m exaggerating but think: your body is just not going to have any extra energy to make a baby is it? Also, try not to worry about not being able to conceive too much again, easier said than done. But really worry = stress = cortisol = all deplete precious energy resources.
Sort out your sleep: if you struggle with sleep then now is the time to tackle it. Your body recovers whilst you sleep. If you sleep badly you are more likely to struggle to conceive. Practice good sleep hygiene. Put phones and blue screens away hours before bed. Dinner/last meal of the day should be 2-3 hours before sleeping. Have Epsom salt baths 3 x a week (2 big handfuls into the bath, soak 20mins). Get proper curtains that block out light whilst you sleep, and open them and expose yourself to natural light as soon as you wake up, do NOT sit on your phone in the dark for the first hour of the day. If you can, a short walk outside before starting work goes a LONG way to helping you sleep at night.
Sort out your bowels and digestion. If you have chronic constipation, diarrhoea, IBS, bloating, farting then something isn’t right. We get energy through absorbing the nutrients in the food we eat. If you have digestive issues, you simply are not absorbing right so you have less nutrients and less energy. We eliminate toxins through our bowels and urination. If you aren’t excreting properly (eg chronic constipation), then toxins build up which is detrimental to your overall health
Drink enough water. Aim for 2L per day. If you dont like water put mint lemon or ginger into your water.
Stop smoking, stop taking drugs and cut down on drinking. Really I don’t need to tell you this, but smoking harms your health, your sperm, your eggs, your fertility. Drugs and alcohol do too, a comedown/hangover = energy spent on detoxifying your body, not on anything else.
Avoid processed, refined sugary foods. They have 0 nutritional value, spike your insulin so mess with your hormones, cravings and decrease your overall health and immunity.
Men, get involved. 4/10 cases of infertility are down to the man. Everything above applies to men too. In TCM the health of a man’s sperm not only determines if you can get pregnant in the first place, but it also carries on right through to determine the health, growth and development of your child.