For some couples getting pregnant happens without any effort at all. For others, it can involve more time – and more effort – sometimes taking up to a year or even a little more to conceive naturally.
But what many couples don’t realize is that while they think they are doing everything "right" to maximize their chances for conception, it’s oftentimes some small and seemingly unimportant factors that can make a big difference in how quickly and easily conception occurs.
To help get you thinking in the right direction, here are 5 proven Fertility Boosters – ways that studies have shown can maximize your conception odds and help you get pregnant faster and easier!
Fertility Booster No. 1: Load Up On Fertility Foods!
While eating a healthy, balanced diet with lots of fiber, fruits and vegetables is always a good way to insure your body is working at peak performance, a recent study of some 17,000 women conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, identified some specific "fertility food rules " that improved conception odds. What are they?
• Eat more monounsaturated fats (like olive oil) and less Trans fats (like the kind found in many baked goods or fast foods).
• Eat more vegetable protein (like soy), while reducing animal protein (like red meat).
• Eat more high fiber, low-glycemic foods — like whole grains, vegetables, and some fruits, while reducing the intake of refined carbohydrates and sugars.
• Keep consumption of high-fat dairy products — like ice cream, whole milk, and cheese to a minimum.
Fertility Booster No. 2: Try Weight Control
Being overweight or underweight can disrupt ovulation – the release of fertile eggs- and play a major role in keeping you from getting pregnant.
Reporting in the journal Human Reproduction, researchers documented a 4% decrease in conception odds for every point in Body Mass Index above 30. For women whose BMI was higher than 35, there was up to a 43% overall decrease in the ability to conceive.
At the same time, other studies have shown that being too thin can also impact ovulatory function and keep you from getting pregnant. This is particularly true if your menstrual cycle is already irregular – a sign that your weight may already be interfering with your ability to get pregnant.
The good news: You don’t have to lose – or gain – a lot to see positive fertility results. In many instances as little as 10 pounds can make a huge difference in encouraging conception!
Fertility Booster No. 3: Hold Hands With Your Spouse!
As silly as that may sound, the key here is stress reduction – and a recent study published in the journal Psychological Science found the simple act of holding hands with your spouse can drop stress levels dramatically.
So can renting a stack of romantic comedy videos – or taking time out to read a book, take a bath, do some yoga, start an herb garden, or anything you know helps reduce your stress levels.
While doctors aren’t sure exactly how or why stress reduction works, in one encouraging study conducted by Alice Domar, PhD, at Harvard’s Mind-Body Institute, women who underwent stress reduction therapy saw dramatic increases in their ability to get pregnant. In fact, even women who were already undergoing fertility treatments had more successful outcomes when stress was kept under control.
