There are several things future parents need to do leading into conceiving to ensure successful implantation and to enhance their chances of getting pregnant.
Gerald Quigley, community pharmacist and master herbalist, spoke with Retail Pharmacy Assistants, discussing the steps future parents need to take to increase the chance of successful conception.
These steps include:
- The male must have viable sperm. Having viable sperm means having adequate sperm motility; the shape of the sperm needs to be sufficient for conception; the sperm needs good DNA integrity; sperm count needs to be high enough to increase the chances of conception. Other things to consider are the facilitation and transfer of sperm from the male into the female near the female’s cervix.
- The female needs to have regular ovulation by the ovaries. Nothing happens without ovulation.
- Egg and sperm transport. The transport of the sperm and egg within the female genital tract to the site of fertilisation in one of the fallopian tubes and then penetration of the sperm into the egg is the fertilisation and development of the pre-embryo.
“Each of the above steps plays an important role in the whole conception process, and if one of these is not functioning properly, it can end in tears,” Mr Quigley said.
Preparing for pregnancy is essential. A few lifestyle factors can create a healthier body for both males and females.
One of the main factors is a healthy diet. Good food is essential for the body to thrive and can help boost fertility. A diet that includes whole foods, fruits and vegetables, whole grains and fish can also benefit a parent once the baby is born, as well as providing benefits with pre-conception and pregnancy.
Physical activity can offer many benefits, such as feeling good about your body, reducing pain, and helping posture and balance. Physical activity also helps manage stress, promotes circulation, aids better sleep, promotes strength, and prepares the body for conception, labour, and childbirth, among many other benefits.
People can do many exercises to stay fit. People who don’t exercise may want to check with their doctor to see which gentle type will benefit them as they’re getting started with regular activity.
“We’re in the obesity age. Many women try and conceive while they are overweight. Australia is one of the nations experiencing a recent and quite dramatic decline in fertility rates, ” Mr Quigley said.
Quality sleep is also essential. The US-based Centre for Reproductive Medicine states that getting seven to eight hours of sleep every night benefits overall health. In addition, they suggest putting away electronics and technology at least an hour before bedtime to help with falling asleep faster and getting quality sleep.
Another consideration when trying to conceive is vitamin and mineral supplements. Supplements that fill the nutritional gap are important because nutritional imbalances can cause problems for people trying to conceive.
Pharmacy assistants and pharmacists are in a great position to discuss with their customers about the types of vitamin and mineral supplements that will be beneficial for successful conception. For customers that require additional help, referring them to their GP, naturopath or dietitian will provide them with additional support.
In addition to general nutritional supplements that may help fill any dietary gaps, conception supplements are important. Specific nutrients are required in pregnancy, including folate, iron and calcium, and other nutrients found in pre-pregnancy nutritional supplements. And this is also what pharmacy assistants and pharmacists can advise their customers on.
However, while supplementation is essential when trying to conceive, Mr Quigley says customers should be advised to consider the health of their overall diet and lifestyle and ensure they’re doing everything possible to enhance their chance of successful conception.
“Getting professional advice is a fundamental start in the conception pathway,” Mr Quigley said. “Leading an unhealthy lifestyle can be detrimental for conception, and you can’t just pop a pill to fix it.”
While there are some key things that those who want to conceive should be doing, there are also some things to avoid.
One of the main considerations is smoking, and those who smoke should be encouraged to stop smoking. Smoking reduces oxygen to your unborn baby and exposes the unborn baby to toxic chemicals. The CDC (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) states, “women who smoke have more difficulty becoming pregnant and have a higher risk of never becoming pregnant”.
Another consideration is alcohol. The website, Your Fertility (yourfertility.org.au), states, “binge drinking (more than six standard drinks on one occasion) can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, small birth weight and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FASD)”.
Stress is also something to try to reduce as much as possible as it can cause high blood pressure and may reduce the ability of a woman to get pregnant if there are other factors that are interfering with the conception process. To reduce stress, recommending activities such as meditation and yoga can help keep people balanced and reduce stress and anxiety levels.
To learn more about what we need to look at in a woman’s cycle when trying to conceive, Retail Pharmacy Assistants spoke with Nicky Wood, naturopath, homeopath, clinical EFT practitioner and speaker from Wise Healthy Living.
