The dream of starting or expanding a family is a profound one, and when you decide the time is right, you naturally want to do everything possible to support your chances of conceiving a healthy baby. Whilst underlying medical factors play a crucial role in fertility, it’s empowering to know that your everyday choices – your lifestyle – also have a significant impact on your reproductive health, for both men and women.
IMy name is Dr. Vrushali Pillai, and as a Senior Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist at Borneo Hospital, Thane, part of the Borneo group serving families across Thane, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, and Raipur, maternal safety is our absolute priority. We believe knowledge empowers families.
This article explores practical, evidence-based Lifestyle Changes To Improve Fertility. These are often the first, positive steps couples can take together on their journey towards parenthood. However, it is essential to understand that while these changes can significantly support natural fertility and complement medical treatments, they cannot always overcome significant underlying medical infertility issues. If you’ve been trying to conceive without success for a year (or six months if the woman is over 35), seeking a professional medical evaluation is vital.
Why Your Lifestyle Matters for Fertility
It might seem surprising, but your daily habits directly influence the complex systems governing reproduction:
- Hormonal Harmony: Your body weight, diet, stress levels, and sleep patterns significantly affect the delicate balance of hormones essential for regular ovulation in women and robust sperm production in men. Imbalances here are common cause of fertility issues.
- Egg and Sperm Quality: The health of the building blocks of life – eggs and sperm – is impacted by factors like nutrition (antioxidants help fight damage), exposure to toxins (like cigarette smoke), and overall metabolic health.
- Creating a Healthy Environment: Your general health influences blood flow, inflammation levels, and the overall internal environment needed for successful fertilisation, implantation, and sustaining a healthy pregnancy.
Making positive lifestyle changes helps optimise your body for conception.
Key Lifestyle Changes for Optimising Fertility (A Team Effort!)
Improving fertility through lifestyle is most effective when both partners are involved. Here are key areas to focus on:
1. Achieve and Maintain a Healthy Weight (BMI):
- The Crucial Balance: Being significantly underweight or, more commonly in today’s world, overweight or obese, can seriously disrupt hormonal balance and impair fertility in both men and women.
- Impact of Excess Weight: In women, carrying excess weight increases the risk of irregular ovulation (especially linked to PCOS), may affect egg quality, lowers success rates with treatments like IVF, and increases risks during pregnancy itself (like gestational diabetes). In men, obesity is linked to lower testosterone, poorer sperm quality (reduced count, movement, and normal shapes), and erection difficulties.
- Impact of Being Underweight: Being significantly underweight (low BMI) can also shut down ovulation in women due to hormonal disruption.
- Finding Your Healthy Zone: Aiming for a Body Mass Index (BMI) within the healthy range (typically 18.5 to 24.9) is a key goal. Even a modest weight loss of 5-10% for overweight individuals can sometimes significantly improve fertility outcomes. Focus on sustainable changes through a balanced diet and regular exercise – avoid crash diets. Our team at Borneo Hospital, including nutritionists, can provide personalised guidance.
2. Embrace a Fertility-Friendly Diet:
- Nourish Your Body: Focus on eating a varied, balanced diet rich in whole foods. Think plenty of colourful fruits and vegetables (for antioxidants), whole grains (like whole wheat roti/chapati, brown rice, oats, millets for sustained energy and fibre), lean protein sources (dals, legumes like chana and rajma, fish, poultry, eggs, paneer), and healthy fats (found in nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil).
- Essential Nutrients: Pay attention to key nutrients: Folic acid (vital pre-conception for women to prevent neural tube defects), Iron (important for preventing anaemia), Zinc (crucial for sperm production), Selenium, Vitamin D, and Omega-3 fatty acids (good for overall reproductive health). A diverse diet help cover these. Discuss pre-conception vitamins with your doctor.
- Limit Processed Foods & Sugar: Reduce intake of heavily processed foods, sugary drinks, excessive sweets, refined flours (maida), and unhealthy trans fats (often in fried and packaged goods). These offer little nutritional value and can contribute to weight gain and inflammation.
- Caffeine Check: While moderate caffeine (1-2 cups of coffee/tea daily) is generally considered acceptable by most experts, excessive intake might negatively impact fertility or pregnancy. It’s wise to be moderate.
3. Engage in Moderate, Regular Exercise:
- Move Your Body: Regular physical activity helps manage weight, reduces stress, improves blood circulation, and boosts insulin sensitivity – all beneficial for fertility.
- Find the Right Balance: Aim for moderate-intensity exercise, like brisk walking, swimming, cycling, dancing, or yoga, for about 30-60 minutes most days. The goal is consistent activity, not extreme workouts.
- Avoid Overtraining: Be aware that excessive, very high-intensity exercise can sometimes negatively impact ovulation in women and potentially sperm parameters in men. Moderation is key.
- Doctor’s Nod: Always consult your doctor before beginning a new exercise routine, particularly if you have any existing health conditions.
