Trying to Conceive? Start here.
Whether you’ve just begun trying to conceive, have been trying for a little while, or you’ve made the decision to try but haven’t gotten started yet, this is the blog for you. The ‘trying to conceive’ or preconception phase of pregnancy can be a stressful period full of uncertainty, including knowing how best to support yourself physically and mentally during this time. The following guide to preconception will give you some great tools to support yourself both now and as you transition into the pregnancy phase.
What is Preconception?
Preconception is essentially everything that happens and everything you do before pregnancy. It’s during this phase that many people see a naturopath to address underlying health conditions that might impact their ability to fall pregnant, to check their fertility is optimal, or even simply to gain some nutrition and lifestyle strategies to set themselves up for success.
I recommend preconception care for all of my fertility patients, as it is the best way to identify and address any factors that might hinder your conception efforts before you begin.
When Should I Start Preconception Care?
Naturopathically, we want conscious preconception planning to begin at least 4 months before you even start trying to conceive. This may seem like quite a long time to wait, but it’s for good reason. You see, it takes 3-4 months for an egg in your ovaries to begin the process of developing and maturing into a follicle. So the environment you create now through nutrition, lifestyle, supplementation, etc. is going to be impacting the development of the eggs that are matured and ready for conception 3+ months from now. Our goal is to create the optimal environment for the healthiest possible eggs, as this will put you in a better position for healthy conception and pregnancy and improved outcomes overall. Likewise, it takes about 74 days for sperm to mature, so this preconception period goes for both of you.
Barriers to Conception
Unfortunately there are many different factors that can affect your ability to conceive. Some, like age and genetics, aren’t things we can change. Modifiable factors include:
Nutrition - a diet lacking in vital nutrients such as iodine, zinc, selenium, B vitamins, and protein will make conception more difficult
Stress - high stress can negatively affect your menstrual cycle and ovulation
Lifestyle - alcohol, drug use, and lack of physical activity can all impact conception
Chemical/ toxin exposure - certain chemicals found in the home and workplace can impact both male and female infertility by disrupting hormonal balance and triggering inflamation
Pre-existing health conditions, such as PCOS, endometriosis, fibroids, infections, diabetes, autoimmune conditions, thyroid disorders
Missing your ovulation window or inaccurately tracking ovulation
Not having sex often enough
Optimising Fertility with Naturopathy
So, what does preconception care look like in practical terms? Well, it mostly looks like:
Nourishing your body with good foods
Moving your body daily in ways that you enjoy
Reducing stress where possible
Making lifestyle changes to reduce your exposure to chemicals that might impact your fertility
Addressing underlying health conditions
Seeking support from a qualified naturopath
Physically Nourish Yourself with Nutrient-Dense Whole Foods
When it comes to pre-conception care, your diet should be the focus. Nutrition forms the building blocks for healthy conception and pregnancy, so starting now means your body is well fueled and prepared when it comes time to conceive.
Eat 5 or more serves of vegetables per day, choosing a variety of types throughout the day or week to maximise micronutrients. Eat a combination of raw, leafy and crunchy vegetables, as well as cooked.
Eat 2 serves of fruit each day. Combine your fruit with a protein and fat (such as yoghurt or almond butter) to help balance blood sugar levels.
Choose good quality plant proteins, such as legumes and organic tofu or tempeh. If you choose to eat meat, keep it to a few serves a week and choose quality, grass fed or wild caught varieties.
Choose whole grain complex carbohydrates such as wild or brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, and sourdough bread. Avoid heavily processed white breads and pastries that might be lacking in nutrition and fibre.
Don’t forget healthy fats! Avocado, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, hemp seed oil, nuts and seeds are all great options. Avoid processed vegetable oils like canola oil, and hydrogenated fats like margerine.
In addition to the above, there are a few key nutrients that are important for boosting fertility:
Zinc: important for both sperm and egg health
Selenium: Important for both sperm and egg health
Iodine: Essential for early embryo development
Iron: particularly important for baby-growing, as your blood volume increases in early pregnancy, which requires plenty of iron
B vitamins: important for both sperm and egg health
Omega 3 fatty acids: particularly important for sperm health, and important throughout pregnancy for healthy foetal development
Vitamin D: important for sperm health and is a common nutrient deficiency in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Boosting your levels now can help to mitigate the risk of deficiency later
CoQ10: particularly important for sperm health
Vitamin C: particularly important for sperm health
Move Your Body Daily
Getting physical activity in each day can be difficult, and near impossible if you are trying to engage in activities you don’t enjoy. Find movement in activities you find fun or fulfilling. If you find it difficult to commit to a full 30-60 minute block, add 10 minute intervals throughout the day. Some good options might include walking, yoga, Pilates, team sports, weight lifting, swimming, or even dancing.
