healthy kids
Getting Pregnant Lifestyle Strategies to Boost Fertility by Ronica O’Hara
More than 7 million American women face one of life’s deepest heartbreaks: They want a newborn in their arms, but their bodies are not cooperating. Happily, the growing use of natural approaches like healthier diets, supplements and acupuncture is changing that outcome for many.
36
Sarasota/Manatee Edition
www.nasrq.com
Egg Matters A healthy pregnancy depends on a healthy egg. Chromosomal abnormalities severely hamper fertilization and account for more than half of first-trimester miscarriages. Yet, contrary to common belief, egg quality is not determined solely by a woman’s age: it can be highly influenced by her lifestyle choices and nutrients in the three-month window before an egg is fertilized, Fett advises. Based on the latest research, she offers the following recommendations for women trying to conceive naturally or through such means as in vitro fertilization (IVF): Detox the diet. To manage critically important blood sugar and insulin levels, eat low-glycemic, nutrient-rich foods and avoid sugar, caffeine and alcohol. An organic, largely plant- and fish-based Mediterranean diet boosts fertility. Dutch researchers found that women following this diet before an IVF cycle had a 40 percent higher chance of becoming pregnant. Supplement correctly. Take a prenatal vitamin, vitamins C and E, ubiquinol and melatonin. For women with diagnosed low ovarian reserve, consider carefully dosed DHEA.
sergmakssmol/Adobestock.com
W
hen Rebecca Fett was told at age 26 that she had “incredibly low odds” of being able to conceive with her own eggs, she used her biochemistry and genetics training to plunge into research on egg quality and fertility. By taking targeted supplements, upgrading her diet and detoxing her house of harmful chemicals, the result was not only two healthy baby boys, but a book entitled It Starts with the Egg: How the Science of Egg Quality Can Help You Get Pregnant Naturally, Prevent Miscarriage, and Improve Your Odds in IV. It sells at the fast clip of about 600 copies a week, showing that even amidst the traumas of the pandemic, couples fervently want to bear children. Some doula groups on the East Coast report a 30 percent rise in early 2021 births, and sperm banks are running so low that sperm from a handsome new donor posted online can be bought out within hours, reports The New York Times. “There is nothing more hopeful than the creation of a new life,” says Randine Lewis, who used acupuncture and Chinese herbs to enable a hard-won pregnancy and then wrote The Infertility Cure: The Ancient Chinese Wellness Program for Getting Pregnant and Having Healthy Babies.
