5 THINGS TO CONSIDER IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING TO CONCEIVE
BY GABRIELA ROSA
Fertility Specialist, Author and Host of The Fertility Challenge Online Event
If you have been trying to conceive for a long time or have lost a pregnancy (or multiple pregnancies), it’s easy to despair and begin to second guess yourself and all the effort, time and money you have invested in this outcome. At some point your self-esteem shatters and you wonder if you will ever feel happy again.
If this sounds familiar, here are a few things to consider that will help shift your perspective and propel you forward to create your dream:
Drop ‘Why Me? Thinking: It’s natural to default into the Why Me? Question. But continuously comparing yourself to family and friends and falling into the ‘what-they-do-or-don’t-do-and-yet-they-have-a-baby’ line of thinking, will not help you to hold your own baby in your arms any sooner. In my experience, this mindset activates a complex psychological and physiological response, and typically leads to behaviour which compromises your chances of procreating. Choose instead to take take charge of your health (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual), educate yourself and become proactive about what else you can do to optimise your chances of creating a healthy baby. Trust me, there is so much more more than you may currently realise.
There is not one reason why this is happening: We all wish we could get a simple diagnosis. Once we have it, we feel in control and know what we have to do. However, you can be sure that right now, there are numerous compounding factors ranging from (and not limited to) dietary, lifestyle, environmental, biochemical, physical and even emotional factors that are having both a direct and indirect impact on your current results. What you need is to get complete clarity and a full picture of your particular circumstances - they are unlike anyone else’s. Only this information can begin to transform your results, even if you feel like you’ve already tried everything, without success. The key is not to expect a simple answer. Be prepared to be methodical and systematic in your quest for answers because a couple’s fertility (and ability to keep a healthy pregnancy to term) rests on a complex matrix of interrelated components all competing to overcome a fertility difficulty. Most people can’t do this on their own so find a team you trust and be ready to do the work.
Fertility is a team sport: Make no mistake about it, a healthy baby requires two healthy prospective parents (or sex cells). Even if you are using a donor egg, sperm or embryo, the right preparation is required to give your baby the best possible chance of being born alive and well. To fast-track a couple’s fertility, both partners must be open to a full investigation at the outset and then diligently work towards optimising their health.
Act pregnant now to finally take home a healthy baby, sooner, rather than later: Right now, both you and your partner are carrying half the genetic material to create your baby-to-be. If you knew you were currently pregnant, you would change your behaviour to protect your growing baby, wouldn’t you? Think of it this way - any positive action you and your partner start implementing, and any harmful behaviour you both stop doing right now can only boost your fertility. Also, keep in mind results do not simply materialise overnight - you have to put in the work for as long as it takes. You have to start trusting your body and you have to give your body a reason to trust you. The longer you are loyal to a regime that enhances your health on all fronts, the more your chances of conceiving a healthy baby. From a biological standpoint, typically the egg takes a minimum 120 to 240 days to fully mature (primordial to primary follicle takes approximately 120 days and primary to ovulatory follicle takes another 120 days). The sperm takes approximately 100 days to form through one sperm cycle—and sometimes they require 2-3 sperm cycles to be fully optimized through lifestyle interventions. In short, the best strategy is to adopt a healthy lifestyle for a minimum of 120 days prior to trying to conceive.
Ready, Set, Take Action: Here is my non-negotiable shortlist to naturally boost your fertility:
* Eat the colours of the rainbow and base your meals on (ideally certified organic) vegetables and protein with good quality filtered water stored in glass bottles;
* quit smoking, coffee and alcohol;
* drop excess weight (for mum and dad to be)—say goodbye to excess sugar, damaged and trans fats as well as junk food and you will be creating the foundations of a healthier physical environment for your eggs, sperm and future little bundle of joy, and beyond.
About the author|
Gabriela Rosa is the founder and director of www.NaturalFertilityBreakthrough.com and the host of The Fertility Challenge online event that has now helped educate and inspire over 45,000 people in over 100 countries to take charge of their fertility to create healthy babies, even when other treatments have failed. Gabriela’s unique, life-changing methodology, The F.E.R.T.I.L.E. Method ®, underpins all of her successful fertility programs offering hope to couples who have been trying to conceive and/or overcome miscarriages, a new chance to take home a healthy baby. She is also an author and the mother of two healthy babies conceived by her walking her own talk.