Reduce Stress
Stress can really impact on fertility and make trying to conceive difficult. Address the causes of stress in your life - are there things you can change to reduce how stressed you are? Can you delegate tasks or change commitments to make life easier? For anything that is unavoidable, having coping mechanisms can be really useful. Mindfulness meditation, physical activity, and counselling are all good options.
Reduce Your Toxin Exposure
Hormone-disrupting chemicals are rife in our modern lives and can be found in surprising places, such as cosmetics and personal care items, cleaning products, and even food storage containers. To help reduce your exposure to hormone-disruptors, start by:
Using low-tox make-up and personal care products - ideally anything you put on your skin should be edible (your skin is absorbing those ingredients, afterall!)
Using low-tox cleaning products - a simple mixture of 50/50 white vinegar and water makes a fabulous all-purpose cleaner
Storing food in glass, ceramic or stainless-steel containers. Don’t heat foods in plastic, either
Ditching the non-stick cookware and instead use cast iron or stainless steel versions
Avoiding synthetically scented candles and fragrance oils - stick to high quality essential oils from reputable brands, or make your own simmer pot to scent your home
Avoiding pesticides and herbicides in the home or garden. If you are exposed to these through work, make sure you are using up-to-date WHS best practices to reduce your exposure and look for ways to further minimise you and your family’s exposure, such as washing your work clothes separately to other clothing and linens
Washing fruits and vegetables before eating them
Track Your Ovulation and Fertile Window
Preconception is the time to become well-acquainted with your menstrual cycle, as this is one of the best natural tools you have to assist with falling pregnant quickly. Tracking your menstrual cycle and your fertility symptoms now gives you important data that you can use for your conception planning in a few months’ time. So, how well do you know your menstrual cycle? Most cycles fall between 28-30 days, with ovulation occurring around day 14 or 15. Signs you are ovulating include:
Cervical mucous discharge - a sticky, egg white-like discharge that is produced during ovulation to assist with sperm survival in the reproductive tract. The amount and quality of cervical mucous can give some indication about oestrogen levels. Thinner, slippery and translucent mucous tends to indicate higher oestrogen, whilst thicker and more opaque discharge may indicate lower oestrogen
Increased basal body temperature (more on this below)
Some women also experience a slight increase in energy, improved mood, and increased libido around ovulation time, thanks to the boost in progesterone
If you’d like to learn more about your menstrual cycle, check out my blog post here.
Basal Body Temperature
The spike in progesterone that happens during ovulation also causes a slight increase in your basal body temperature. This rise in temperature can be tracked easily by taking your temperature each morning on waking, before getting out of bed. For most of the cycle, your temperature should be around 36.1-36.4 C. During ovulation, this will rise to around 36.4-36.7. If your cycles are regular, tracking your basal body temperature means you will soon be able to predict when you are ovulating, based on previous cycles. Please note that this rise in temperature tells you that ovulation has already happened (or is currently happening). it can’t be used as a mid-cycle ovulation predictor, but rather, gives you information about your cycle over time.
For Men - Reduce Your Exposure to Heat and Radiation
Both heat and radiation can be damaging to sperm, so are best avoided during this time. Some ways to reduce your exposure to these include:
Avoid wearing tight-fitting underwear, which can increase temperature
Avoid placing your laptop on your lap - use only on a table or other flat surface that allows proper air flow to the laptop’s fans and cooling
Avoid frequent sauna sessions or long, very hot baths
Avoid keeping your mobile phone in your pants pockets, to keep radiation away from your testes
Turn Wi-Fi off at night
Address Underlying Health Conditions
If you have underlying health conditions that you have been meaning to address, now is the time to do so. Our aim for preconception care to get you in the best health possible before you conceive and that includes helping you to get a handle on other health complaints.
Seek Support From a Qualified Naturopath
A qualified naturopath can help to guide you on your preconception journey and may help to identify certain areas of your health that need to be prioritised before you begin try to conceive. A naturopath may also assist with further investigations such as blood tests to get a better picture of your health, as well as prescribing supplements, herbs, or energetic medicines to help you on your fertility journey.
About the Author
Lizzie Stow is a degree-qualified naturopath from Newcastle, Australia.
To find out more about Lizzie, click here.
To book an appointment with Lizzie, click here.
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