Preconception care is all about improving your health in preparation for conception. It profoundly impacts fertilty outcomes for individuals and couples, and has major benefits for the health of your future child because it improves egg and sperm DNA-integrity and pregnancy health.
Improving your health in the preconception care period improves egg and sperm quality, so ideally, both contributors should do the work. This may not always be possible when using sperm or egg donor but there is still plenty to be gained by looking after your own health.
How long before trying to concieve should I start preconception care?
It’s never too early to start preconception care. Why not start looking after your health now so you can feel great and be ready when the time comes? The focus period though, comes around 3-4 months before. This is the window of time where we can have the biggest impact on the health and integrity of the egg and the sperm that will come together to create your baby. This is because eggs and sperm both have about a 3 month window of rapid maturation before they come together. Keep in mind thought, that if possible, beginning as early as a year before can have it’s advantages for some individuals as some things take time to correct or change.
Conversely, it’s never too late to start preconception care. If you are in the circumstance where you are already trying to concieve and it’s not possible to take a break, you can still begin now and have a very positive impact on egg and sperm health as they complete their journey of maturation and come together.
Who is preconception care relevant for?
The answer is: everyone. Even if you are in seemingly good health, it pays to make sure your nutrition is optimised, your environmental exposures are minimised and your general health is optimised. This will lead to a healthier pregnancy and positively impact the health of your future child.
Preconception care is particularly essential though, for those with health conditions such as: infertility, endometriosis, adenomysosis, PCOS, hypothalamic amenorrhoea, low AMH, irregular menstrual cycles, recurrent miscarriage, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and many other chronic diseases. Additionally, if you are undergoing IVF or of advanced age (both males and females), smoke, drink or do drugs, work with chemicals, or just know you don’t look after yourself, preconception care is a must.
How to get started on preconception care
There is plenty you can do to get started right away. Here are the key areas to focus on. If you feel overwhelmed or are very busy try focusing on one at a time.
Nutritional Supplementation
It’s important to remember that there are many brands of supplements to choose from and not all are great quality. It’s best to avoid choosing supplements that come from overseas as other countries may have different standards to Australia. Generally, Australian TGA-approved medicines are safe to consume but might not always be strong enough or contain the best form of the nutrient. It’s best to have your individual needs assessed by a naturopath if possible. Put simply, the core supplements to take for both egg and sperm health are:
A good quality multivitamin containing folate - there are both male and female specific ones available
Good quality omega-3 fats such as sustainably sourced fish oil or cleanly source algal oil
Vitamin D - most of us can benefit from a daily dose of 1000IU, however it is best to have your levels checked by your doctor once yearly to confirm if that is enough for you.
Diet
There are many different versions of a healthy diet and the optimal diet may look slightly different from person to person. For most people however, a Mediterranean-style diet consisting of: an abundance of vegetables, moderate whole grains, legumes, lean meats, fish and some fruit, nuts, seeds, eggs, olive oil and diary. Food can be seasoned with garlic, onions, herbs, spices and a little salt. Adequate water (6-8 glasses) should be a focus every day. Sweets should be minimised and consumed only after a meal. Alcohol should be minimised or eliminated. For those wishing to follow a vegetarian or vegan way of eating, attention to adequate intake of protein, omega-3 fats, iron, B12 and zinc, with higher levels of supplementation required for some people.
Eating in the above way will reduce inflammation, help achieve/maintain a healthy weight, help regulate hormones and lead to better energy levels. Plust bring in most of the nutrients required for great egg and sperm quality.
Meal spacing and timing, and whether snacks are required between meals, will vary from individual to individual so see a naturopath for a plan specific to you. Nutritional supplements and herbs, over and above the basics already discussed, can be game-changing for many. Again, these will require individualised assessment so work with a fertility or preconception health naturopath.
Up the antioxidants
Antioxidants are nutrients that fight oxidative stress in the body - they protect your cells and DNA from damage, improving sperm and egg quality and fighting ageing. They are rich in plant foods and include molecules that make fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and spices appear different colours. To get a good range of antioxidants, aim to consume foods across your week from all the different colours of the rainbow.
Antioxidant supplementation may also be of benefit in certain conditions. There are many to choose from and it’s important to make sure that you are taking the right ones for your specific situation and your specific physiology. And also: good quality! I see a big difference in results with those taking high quality practitioner supplements vs over-the-counter supplements. These are best prescribed by your naturopath.
Get rid of the toxins
In this modern-day world all of us have some level of exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals. These are chemicals that interact with hormone receptors in the body and impact our egg and sperm quality and reproductive health. The most impactful ones are found in your skin care, make up, cleaning products, tap water, plastics that you consume food and beverage out of, cash register receipts and household dust. Here’s a short list of key things you can do:
Begin to switch over your personal care products to naturally-derived ones, starting with the ones that remain on your skin the longest like moisturiser and make up.
Consume food out of glass, metal or ceramic containers instead of plastic. Hot food in plastic is the worst so start here.
Switch your cleaning products to natural alternatives such as the Abode brand or make your own out of ingredients such as vinegar, bicarb, essential oils, borax and castille soap.
Cleaning up the toxins includes the fun stuff too. Yep, the smokes, booze, and recreational drugs have to go. Caffiene should be minimised or eliminated if possible - one small cup of coffee per day may be ok for some people but if in doubt give it a rest or see your naturopath.
Move your body
Movement is so important for blood flow to the reproductive organs, mood, sleep, stress, blood sugar regulation, healthy weight and healthy metabolism. All of these impact your fertility. Many of us struggle to do any movement at all, overwhelmed by the demands of busy lives, while others may be doing too much exercise, which can be counterproductive to both male and female fertility.
If you aren’t doing anything, start with something, whether it be a 10-minute begginers You-Tube workout, a post meal walk or simply increasing your daily number of steps. If you are ready to take it further, aim for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week of an exercise that you enjoy. Invite a friend to make it easier to stick to. If you are highly stressed or not sleeping well avoid high-intensity forms of exercise until you get those problems under control. If you are going well as time goes on, up the intensity and aim for a combination of exercise that builds muscle and exercise that get’s your heart rate going.
What else can I do?
Ideally, work with an experienced fertility naturopath who will test and assess you as an individual and prescribe high quality, prescription only medicines tailored specifically for you, plus help you get your diet right, in an achievable way. Naturopathic treatment can also support you through smoking and alcohol cessation, stress, gut health problems, sleep issues and weight loss endeavours and is a must for complex fertility issues and hormonal conditions such as those listed earlier in this article. If you have questions please book a free 10 minute chat with me to find out how I can help.
If you feel a naturopathic consult is not right for you at this time. Check out our Preconception Care Online Webinar where, together with my colleague Sage King, we dive deep into preconception care sharing the most powerful diet and lifestyle tips that we discuss every day in clinic. We’ll also cover how to get started on core supplements and what preconception assessment tests to do. You can watch it on-demand, at your own pace.