Having a baby demands a change in lifestyle, be it quitting smoking, or just sleeping well at night. If your efforts to conceive are turning out to be vain attempts, then amending your habits can show positive results. Below are 8 things to avoid when you are trying to get pregnant.
1. Excessive Drinking
It is obvious that one needs to completely stop drinking once the baby is on board. However, if you are still trying to conceive, too much drinking will surely topple your attempts. Consuming more than two glasses of alcohol a day can alter your estrogen and progesterone levels, and mess with your menstrual cycle. In worst cases, it can lead to reduced or halted ovulation.
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2. Smoking
Pregnancy is an easy excuse to quit smoking, and thus reduce the risk of birth abnormalities. But, avoiding cigarettes right from the beginning, can increase your chances to conceive. According to researchers, it takes longer for regular smokers to get pregnant. It increases the occurrence of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. Partners, please note – smoking is also known to reduce the sperm count and mobility, and may also lead to sperm abnormality.
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3. Consuming Too Much Caffeine
Sorry to mention, but your daily coffee may be blamed for the repeatedly failed attempts to conceive. Experts advise for women, is who are trying to conceive, to limit themselves to a cup or two of coffee per day. We know you can’t do without your morning coffee, but keep it under the safer margin of 50 milligrams per day. Controlled consumption is recommended even during pregnancy as too much caffeine can increase the risk of miscarriage.
4. Experiencing Extremes In Weight
A woman’s weight is likely to affect her pregnancy. Checking on one’s BMI or Body Mass Index can indicate if they are overweight or underweight. At both extremes, if she is thin or obese, her regular ovulation cycle and menstrual flow may get disrupted. Obesity can even increase the risk of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and birth defects. These women can take medications to induce ovulation. Even opting for a healthy diet, after consulting a nutritionist, can bring favorable changes in your body required to make a baby.
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5. Eating Wrong
Overeating and eating junk can affect your fertility. Here is how – Food binges can lead to weight gain, and too much weight can cause fertility problems. Also, eating excessive junk food can increase your blood sugar levels, which is again not good for your fertility. But, it doesn’t mean you have to skip eating pizza to get pregnant. There is a difference between going for an occasional treat and being a junkie gourmand. Switching to salads from fries is a good start to your healthy diet.
6. Excessive Exercising
Exercise to stay fit, but don’t overdo it. Though regular exercise is good for you to maintain sound health, working out too much can affect your fertility. This applies to both men and women. More than an hour a day, or seven hours a week of intense exercise makes it the extreme. This is the reason athletes and gymnasts commonly struggle with infertility.
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7. Procrastinating
A delay in starting a family can affect your fertility. Our biological clock displays a decrease in fertility after the age of 27 in women and 40 in men. If you are 35 or older, and trying to conceive for over 6 months, then its time to consult a specialist.
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8. Mismanaging Stress And Sleep
Intense stress is not good for overall health, including fertility. Due to lifestyle demands, people often don’t realize that their bodies are under constant stress. Lack of sleep is another major outcome out of it, which again intervenes in the brain-body harmony. The resultant effect is infertility. Most people don’t realize it until it’s too late.
If you feel the above points are not your connecting dots, then you can visit a gynecologist. Consulting a specialist can help you diagnose any possible conditions that may be the real cause of infertility.
