No one enjoys giving up the things they know
and love (like that Trenta latte!), but to have
a baby, it’s worth it, right?.
Smoking
You’re probably already planning on quitting
smoking once you get pregnant (and you
definitely should), but avoiding cigarettes now
will be a huge benefit too. According to the
American Society for Reproductive Medicine,
it takes longer for smokers to conceive, and
smoking makes a woman's eggs more prone
to genetic abnormalities. Smoking increases
the risk of miscarriage and ectopic
pregnancy. In fact, the habit wreaks so much
havoc on fertility that female smokers who
have in vitro fertilization have to attempt it
almost twice as many times as nonsmoking
women do in order to conceive. Oh, and your
partner should quit smoking too. Men who
smoke cigarettes have lower sperm count
and motility (swimming speed), and more
sperm abnormalities.
Too much caffeine
Relax: You don't have to cut out your
morning cup of joe. But if you consume more
than 200 milligrams of caffeine — that's
about one to two eight-ounce cups — per
day, you should ease up. Heavy caffeine
consumption has been associated with
fertility problems. Plus, you won't want to
overdo it during pregnancy (caffeine interferes
with your ability to absorb iron, can
dehydrate you and, in high doses, can
increase miscarriage and preterm birth risk),
so it's worth cutting back now.
Binge drinking
Sorry to break the news, but you should skip
your friends' bar crawl while you're trying to
conceive , or at least stick to sparkling water
while you're there. That's because drinking
to excess (more than two drinks each day) is
linked to irregular periods, lack of ovulation ,
and abnormal estrogen and progesterone
levels, which can make it harder to conceive.
Plus, if you're charting , it can make it
challenging to temp accurately.
The other reason why you might want to nix
the alcohol is because, well, you'll have to
anyhow once you get pregnant, to eliminate
the possibility of fetal alcohol syndrome , and
it will take about two weeks (or more) after
you conceive to know that you're actually
pregnant. Tell your partner to limit his
alcohol intake too. There's evidence that
drinking can affect his fertility as well.
Extremes in weight
Do you think you might be extremely
overweight or underweight? Calculate your
body mass index (BMI) using this tool
now. Having a low BMI (18.5 or less) or a
very high BMI (over 30) could cause you to
have irregular or missed periods. And being
extremely underweight could make you stop
ovulating altogether. Obesity can increase the
risk of pregnancy complications such as
gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, birth
defects and the need for a c-section . So it's
important to be at a healthy weight when
you're trying to conceive.
If you fall into either of these categories, talk
to your doctor about how to get to a healthy
weight. You'll want to eat right, getting
plenty of nutrients; exercise; and drink plenty
of water. Often, even a small weight gain or
loss is enough to get your body ready to
make a baby, as long as it's done healthily..
..
.
Passing on the veggies
The jury's out on whether certain foods
actually make you more fertile, but there's
one thing the experts agree on: If your body's
in a healthy state, you're more likely to
conceive, so eating right is essential. The
other important reason to say no to the fries
and yes to the spinach salad is folic acid.
This B vitamin is found in leafy greens and is
important to have present in your body
before and after conception to prevent birth
defects. Doctors recommend you also take a
vitamin with at least 400 micrograms of folic
acid while you're trying to conceive.
Neglecting your teeth
If you've been lax, now's the time to get
back on track with your dentist appointments
— and make sure you're flossing. You and
your partner should both get your pearly
whites super-healthy before you get
pregnant. Poor oral hygiene can affect a
man's sperm, and if you have gum disease, it
could increase your risk of having a
premature delivery and low-birth-weight
baby. Yikes!.
.
.
Being a couch potato
Keep making excuses not to exercise? Stop!
One study found that doing regular, moderate
physical activity—brisk walking, leisurely
cycling, golfing and gardening—cut the
amount of time it took women to get
pregnant.
.
.
Extreme exercise
You want to stay fit, but you don't want to
overdo it. In the same study we mentioned
above, vigorous exercise increased the
amount of time it took women to get
pregnant. We're not saying to skip your
morning run if that's what you've always
done, but working out to the point of
interfering with your menstrual cycle, as
some marathon runners and gymnasts
experience, can mess with your fertility.
.
.
BPA
Time to invest in a metal water bottle—BPA,
aka bisphenol A, is a chemical found in
plastic items, such as water bottles, food
containers and even in the lining of aluminum
cans. Some studies have led scientists to
believe that high BPA exposure could mess
with men's and women's fertility, potentially
lowering sperm count or reducing the number
of viable eggs. There's virtually no way to
prevent BPA exposure altogether, but you can
limit yours by avoiding canned foods and
avoiding consuming anything from a plastic
container with the recycling number 3 or 7 on
it (usually on the bottom of the container).
.
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Stressing out
We've all got a little bit of stress in our lives,
and experts disagree on whether stress can
_cause _infertility. But there's evidence that
chronic or intense stress can do a number on
your reproductive system, and, well, having
trouble getting pregnant can cause quite a bit
of stress! So if you feel that your stress
levels might be affecting your health and
your ability to conceive, talk to your doctor
about ways to cope. Several studies have
found that alternative medicines , such as
yoga and acupuncture, have actually
shortened the time it took for infertility
patients to get pregnant.
High-mercury fish
Some fish are higher in mercury than others—
most notably marlin, orange roughy, tilefish,
swordfish, shark, king mackerel, and ahi and
bigeye tuna. High levels of mercury in the
blood have been linked to fertility issues in
both men and women. Plus, mercury can stay
in your system for a year or more, and can
harm a fetus's developing brain and nervous
system, so avoiding it will increase your
chances of a healthy pregnancy. Love
seafood? There's plenty that's considered
low-mercury, including anchovies, catfish,
clams, crab, crawfish, flounder, haddock,
herring, mackerel, oysters, salmon, sardines,
scallops, shrimp, sole, squid, tilapia, trout and
whitefish. You can have two six-ounce
servings of low-mercury seafood per week
while pregnant.
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