15% of couples of reproductive age have problems conceiving. Among the factors that can cause these difficulties, there are some related to lifestyle that can be corrected. We tell you what are the habits that may be keeping you from your dream of being a mother.
The habits that we carry day by day affect our health in general, for better or for worse. One of the aspects that can be harmed or benefited by these habits can be fertility. If you are experiencing problems achieving pregnancy, it may be advisable to correct some of these customs and lead a healthier life . Although it is essential that you consult your doctor to study your case specifically, below we review some of the daily habits that can have the most negative impact on reproductive health.
Contents
1. Have a bad diet
Eating an unbalanced diet can boycott your intentions to become pregnant. Excessive consumption of processed products , animal fats, refined sugar or salt is not favorable for conception . In addition, these favor overweight and obesity , which cause alterations in the menstrual process. Therefore, if you want to achieve this, we recommend that you start taking care of your diet and go for foods rich in antioxidants and folic acid . It is also important to get an adequate supply of vitamins B, C and E, as well as zinc and selenium, which improve the quality of sperm. Your best allies? Fruits and vegetables
Also, there are supplements especially intended for women trying to get pregnant to help them prepare their bodies and provide them with the necessary amount of folic acid to prepare maternal tissues. We recommend Femibion Pronatal 1 , which can help the mother prepare her body and have correct levels of folates¹ in the preconception stage and in the first months of pregnancy. Specifically, it is recommended for women from the time they start the pregnancy search until the end of week 12. It contains folic acid, Metafolin®, which is an active form of “ready-to-use” folate, other vitamins and iodine. It also has vitamin D, which contributes to the normal function of the immune system and the process of cell division.
It is important to note that the closure of the neural tube, which is the forerunner of the baby’s central nervous system, occurs between days 22 and 28², a time when many women do not yet know that they are pregnant. Therefore, it is highly desirable to have adequate folate levels from the time conception is planned to help prevent neural tube problems.
Another key aspect around folic acid is that 1 in 2 women do not metabolize it correctly³. That is, 50% of women have an alteration in an enzyme that causes it to lose part of its activity and therefore it is not possible to metabolize folic acid optimally. Femibion has the advantage of having Metafolin®, an “active form” of folate that does not need to be transformed and can be used directly by the body of the future mother.
2. Stressful situations
Stress, in addition to affecting many other aspects of your life, also affects your fertility . When an alteration occurs in the central nervous system, this influences the hormonal cycle, which regulates the reproductive system. To prevent this from happening, we recommend that you avoid these situations and relax whenever you can.
3. Little sleep
Lack of sleep influences metabolism and increases stress , so it can reduce your chances of conceiving. So, try to get enough sleep (between 7 and 8 hours a day). Setting a time to go to bed or reduce activity during the previous hours can help you sleep better . It can be very interesting to follow a sleep hygiene routine that includes not eating at least two hours before sleeping so that digestion does not affect sleep or being exposed to screens for a time before sleeping so that the circadian rhythm is not impaired .
4. Smoking
In both women and men, tobacco use reduces fertility . Smoking can cause cell damage, cause disorders of the menstrual cycle, and impair semen quality. However, those damages are reversible if you stop smoking, so say goodbye to tobacco!
5. Drink alcohol
As with tobacco, alcohol abuse also reduces the chances of having a child , both in men and women. Drinking two or three alcoholic drinks a day would already negatively affect fertility. Will you consider this before ordering the next round?
6. Do not exercise
Not exercising enough, in addition to damaging your overall health, also affects your chances of getting pregnant. Physical activity stimulates blood circulation and reduces stress, and it also gives you many other benefits, such as those you can see in the gallery. Of course, we recommend that exercise be moderate , because competitive sport, due to its intensity, can reduce fertility.
Plus, you don’t have to leave home or go to the gym to stay fit. In a corner of the living room or your room, you can practice sports with little material and even follow sports routines that you find on the internet. There is no excuse!
7. Use lubricants
Yes, as you read it. Some lubricants contain substances that can alter sperm and reduce their mobility. Make sure that the product you use does not have aggressive components!
8. Drowning or pressuring you to get pregnant
That’s right, that desire to become a mom may be causing the exact opposite. Although it is convenient to have sex during the most fertile days (there are ovulation tests on the market that can help you), you should not lose sexual spontaneity either. Strictly programming sexual intercourse, obsessing or feeling pressure , can cause that stress that, as we have already mentioned, is not beneficial.
Have you taken note? From here we encourage you to change all these habits, since doing so can help you improve your health and achieve the positive you are looking for in the pregnancy test .
- 1. Supplemental intake of folic acid increases the level of maternal folate. A low level of maternal folate is a risk factor for the development of neural tube defects in the developing fetus. Therefore, it is recommended that women take 400 micrograms of supplemental folic acid daily for a period of at least one month before conception and up to three months after.
- 2. McNulty B. et al. Human Reproduction, 2011, Vol. 26, Issue 6, 1, p1530–1536.
- 3. 50% of women present an alteration in an enzyme that causes it to lose part of its activity ᵃ and therefore it is not possible to metabolize folic acid optimally ᵇ ᶜ ᵈ . / a) Crider KS et al. MTHFR 677C-T genotype is associated with folate and homocysteine concentrations in a large population-based, double-blind trial of folic acid supplementation. Am J Clin Nutr 2011; 93 (6); 1365-1372. / b) Yan L et al. PLoS One 2012; 7 (10): e416892012. c) Kirke PN: BMJ 2004; 328 (7455): 1535–1536. d) Christensen B et al .: Am J Med Genet. 1999 May 21; 84 (2): 151-7.
- The Femibion range products are food supplements and should not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Do not exceed the recommended daily dose of 1 tablet (Femibion 1) and 1 tablet and 1 capsule (Femibion 2). Keep out of the reach of little kids.
