Is there any way to improve my chances of getting pregnant? I've been trying for awhile. I've been to doctors and so far they haven't found anything wrong, however, I've had a patchy health history and there is, statistically, a 50% chance that I cannot get pregnant because of my past condition. I want to do everything I can to help my body. Do you have any advice? I would be so grateful.
Nell
The most basic advice for increasing fertility is to increase health. Drink more water, eat more raw, sleep more, relax more, exercise more, eat more omega 3 and 6 (flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds), reduce toxic exposure, reduce non-nutrients (caffeine, sugar, alcohol, etc) - basically make your body as healthy as can be.
Many fertility problems are directly related to poor nutrition and poor overall health. Pregnancy cannot occur when the body is overwhelmed and in a compromised state of health. Logically, why create and sustain a new life (fetus), if the body isn't even capable of sustaining itself?
There are also specific herbs and foods to help with fertility, but as I know very little about you or your health background, I am wary to recommend something. Maybe talking with a naturopathic or osteopathic Dr would be helpful for you, to pinpoint the changes you need to make to your life to increase fertility.
Good luck!
I've heard Maca is good for hormones (and the libido) so I would recommend researching that.
I second what Fortune says about general health and poor nutrition.
I've talked with many raw women about menstruation. I know a few women whose period stopped after first starting raw. Others have lost their period when they started on some kind of raw fasting (while already on a raw diet).
In both cases, the women lost a lot of weight in a short period of time. Being underweight, for one thing, won't help fertility. Just to say that when you eat too little, your body won't let you get pregnant.
Now, these women didn't get their period, but you can get your period without ovulating and vice-versa.
In my case, my guy and I took little less than 2 years conceiving our first child (well, we weren't very fierce, we just said that if a baby should arrive, then it's ok with both of us, so we continued our lives un-preoccupied).
I kind of think that you have to give the body a couple of tries. So unless you have planned at what date you want your child to be born and unless you are in a hurry because of your age, I would just go naturally about it, and allow the body enough time and enough tries, and not put any pressure on yourself to succeed.
-Geica
Part of the reason I went raw was to get a "lost" menstrual cycle back. After not having one for over a year, my cycle was back after two months of being raw. I have no comments on how to increase fertility, but I hear so much about women losing a period after being raw that I feel it's important to talk about my personal experience.
It's funny, after countless tests my doctor could not give me any medical explanation as to why I wasn't getting a period. We were baffled. She was amazed that a raw diet was able to reverse whatever was going on in less than two months.
Maca!!!!!!!
although not vegan: royal jelly, raw honey, and bee pollen. I didn't get pregnant for 7 years. I wasn't trying to get pregnant but also wasn't using any kind of contraception. I started a raw diet, and still nothing. At that point I didn't think I could have children. Then, after a few months of adding the above ingredients to my green smoothies I conceived.
Evening Primrose Oil, check out: http://www.babyhopes.com/articles/epo.html
it aids in making your cervical tissue more moist and sticky for the sperm
definately maca but also if you aren't eating many raw fats look into upping those by eating more things like avo, coconut etc as fats are really important to ensure that your body will be able to sustain a growing fetus.
good luck :)
I've also heard some great stuff regarding maca and fertility, think I saw some research done on men in which sperm count went up by like 50% or something, just be aware that it isn't for everyone, to me for example it gives the worse stomach cramps you can imagine, so don't push it too hard if it doesn't work with you.
When you say some women had their period stop after going raw you mean for a short while or completely and they had to return to SAD?
Hi Nell,
If you haven't already, I'd recommend reading a number of posts on the Kristen's Raw blog: http://kristensraw.blogspot.com/
She went through quite the ordeal to get pregnant and writes about all the details in regards to prepping her body for it as well as the actual procedure they went through.
I'll also throw out that a coworker of mine tried for years and finally conceived after starting an acupuncture regime. Just another thing to look into. :-)
Low glycemic diet is nr one!
Avoiding food that raises the produktion of insulin, because too much insulin affect your ovaries negatively and limits fertility.
This has helped a lot of women, I think I read something like, that every 7th woman is infertile due to sky high insulin levels!
so limit sugar (dried fruits, sugary fruits etc)
and add essential fatty acis, prime rose is brilliant like already sugested.
there is also great homeopathic remedies to treat infertility.
Hope for your pregancy to come!
I second great raw nutrition, plus I'd focus on alot more greens, as well as healthy fats, etc. And vitex. Vitex really helped me (it also helps protect against miscarriage) when macca didn't.
Sorry to bump this.
but just wanted to add, that ive taken vitex/agnus castus too, and it does work really well.. but you have to have patience it can take up to 6months for it to work properly, it did for me. but it practically changed my life after that.
may sound crazy but try Reiki healing...I did a treatment of Reiki because my period was way skewed...(along with serious back injury which pain is now GONE)...I'd go months without a period, and maybe 2 days after the treatment I started my period, and since then, LIKE clockwork have gotten it...with the exception of getting pregnant after maybe 7 months..miscarried because I didn't catch the pregnancy early enough to improve my habits...I recommend Reiki..what have you got to lose :)
Wheatgrass Juice!!!!
Vida.Gitana, thats really interesting. I haven't had a period since coming off the pill (Nov) and it's annoying me as I'm trying to get pregnant. I'm taking maca but would give Reiki a try if this helped.