Hard Time Conceiving? Why You Should See a Functional Nutritionist Before the Fertility Clinic
Blog Disclaimer: I am not going to ever waste your time in my posts with long intros and silly platitudes or scenarios that may or may not make the edges of your lips turn up. If you’re here and reading this, I know you want the facts and most likely appreciate brevity.
If you’ve been struggling to conceive, you may have considered a fertility clinic at this point. But I am here to ask you to consider making a short pit stop before seeking out such a high level of support – with one caveat.
First the caveat – if you have been diagnosed with endometriosis or at some point in your life have been told you have structural abnormalities with your uterus or fallopian tubes, you are the person who should definitely consider an hysterosalpingogram (HSG) which is an x-ray procedure used to see whether the fallopian tubes are patent (open) and if the inside of the uterus (uterine cavity) is normal. However, normally your OB/GYN can order this for you if you’re suspicious you fall into this category.
Now, if you’ve already done an HSG and/or already know everything is normal from a structural standpoint, then your next stop should be someone like me. A functional nutritionist (or someone else like a naturopathic doctor who works with fertility cases etc) who will help you improve the quality of your eggs, sperm and overall health.
The reason you would want to come to me first, is that your chances of conceiving a healthy embryo, pregnancy, infant and human is 100% dependent on the quality of your egg, sperm and natural hormonal milieu.
Directly from the 2022 review article, “Impact of Various Parameters as Predictors of The Success Rate of In Vitro Fertilization,” that looked at data from various journal articles published between 2000 and 2020…
The efficacy of IVF depends on the treating clinic’s overall success rate and the infertile couple’s characteristics. Accordingly, among the factors thought to affect IVF success rate are the physical environment, genetics, psychological factors, serum levels of some hormones, sperm and egg quality, as well as age and body mass index (BMI) of couple. PMID: 35639653
This article actually mentions the woman’s age as the most important factor in ART success. But the simple fact is age is not modifiable – and you are where you are. However, your physical environment (and how you interact with it), the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in your genes, your hormones, the quality of your eggs and sperm and BMI are ALL MODIFIABLE. And YOU have the power to change and improve them prior to conception.
When you take the time to improve these characteristics prior to attempting conception, your chances at conception are dramatically better. And it is these very factors that you and I will work on together, so you are not alone, so you have a guiding hand (that is educated and experienced) and so that you can get to the other side without fear and with a big bag of hope.
Together, we will test and look at your SNPs (mentioned above) and see what foods and lifestyle factors we can tweak to dial down the genetic variations that are working against you. We will make a plan to improve your diet and supplement regimen based on results from an organic acids tests (a test that assesses your body's antioxidant capacity, as well as vitamin, mineral, essential fatty acid, amino acid and digestive status). We will improve your ability to detoxify and support a healthy immune system by correcting your gut function. We will work on optimizing your hormonal status using your results from a DUTCH test.
With all of this information in hand we will enhance your body’s ability to deal with inflammation, oxidative stress and toxic waste. We will be able to correct nutrient deficiencies and improve your energy capacity and address the root cause of your health issues – all of which have been affecting the quality of your eggs and his sperm!
The list is not exhaustive, there is more that we can do, but this is covering the ground where most people and couples need support when addressing fertility and overall health.
As stated by a very well-known Fertility Clinic in Boston in a FAQ blog post, “Does your egg quality matter when utilizing assisted reproductive technology? …. In short, absolutely.” https://www.bostonivf.com/getting-started/egg-embryo-quality-101/
My point is … even if your final stop is a fertility clinic, you should be doing these steps anyway to improve your chances of a healthy embryo, pregnancy and ultimately human that you will be responsible for for the next 18 years of your life.
I look forward to working with you and your future family!
Xo
Madison