“There are a number of key hormonal changes in a woman’s body that reveals her conception potential and are often a great starting point when performing prenatal assessments,” Ms Wood said.
“There are equally some important prenatal nutritional assessments that help to fill in the gaps on whether or not a successful conception and ongoing fetal development are assured.
“When we look at the cycle broadly, with a narrowing-in focus, the first thing we aim to establish is a regularity of the cycle itself and how that is being maintained (or was being maintained – which refers to the use of the oral contraceptive pill).
“The female reproductive cycle is a rhythmic dance between four main hormones – luteinising hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, estrogen and progesterone, with a fifth hormone that may indicate impedance to successful fertility outcomes, testosterone.
“Measuring these hormones in conjunction with observations and charting of the cyclic nature of the menstrual period and appearance of ovulation signs is commonly our first port of call when assessing fertility potential.
“However, if a test is warranted (usually after monitoring three ‘out of rhythm’ cycles consecutively), not only will we consider these hormones, but we will also consider the anti-mullerian hormone, a marker of ovarian reserve, as the egg sac itself produces it. We can test this at any time of the cycle, irrespective of taking the oral contraceptive pill.
“Nutritionally, we would be considering the vital terrain that assists with a successful conception and a successful and optimised pregnancy. We are not just focusing on making a baby; we are aiming for a healthy baby while we are at it.
“As conception relies on rapid cellular division, which involves sensitive genetic coding, the nutrients that power up that mitosis (cell division) include folate, vitamin B12, iron, vitamin B6, choline, vitamin A, zinc and vitamin D. These can be either tested for prenatally or provided in supplemental form perinatally.
“We may also test and manage iodine levels for IQ and thyroid health, which may also affect fertility chances. When it comes to supplementing iodine, however, we are more cautious about its positive and negative impact on the thyroid, which requires careful consideration,” Ms Wood said.
Ms Wood says some conditions may reduce the ability to conceive.
“Apart from frank nutritional deficiencies, conditions can arise that impact the ability of a woman to conceive. We must also consider that successful conception relies on healthy sperm more than healthy eggs due to the DNA carried in the head of the sperm itself,” she said.
Ms Woods says medical conditions that can impact the ability to conceive include:
- “Polycystic ovarian syndrome.
- “Endometriosis.
- “Adenomyosis.
- “High stress.
- “Low thyroid function (hypothyroidism).
- “Hashimotos Thyroiditis.
- “STDs.
- “Diabetes.
- “Amenorrhea (absence of the menstrual cycle).
- “Uterine bacterial imbalances (recent discoveries indicate the womb has its own microbiome).”
We understand ovulation is one of the essential steps in successful conception, but many women don’t know when they’re ovulating. Ms Woods says women can learn when they’re ovulating to increase the chances of successful conception.
“When a woman ovulates, changes happen in her body that she may be aware of, and others that she may not be,” Ms Woods said.
“During ovulation, the woman’s body will produce a discharge different from her usual over other parts of the month (except during menstruation). This discharge takes on an egg white or thick and stringy appearance and is often higher in volume than her usual presentation.
“Right before and during ovulation, there can also be a change in abdominal comfort; a woman can feel more bloated and some experience a stabbing or knife-like pain on one side of the abdomen or both, depending on which ovary is releasing an egg.
“If she were to take her temperature each morning before rising, she may also see a sharp spike in her temperature in the day or days before her ovulation cycle.
“Other symptoms may be rashes, heat, irritability, anxiety and edgy feelings for a few days, and some women also report sensitive nipples around this time, which are all responses to the increase in hormones that drive the ovulation cycle, primarily estrogen which triggers a brief peak in luteinizing hormone – causing a luteinising surge,” Ms Woods said.
Beginning the journey to becoming parents, people should talk to a professional and learn the best way to start the process. Pharmacy assistants and pharmacists are in a great position to start this conversation.
There are many elements involved for both the male and female, and in this busy world, where life gets in the way, it can be easy to forget to live a healthy and active lifestyle and put our health aside. Everyone’s journey is unique, and there is no one way to fall pregnant.
Pharmacy assistants can play an important role in providing advice and information to people wanting to conceive. They can suggest strategies to live healthier lifestyles and advise about products and services for conception, pregnancy and after birth.
Text by: Amardy Baucke.
This feature was originally published in the October issue of Retail Pharmacy Assistants e-magazine.
