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It would seem logical that lifestyle factors play a role in the reproductive process. However, very few well established lifestyle factors that may hinder a woman’s ability to conceive.
We do offer some recommendations regarding caffeine, alcohol and tobacco.
We encourage women not to have more that 16 ounces of coffee (same as 2 cans of caffeinated soda) a day.
Smoking negatively affects pregnancy in many ways. It can lead to slow intrauterine growth, low birth weight, premature delivery and early separation of the placenta from the uterus to name a few. Smoking has also been linked to an increased chance of miscarriage and the chemicals contained in cigarette smoke can damage egg chromosomes and affect sperm function. These can decrease the chances of becoming pregnant. Smoking has also been linked to early menopause. These, in combination with the increased risk of heart attack, stroke and cancer amongst smokers, make it essential that you do all you can to stop smoking.
Alcohol consumption during pregnancy leads to birth defects. However, there is no known association between moderate alcohol consumption and infertility in women. Heavy alcohol consumption can affect both sperm count and function. We strongly encourage infertile couples to restrict their alcohol intake and for women to avoid from alcohol consumption during the second half of their menstrual cycle.
There is a negative impact of being overweight on general health and pregnancy. High blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and stroke are more common amongst significantly overweight women. The main issue for women who are markedly overweight and undergoing infertility treatment is that monitoring their response to treatment can be reduced as can be the ability to obtain eggs during IVF.
Being underweight can also affect reproductive health. Intensive dieting and exercising can cause irregularities in the ovulation. Associations with elevations in internal body temperature and poor reproductive outcome exist. Therefore we encourage exercise in moderation. When undergoing treatment, we recommend limiting running to
There remains much to be learned regarding the relationship between stress and reproduction. There is no doubt that stress an lead to ovulation problems, but short of this the impact of stress on reproduction is not known. Their is a growing body of evidence that stress reduction improves the chance of conceiving. Being part of a university medical system and a multigroup practice affords us the opportunity to work closely with the Division of Integrative Medicine in an attempt to help curtail your stress during the evaluation and treatment process. Along these lines, many benefit from belonging to a support group or working closely with a mental health professional. We encourage involvement with RESOLVE. RESOLVE is a national organization run by and for people with infertility. Its mission is to support couples embarking upon this journey. We also work closely with several dedicated support specialists.
Besides moderating the above mentioned lifestyle issues, we recommend that women planning on conceiving begin daily supplementation with 0.4mg of folic acid. This recommendation is based upon a United Public Health Service recommendation. Folic acid is part of the vitamin B complex and daily supplementation with 0.4mg prior to conceiving has been shown to reduce the risk of neural tube defects. This birth defect occurs in roughly 1/1000 births annually in the U.S. Except under the direction of your doctor, there is no need to routinely exceed this 0.4mg dose. We do encourage all pregnant women to undergo neural tube screening.
