There are certain factors that patients cannot control, such as their age or their genetic background. The age-related decline in fertility potential is well documented for women and to a lesser extent men. There are factors in the environment that can contribute or detract from one’s fertility potential. These are the areas that patients should focus on, because it is in their control. Some of these factors are listed here.
Good nutritional status and adequate sleep and exercise can add to the fertility potential of every person. Smoking decreases egg quality and absolutely decreases the chance of pregnancy in any fertility treatment.
Exercise
The benefits of regular exercise both aerobic and strength training are far reaching. It is important to be in a regular exercise routine before beginning a fertility treatment. Starting a brand new exercise program during a fertility treatment could make both the treatment and the exercise more difficult. Having a routine for at least 4 to 6 weeks is recommended.
Dr. Schmidt does not restrict exercise in a fertility treatment cycle, in fact he encourages it. There are absolutely no restrictions placed on his patients when it comes to their physical activity as long as his patients are already accustomed to that level of activity.
Stress
We all have heard about that couple that tried for years to get pregnant and then gave up and took a long vacation to escape the stress and got pregnant while on their vacation. Well as much as we would like to blame stress for causing infertility, it most likely is not the major factor preventing a pregnancy.
Stress can alter hormones and may cause ovulation to happen late or not at all, but there is no evidence that stress can consistently interfere with conception to totally prevent it from happening. What is important is that patients find ways to relieve their stress possibly through exercise, diet, rest, using meditation, acupuncture, yoga or reading about other couples’ experience with infertility.
The process of going through fertility treatments can be stress producing, so having good tools to cope with the stress as it surfaces is recommended.
Alternative Medicine
NOVA supports a multidisciplinary approach to fertility treatments. It is important that the individual patient decides what is right for them. There are no required additional treatments while undergoing treatment at NOVA, but assistance with coordinating alternative treatments is facilitated by the NOVA Team.
Acupuncture, massage therapy, acupressure and herbal supplements are just some of the alternative therapies that patients at NOVA have done during their fertility treatments.
