Infertility is extremely complicated. Some women undergo years of trying to conceive, only to be met with one heartbreaking negative pregnancy test after another. There is usually no simple answer to why you cant get pregnant, and this article wont try to attempt to address all of them.
Certain medical conditions and chronic diseases can be huge problems when trying to have a baby. You are generally born with or develop those issues, but avoiding these small things every day can help prevent unnecessary complications in getting pregnant.
1. Eating junk food
Oreos may seem like the perfect remedy for your horrible day, but filling your body with junk rather than the nutrients it desperately needs can affect your reproductive hormones. You need foods with monounsaturated fats, zinc and vitamins B6 and D. Replace your cheesy crackers with sunflower seeds, throw an avocado in your salad, poach an egg for breakfast or make your pancakes out of buckwheat. These will help you get some of those nutrients youre starving for.
2. Stress
Doctors dont have all the data for why this negatively affects your reproductive system, but stress may be the cause for about 30 percent of infertility problems. Telling someone in the middle of a freak-out to calm down has never been helpful, but find what helps relieve your stress and it might just do wonders for you.
3. Wearing makeup with phthalates
Phthalates are synthetic chemicals found in many cosmetics and plastics. A study found that they may be limiting the ability for an egg to implant. All U.S. women are exposed to them, but limit your exposure as much as possible by not using cosmetics that have dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diethyl phthalate (DEP) or dimethyl phthalate (DMP) in the ingredients.
4. Using a lot of scented products
Scented products tend to have phthalates, but the FDA doesnt require fragrances to list ingredients. Pass up products that are unnecessarily scented.
5. Being overweight (or underweight)
Your weight greatly affects your periods. If you are an extreme in either of these categories, it will be very difficult for you to get pregnant.
6. Certain medications
If you are taking medication, it could possibly be affecting your fertility. Some meds especially antidepressants interfere with your hormones. Talk to your doctor about whether this could be happening to you, but NEVER stop taking medications without your doctors recommendation first.
7. Smoking or hanging around those who smoke
Weirdly, your cervical mucus has to be just right for you to get pregnant. It helps the sperm make it to the egg. But if its too thick, it can cause infertility, ob-gyn Alyssa Dweck told Womens Health. Not only can smoking affect your cervical mucas, it is estimated to be a problem in 13 percent of infertility cases. Its the underlying factor for a myriad of many other problems. Even if you dont smoke, being around secondhand smoke for six or more hours every day will make you 36 percent MORE likely to be infertile.
8. Lube
Some lubricants affect the sperm, which makes it much more difficult to get pregnant, according to a State University of New York Upstate Medical Center study. The study discovered that Pre-Seed was a safe lube to use if you were trying to conceive. The study discovered that baby oil or mineral oil is also a safe lube, but NEVER use other oils without knowing if they are safe or not. Sesame oil, for example, slows the movement of the sperm.
Certain medical conditions and chronic diseases can be huge problems when trying to have a baby. You are generally born with or develop those issues, but avoiding these small things every day can help prevent unnecessary complications in getting pregnant.
1. Eating junk food
Oreos may seem like the perfect remedy for your horrible day, but filling your body with junk rather than the nutrients it desperately needs can affect your reproductive hormones. You need foods with monounsaturated fats, zinc and vitamins B6 and D. Replace your cheesy crackers with sunflower seeds, throw an avocado in your salad, poach an egg for breakfast or make your pancakes out of buckwheat. These will help you get some of those nutrients youre starving for.
2. Stress
Doctors dont have all the data for why this negatively affects your reproductive system, but stress may be the cause for about 30 percent of infertility problems. Telling someone in the middle of a freak-out to calm down has never been helpful, but find what helps relieve your stress and it might just do wonders for you.
3. Wearing makeup with phthalates
Phthalates are synthetic chemicals found in many cosmetics and plastics. A study found that they may be limiting the ability for an egg to implant. All U.S. women are exposed to them, but limit your exposure as much as possible by not using cosmetics that have dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diethyl phthalate (DEP) or dimethyl phthalate (DMP) in the ingredients.
4. Using a lot of scented products
Scented products tend to have phthalates, but the FDA doesnt require fragrances to list ingredients. Pass up products that are unnecessarily scented.
5. Being overweight (or underweight)
Your weight greatly affects your periods. If you are an extreme in either of these categories, it will be very difficult for you to get pregnant.
6. Certain medications
If you are taking medication, it could possibly be affecting your fertility. Some meds especially antidepressants interfere with your hormones. Talk to your doctor about whether this could be happening to you, but NEVER stop taking medications without your doctors recommendation first.
7. Smoking or hanging around those who smoke
Weirdly, your cervical mucus has to be just right for you to get pregnant. It helps the sperm make it to the egg. But if its too thick, it can cause infertility, ob-gyn Alyssa Dweck told Womens Health. Not only can smoking affect your cervical mucas, it is estimated to be a problem in 13 percent of infertility cases. Its the underlying factor for a myriad of many other problems. Even if you dont smoke, being around secondhand smoke for six or more hours every day will make you 36 percent MORE likely to be infertile.
8. Lube
Some lubricants affect the sperm, which makes it much more difficult to get pregnant, according to a State University of New York Upstate Medical Center study. The study discovered that Pre-Seed was a safe lube to use if you were trying to conceive. The study discovered that baby oil or mineral oil is also a safe lube, but NEVER use other oils without knowing if they are safe or not. Sesame oil, for example, slows the movement of the sperm.
