If you are planning to get pregnant at age 40 and above, you need to undergo certain steps to prepare your body for baby-making. Everywhere you look, there are pregnancy magazine articles and books to remind you that a woman’s fertility drops every year you wait. And the scary statistics will tell you, a female’s reproductive capability peaks in their 20′s and will drastically drop down to 22% when she reach the age 35 and above. But before you think of egg freezing, you should remember that a biological clock varies from person to person. Some women can get pregnant easily at age 40 while others run into problems as early as their 20′s. While it is true that you can’t stop the clock from ticking, there are lifestyle changes you can make to improve your fertility and increase your odds of getting pregnant at age 40.
If you want to get pregnant….
See your doctor. The best way to ready your body for pregnancy is to stay at the top of your health. This means putting any fertility-related issues like diabetes, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and endometriosis under control. You can ask your doctor to do this for you. In addition, you need to devise a healthy fertility diet and exercise fit for your body. It is also vital to let your doctor do some tests to check your ovarian reserve. Every woman is born with a certain number of eggs, she will lose them over her reproductive life span. At 10 years before menopause, the number of eggs drops drastically to point where her fertility is compromised. An ultrasound exam and a blood test can check the number of eggs and will tell you if you need to speed up on trying to get pregnant.
Believe it or not, you need to brush and floss your teeth regularly. Why? Several studies suggest that a female’s oral health is somehow related to her reproductive capability. Women who required fertility treatments have bleeding or inflamed gums compared to those who got pregnant naturally. Make it a practice to clean your teeth through flossing and brushing or have it cleaned professionally every 6 months. Avoid alcohol, quit smoking and eating sugary products to keep your teeth and gums healthy.
Practice safe sex while you’re younger. Protecting yourself from sexually- transmitted diseases (STD) is an important step in keeping your reproductive system healthy for baby-making in the future. STDs such as gonorrhea and chlamydia can get into your system unnoticed (without symptoms), if they are left untreated, they can cause scarring in your fallopian tubes and may result to infertility. Get yourself and your partner tested regularly for STDs.
Swear off cigarettes! If lung and breast cancer scares didn’t put you off smoking, consider that it is now linked to 13 fertility-related issues. Smoking can reduce the number of your eggs and make them deteriorate more than it naturally would. Smoking can also increase your chances of having a miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy or it can bring you to an early menopause. All in all, smoking can reduce your pregnancy success by 34 percent. That’s a high percentage so you have to act now and quit smoking as soon as possible.
Take your multivitamins. Look for multivitamins that have at least 40mgs of iron and 400 mcgs of folic acid. These 2 essential nutrients can help stimulate ovulation and can give an embryo the nutrients it needs for development.
Read the e-book Pregnancy Miracle to know more about trying to get pregnant and getting over infertility naturally.