4. Quit Smoking (Non-Negotiable):
- Major Fertility Hazard: Smoking is incredibly harmful to reproductive health. It damages the DNA in both eggs and sperm, accelerates ovarian ageing in women (meaning fewer fertile years), increases the risk of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy, and significantly lowers the success rates of fertility treatments like IVF. Passive smoking exposure is also detrimental.
- Action Required: Quitting smoking completely, by both partners, is one of the most powerful Lifestyle Changes That Can Improve Fertility. If you smoke, seek help to quit well before you start trying to conceive. Your doctor at Borneo Hospital can provide resources.
5. Limit or Eliminate Alcohol Consumption:
- Impacts Both Partners: Excessive alcohol use can disrupt menstrual cycles and ovulation, impair sperm production and function, lower hormone levels, and increase the risk of miscarriage. Even moderate drinking might increase the time it takes to get pregnant.
- Safest Approach: When actively trying for a baby, the safest course is for both partners to significantly limit or, ideally, avoid alcohol completely.
6. Manage Stress Effectively:
- The Stress Factor: While typical daily stress probably won’t cause infertility on its own, chronic high levels of stress can interfere with the hormonal pathways that regulate reproduction. Furthermore, the process of trying to conceive can itself be stressful!
- Healthy Coping: Finding effective ways to manage stress benefits your overall well-being and potentially your fertility. Consider practices like mindfulness, meditation, yoga, deep breathing exercises, spending time in nature, pursuing enjoyable hobbies, ensuring adequate sleep, and talking openly about stress with your partner or seeking professional counselling if needed.
7. Prioritise Quality Sleep:
- Hormone Regulation: Sleep is when your body repairs itself and regulates many hormones, including those involved in reproduction. Chronic lack of sleep can disrupt this balance.
- Aim for Consistency: Try to establish a regular sleep routine, aiming for 7-9 hours of good quality sleep per night. Practice good sleep hygiene (a dark, cool, quiet bedroom; limit screen time before bed).
8. Be Mindful of Environmental Exposures (Briefly):
- Limit Exposures Where Possible: Reduce contact with known endocrine-disrupting chemicals (like BPA – choose glass/stainless steel over some plastics), pesticides (wash produce thoroughly), heavy metals, and certain industrial solvents. Men should try to avoid prolonged, direct exposure of the testes to high heat sources. Consider potential workplace exposures and take precautions if necessary.
Specific Considerations for Women
- Track Your Cycle: Understanding when you ovulate is key for timing intercourse. Use methods like tracking your cycle length, observing cervical mucus changes, using ovulation predictor kits (OPKs), or charting your basal body temperature (BBT).
- Folic Acid: Start taking a daily folic acid supplement (at least 400mcg) ideally for 1-3 months before you start trying to conceive.
- Lubricants: If needed, use a ‘fertility-friendly’ lubricant that won’t harm sperm. Check labels.
Specific Considerations for Men
- Avoid Testicular Overheating: Limit time in hot tubs/saunas, avoid placing laptops directly on the lap for very long periods.
- Medication/Supplement Check: Discuss all medications and supplements (including over-the-counter, herbal, and fitness supplements) with your doctor to check for any potential impact on sperm health.
When Lifestyle Changes Aren’t Enough
It’s vital to have realistic expectations. While implementing these Lifestyle Changes That Can Improve Fertility is highly beneficial and can improve chances for many, they cannot overcome significant underlying medical issues. If you have:
- Blocked fallopian tubes
- Severe endometriosis
- Very low sperm counts or motility issues
- Premature ovarian insufficiency
- Certain genetic factors
- Or other diagnosed conditions…
…lifestyle changes alone are unlikely to result in pregnancy.
Seek Timely Medical Evaluation: If you have been trying to conceive for 12 months without success (or 6 months if the woman is 35 or older, or if you have known risk factors like irregular cycles or previous pelvic surgery), it is essential to consult a healthcare professional for a comprehensive fertility evaluation for both partners. Don’t delay seeking expert help.
Borneo Hospital: Your Partner in Fertility Health
At Borneo Hospital, we believe in a comprehensive approach to family building.
- We offer thorough fertility evaluations for couples to investigate potential causes of difficulty conceiving.
- Our team, including doctors and nutritionists, provides personalised guidance on beneficial lifestyle modifications.
- Should medical treatment be required, we offer a full spectrum of Modern Treatments for Infertility, from basic ovulation induction and IUI to advanced IVF and ICSI procedures, all delivered within a supportive and expert environment.
Taking proactive steps to optimise your lifestyle is an empowering choice for couples planning a family. Embracing healthy habits like maintaining a healthy weight, eating a nutritious diet, getting moderate exercise, avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol, managing stress, and prioritising sleep are valuable Lifestyle Changes That Can Improve Fertility and overall well-being. These changes create the best possible foundation for conception and a healthy pregnancy.
Be patient and consistent with these efforts, support each other as a team, but also recognise the importance of seeking timely medical evaluation if you face difficulties. The specialists at Borneo Hospital are here to provide expert guidance and comprehensive care throughout your fertility journey.
