So you’ve decided to start a family! Congrats — this is a big first step. But while your heart and mind are ready, your body may not be. Now is the time to work on your overall health to boost your fertility. Even if you are in relatively good health and of child-bearing age, conception isn’t a sure thing — nor is a healthy pregnancy.

At every stage of life, your body is a temple — but if you’re hoping to get pregnant, you’ll need to take especially good care of yourself. You already know that you’ll be giving up your vices (like recreational drugs or heavy drinking) and hanging up your skydiving helmet for the meantime. But there’s much more you can do to ensure your body is a safe and healthy place for your baby to grow. For more specific details and advice please see our Lifestyle Resources section.

There are a number of daily supplements that can support a woman’s overall health and fertility. A good prenatal vitamin can ensure a woman gets enough folate (important for avoiding neural tube defects), iron, calcium, and zinc. In addition to this, we recommend:

Nutritional supplements:

• Folic acid (800mcg) – or if you have tested positive for the MTHFR gene mutation use 5-MTHF (L-Methylfolate) 800mcg with Vitamin B12 (1000mcg methylcobalamin).
• MTHFR is an enzyme that is important in the conversion of folate and folic acid into the active form 5-MTHF. 30 – 50% of the population has a MTHFR gene mutation and therefore does not convert folic acid to it’s active form.
• We recommend Active B Complex - from Bioclinic – 2 caps a day
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids containing 600mg DHA per day, 1000 EPA per day, we reccomend OptiMega 3 liquid from Bioclinc 1 tsp per day.

Please make sure your high quality food source pre-natal vitamin includes:

• B12 
• B2 
• B6 
• Zinc 
• Selenium 
• Vit C 
• Vit E 
• Vit D 
• We recommend PreFoundation from Bioclinic, which contains all the above vitamins and minerals as well as methylated folate mentioned previously.

PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome)

We can say that any complaint or pathological condition occurring in the premenstrual phase or menses could have the prefix PMS. Symptoms are highly variable and idiosyncratic.

Symptoms include: mood swings, breast swelling and tenderness, fatigue, depression, irritability, food cravings and abdominal bloating.

More info: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/premenstrual-syndrome/basics/definition/con-20020003

Endometrial tissue, which is ordinarily expelled through the uterus, travels outside the uterus and implants. Often this is retrograde flow, which makes its way out the fallopian tubes. In susceptible women this tissue implants itself on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, outer wall of the uterus, pelvic lining, cervix, vagina, bowels, peritoneum, even into the lungs, nose, bladder, kidney and legs.

These endometrial cells act as though they are still in the Uterus, responding every month to the hormones of the cycle: they thicken, enlarge and bleed, with no exit for the blood and fluid.

Symptoms include: Pelvic pain, painful periods, prolonged or excessive bleeding, short cycles, fertility issues, dyspareunia (pain during intercourse), pressure, pain may occur in the abdomen, vagina, thighs or anus.

Associated Symptoms: Back ache, painful defecation, rectal bleeding, pre-menstrual spotting, sciatica, urinary frequency, blood in the urine, painful urination, vomiting, abdominal pain, swelling, flank pain, nose bleeds, prolonged menses, clotting, inhibited flow and spotting.

Links for more information: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/endometriosis/basics/symptoms/con-20013968

Dysmenorrhea: painful periods

Symptoms: Pain in lower abdomen, cramping, colicky pain, dull constant ache, can begin prior to menses, peak after 24 hours and then decrease after 2 days, can be incapacitating disrupting both work and play

Associated symptoms: headaches, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, frequent urination, weakness, fatigue, clots in menses. 

Causes: Excess uterine contractions during menses. Prostaglandins are produced in the uterine lining, which cause contraction of the uterine muscle to help shed the lining. Strong contractions cut off oxygen flow to the uterine muscle, which causes excessive prostaglandin production contributing to a negative feedback loop. Excess prostaglandins signal the pain response in the CNS. Anxiety, stress, poor diet, insufficient sleep, and lack of exercise can all worsen symptoms.

More info: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003150.htm

A syndrome in which there is great clinical and biochemical variability characterized by a lack of ovulation. Likely due to inappropriate feedback signals within the hypothalamus – pituitary – ovarian system.

Symptoms includes: irregular cycles, amenorrhea or no period, male pattern hair growth, and obesity. It commonly arises at puberty and worsens with age. 

Associated symptoms: scanty menses, no period, pilosity: excessive hairiness, obesity, infertility, high testosterone and Luteinizing Hormone, low Follicle Stimulating Hormone and insulin resistance.

The ovaries are covered with many small cysts, half mature follicles – (polycystic), the ovaries are usually swollen as well; there are long irregular cycles, acne, and hair growth. The follicles seem to stall half way in their growth cycle, yet these follicles produce plentiful oestrogen and some testosterone therefore the pituitary reads this message and cuts back on FSH and sends more LH to prepare for ovulation but there are no follicles mature enough to ovulate. This leads to a stalemate where oestrogen and LH are continually being produced. 

More info http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pcos/basics/definition/con-20028841

Many couples struggling to conceive choose In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to increase their chance of success. This method is complex, but essentially involves combining eggs and sperm in a laboratory setting. But that doesn’t mean that a couple can simply sit back and let the experts do all of the work. If preparing for pregnancy is like training for a marathon, preparing for a round of IVF is like training to climb Mount Everest. There are physical and emotional demands that many women aren’t prepared for.

We strongly recommend you start your ‘training’ at least three months ahead of time (and six months before starting any medications that may be required for IVF). Along with a healthy diet and lifestyle, a strategic combination of herbal and nutritional supplements can help optimize your fertility in advance of these treatments. This protocol can also be followed between rounds of IVF or medicated Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) procedures.

Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/in-vitro-fertilization/home/ovc-20206838

Baby Center http://www.babycenter.ca/a4094/fertility-treatment-in-vitro-fertilization-ivf

Post Partum

A period of time consisting of the 6 weeks or so directly following delivery. During this time the body reverses most of the physiological changes that occurred during pregnancy, there are also many psychological adaptations to the outcome of the pregnancy.

Postpartum blues refers to a transient period of mood changes, which occur in 50-80% of mothers starting 3 days post delivery. May include: weepiness, depression or anxiety. There may also be fatigue, insomnia, headaches, poor concentration and mental confusion. These changes can last from a few hours to several months. First time moms as well as those with a history of PMS are most at risk. True post partum depression affects 7-30% of women typically starting around 2-6 weeks post delivery and its symptoms are very similar to that of major depression.

More info: https://www.cmha.ca/mental_health/postpartum-depression/#.VrjqX0tG870