Many people already know that fertility decreases over time for women as their ovarian reserve diminishes. Sexual function and sperm morphology can change in men as they age as well, which can lower their chances of conceiving. Age amongst other factors such as stress, alcohol intake, drug use, smoking, weight, and environmental factors are a few contributing factors that can reduce fertility. They also offer the answer as to how you can protect your fertility right now.
How to Protect Your Fertility
Quit Smoking
Smoking presents exposure to toxic chemicals which can affect fertility as well as a person’s overall health. Chemicals such as nicotine, cyanide, and carbon monoxide that are found in cigarettes can speed up the process at which eggs are diminished and bring on menopause 1 to 4 years ahead of time. Sperm quality and mobility can be reduced in men whilst the number of abnormally shaped sperm produced can increase. If you are a smoker, one way to protect your fertility and health in general would be to quit. There is lots of help available to people who wish to quit smoking, so be sure to look into this.
Reduce Stress
Stress is a lesser-known contributor to infertility. High levels of stress and anxiety can disrupt hormone levels in women which can lead to irregular periods or anovulation (where an egg is not released from the ovaries during the menstrual cycle). Without the presence of a mature egg, a woman cannot get pregnant, so therefore to increase fertility it is beneficial for you to keep stress to a minimum. Perhaps consider meditation or other stress-busting techniques to help.
Freeze Your Eggs
Unfortunately, there’s no way to offset natural age-related decline in fertility. It will eventually happen despite women now being healthier and benefiting from greater health later on in life. According to research the best time to get pregnant for a woman is during her 20’s. Once she reaches the age of 35-37, her fertility starts to decline and her chance of becoming pregnant is lower.
Egg freezing is a possibility that’s worth considering. While its success depends on a range of factors such as the age at which the eggs are obtained, freezing your eggs can make it possible to become pregnant later on in life. This typically has a higher chance of working for patients who are younger when they freeze their eggs. There are no significant risks of birth defects or further problems during pregnancy. The method has been used successfully in the past and has helped many women to give birth to healthy children.
Practise Safe Sex
It’s important to practise safe sex regardless of whether or not you thin you’ll want to have a baby in the future, but particularly if you want to protect your fertility. Sexually transmitted diseases have the potential to cause pelvic infections and damage to the fallopian tubes. The ductal system can also become blocked in men as a result.
These are just a few of the things that you can do to protect your fertility right now. If you would like advice and help that’s more specific to your needs, feel free to get in touch.
