Q: Can diet affect your ability to get pregnant, especially if you’re an older woman, say between thirty-five and forty-five years old? Specifically, are there any super foods that you know can increase sperm count or regulate ovulation?
A: Of course diet and nutrition are important to one’s ability to get pregnant, regardless of age. A well-balanced diet is necessary to provide adequate nutrition to the baby. For some women, the sole reason for their infertility is an unhealthy body weight. The extremes of weight, whether it is too much or too little, can result in irregular periods or even the loss of menstrual periods altogether. When menstrual periods become irregular, ovulation occurs irregularly or not at all. Without ovulation, pregnancy cannot occur.
There is no single magic super food that will make you pregnant (sorry oyster fans), but there is a lot to say for maintaining a healthy body weight, whatever that takes. Crash and fad diets are a no-no. They actually may make matters worse because they may cause unpredictable changes in the secretion of some hormones. Controlled weight loss is the way to go if you need it; you will become more and more fertile with time and controlled dieting and exercising will not interfere with whatever infertility treatments you are receiving.
Women attempting a pregnancy should be on a prenatal vitamin containing at least one milligram of folic acid. Folic acid has been shown to reduce the incidence of certain birth defects. A prenatal vitamin will make up for any dietary deficiencies you might have, provided you eat a generally well-balanced diet. Prenatal vitamins are a little different than standard multivitamins. Generally they contain more calcium, iron, and folic acid than standard multivitamins do. Calcium is important for bone development; iron is important for the production of the oxygen carrying part of blood.
Women lose half of their fertility potential by age thirty-five, so one should not delay seeking treatment with a reproductive specialist (either an OBGYN or a reproductive endocrinologist) because they are attempting a pregnancy with less proven remedies. Seek treatment and be proactive in terms of your own personal lifestyle. Delays in seeking treatment after age thirty-five can be disastrous in terms of ultimate outcome. Fix the things you can while allowing the doctors to do what they can. This is a partnership.
Read the April Fertile Thoughts column
Read the February Fertile Thoughts column
Fertile Thoughts is published monthly. Each column features a real question from a reader, and we invite other readers to respond with their thoughts and insights by posting comments. If you have a question for Dr. Carlene Elsner, please send it to her care of the editor at laura@realgirlsmedia.com. Your question will be kept in the strictest of confidence.
Never miss a Fertile Thoughts column again. Just click on the author’s name at the top of the story, then select “Be notified when writer publishes” at the top of the page. We’ll send you an email as soon as a new column is published.
