Everyone wants to know the magic secret to getting pregnant as quickly as possible, what to do, the best fertility supplements to take, and foods to eat (as if there’s a “one size fits all” solution for everyone). Unfortunately there’s no magic combination of those things to get you pregnant as soon as you start trying, but there are things you can do that can help the process along while you become a healthier version of yourself in the process! This is the first part in a 3-part series all about improving fertility.
Beginning Your Fertility Journey
It can be overwhelming when you and your partner make the decision to start trying to get pregnant. There’s so much information out there and you might not know where to start. A good starting point is to begin “prepping” your body about 6 months prior to wanting to become pregnant. This means your diet, exercise and overall lifestyle. Prepping your body can be helpful since your eggs go through cycles, which means the quality of your eggs cycle is about 120-150 days.
When beginning your fertility journey, egg health is something to be mindful of. Some people believe that if you’re over 35, it will be harder for you to get pregnant when in reality, your ability to get pregnant relates to your egg health. Taking care of your body at any age is important, but when beginning your fertility journey and trying to conceive, identifying the inflammation in your body and improving your overall health can make a in different in seeing that second line turn pink.
Best Fertility Supplements
Most of the time when preparing your body to conceive, women just grab a prenatal and that’s it. It’s a great start, but you need to make sure it’s a pharmaceutical grade prenatal, and the levels of ingredients are important and should be customized for you specifically. As far as other supplements go, it’s important to remember that supplements only assist in getting your cells to a healthy place, your lifestyle, diet and exercise are super important.
>>read more about How to Nourish Yourself Before Pregnancy here<<
It’s also important to remember to not over-supplement because your body might not be able to metabolize everything you’re taking. That being said, here are a few other important supplements to be aware of when trying to conceive:
>>Find Your Top Quality Fertility and Prenatal Supplements Here<<
Testing to Improve Fertility
When you’re trying to conceive, you really want to be so in-tune with your body. Understanding what causes inflammation, where your hormone levels are at etc. Regardless of your age (under or over 35, it doesn’t matter), ask your doctor to do a full blood work panel and a full thyroid panel. Your thyroid is a huge part of your endocrine system. It’s crucial to know what is going on with your thyroid when trying to conceive! We also recommend testing for TPO (thyroid peroxidase antibodies) and TG (thyroglobulin) tests. These are autoimmune markers that could impact your ability to get pregnant.
You’ll also want to test for MTHFR genes with an endocrinologist or reproductive endocrinologist. A regular OB likely won’t do the test (but by all means ask). Having this gene doesn’t mean you can’t get pregnant, it just means there are things you might have to do differently in your journey (specifically the form of B12 supplements you take)!
Lastly, make sure the doctor you currently have is the doctor you want to go on this journey with. Push to have this testing done so you know exactly what you’re working with. If you get pushback, find a doctor that will listen to you and order the testing.
For the full conversation with Elizabeth King, a certified international fertility coach, watch below!
Prepare Your Body
Trying to get pregnant can be stressful but it doesn’t have to be. We believe knowing and understanding your body, living a healthy lifestyle, along with the right mindset can help improve your fertility. While you are preparing your body for pregnancy you can begin to learn more about your body. You can slo learn about your core (including pelvic floor), nutritional needs and more with our Prenatal + Postnatal Knocked-Up Fitness and Core Rehab membership.
