Steps To Improve Your Pregnancy Chances
Trying to conceive is one big waiting game – you can never tell if this will be the month that pregnancy test turns positive. But luckily, there are a few ways to help boost your chances of getting pregnant. Sure, you can track your cycle and follow all the baby-making tricks in the book, but sometimes what you do not do is just as important as what you do.
Here are some foods, activities, and habits to avoid when trying to conceive.
Neglecting your teeth
If you have been lax about dental hygiene, now is the time to get back on track with your dentist appointments and make sure you are 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 count, and if you have gum disease, it could increase your risk of premature delivery and low-birth-weight baby.
The reason poor dental hygiene can negatively affect fertility is due to the increased risk of periodontal disease (gum disease) and tooth decay.
Exercises
One study found that doing regular, moderate physical activity – like brisk walking, leisurely cycling, golfing and gardening – cut down the amount of time it took women to get pregnant.
Extreme exercise
You want to stay fit, but you do not 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 are not saying to skip your morning run if that’s what you have 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
You may want to take a hard look at what your water bottle is made of. BPA, aka bisphenol A, is a chemical found in some 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. Limit your BPA exposure by avoiding canned foods.
Stressing out
Everyone experiences a little bit of stress at one time or the other, 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 – one study found that women with higher levels of the stress biomarker had a two-fold increased risk of infertility. And of course, 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, among others. High levels of mercury in the blood have been linked to fertility issues in both men and women.
Also, 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 are many that are considered low-mercury, including catfish, clams, cod, crab, crawfish, flounder, haddock, herring, oysters, salmon, sardines, scallops, shrimp, sole, squid, tilapia, trout, whitefish among others.
You can have two to three four-ounce servings of low-mercury seafood per week during pregnancy.