Making the decision to have a baby is a joyful time, although it can also be frustrating if you and your partner don't become pregnant right away. You may need to make lifestyle changes to increase your fertility, including reducing your stress levels and making changes to the way you eat. Nutrition plays a vital role in improving your chances of getting pregnant, and there are a variety of vitamins and other supplements you can take to help. Please consult your physician before taking any supplements.
Vitamin C
A vitamin associated with drinking orange juice, consider adding vitamin C to your daily diet for fertility. The BabyHopes website reports that ensuring an adequate vitamin C intake can impact the quality of cervical mucus, which may effect your chances of conceiving. Healthy cervical mucus contributes toward sperm's ability to survive in the body while making its way to the egg for fertilization. The BabyHopes website note that vitamin C may boost the amount of water cervical mucus holds, encouraging great amounts of mucus in the body. Medline Plus recommends a daily intake of vitamin C for adults of 75 to 90mg and warns not to take more than 2,000mg of vitamin C per day as it can cause diarrhea and stomach problems.
Maca
Whether it's you or your partner who needs help increasing your fertility, maca may prove beneficial. The Getting Pregnant website notes that maca, a root vegetable native to Peru, may help balance estrogen levels in women. This can encourage the body to sustain a pregnancy. Additionally, maca lowers estrogen in men to healthy levels, which encourages sperm production, according to Getting-Pregnant.com. The website reveals that taking maca may combat infertility if a woman suffers from stress, low-quality eggs, endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome. Research published in the May 2005 issue of "Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology" indicates that animal studies using maca encouraged higher fertility levels, although clinical trials are needed to confirm that these findings will translate to humans. Drugs.com reveals that a safe dose for taking maca consists of one dried maca extract capsule of 450mg ingested with food three times every day.
Folic Acid
Getting adequate levels of folic acid, also known as vitamin B9, in a woman's diet is recommended to help prevent birth defects, but it also plays a role in fertility for you and your partner. Research published in the March 2008 "Human Reproduction" journal notes that males taking between 722 and 1,150mcg of folic acid reduced their levels of abnormal sperm by 20 to 30 percent. Researchers note that this can contribute toward improving your chances of conception, according to a March 2008 article in "The Independent." Findings presented at the 2006 American Society for Reproductive Medicine annual meeting reveal that taking folic acid can also increase fertility in women. If you take a multi-vitamin containing folic acid six days per week, you may increase your chances of getting pregnant. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that recommended dosage of folic acid for women is 400mcg daily, particularly when you and your partner are trying to conceive.
Zinc
Zinc is particularly important for male fertility. Research in the March 2002 issue of "Fertility and Sterility" indicates that men who took 66mg of zinc supplements daily, in conjunction with 5mg folic acid supplements, significantly increased the number of normal sperm and slightly decreased the number of abnormal sperm, which can have an impact on your chances of becoming pregnant. Making sure women get the recommended daily intake of 15mg per day of zinc may also help increase fertility, according to the American Pregnancy Association, as it contributes toward ovulation.
References
- PubMed: Effects of folic acid and zinc sulfate on male factor subfertility: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial
- Oxford Journals: The association of folate, zinc and antioxidant intake with sperm aneuploidy
- Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology: Lepidium meyenii (Maca) increases litter size in normal adult female mice
- Medline Plus: Vitamin C
- Getting Pregnant: Get a Maca Fertility Boost
- The Independent: Taking folic acid can enhance fertility in men, researchers say
