A Basic Guide to Fertility Enhancers
There are certain supplements that fertility specialists recommend as fertility enhancers. If you are trying to get pregnant and haven’t consulted a fertility specialist yet, you might take some of these enhancers or ask about them when you do visit a fertility specialist.
B-6
The most often recommended of the fertility enhancers is vitamin B-6. B-6, however, helps with a specific fertility problem involving the luteal phase in the menstrual cycle. The luteal phase will sometimes decrease over time or because of certain hormonal changes. The luteal phase is one of the two parts of the menstrual cycle—the other being the follicular phase in which a woman’s period typically happens. At the height of fertility, women will typically have a luteal phase that lasts up to two weeks. However, over time this phase tends to shorten. If your luteal phase dwindles to ten days or less, it makes it very difficult for the fertilized ovum to implant before the follicular hormones kick in and flush it from your system.
What B-6 does is to help balance out the luteal and follicular phases (in effect extending the luteal phase) and thus increasing the window of opportunity for fertilization and implantation to occur. Since many women have difficulty because of this shortened period of fertility, B-6 has helped many women get pregnant. It is, of course, not an answer to all problems with fertility.
You may be taking certain supplements that contain B-6 already. However, you will want to check on the content of B-6 in your supplements. The FDA recommendation for B-6 is less than 10 mg daily, and many supplement mixes will only have the FDA recommendation. In order for B-6 to help, you will need to have closer to 50 mg throughout your menstrual cycle. (Warning: You should not interpret any of the information you read here as a personal diagnosis. Before you undertake any kind of medical intervention, you should consult with your physician. Self-diagnosis could lead to very dangerous health problems. In other words, be sure to get any changes to your supplement intake checked out with your doctor first.)
B-12
Just as B-6 is the most recommend of the fertility enhancers for females who hope to conceive, so is B-12 the most often recommended supplement for men. Studies have shown that B-12 helps increase sperm count and sperm motility. B-12, when metabolized properly, can help protect sperm and help with fertilization.
Negative Recommendations
Just as there are certain supplements you can take in order to increase your chances of fertility, so too there are certain chemicals you should avoid. Of these, the main one is alcohol. Studies show that alcohol has negative effects for fertility in both men and women. In men, high levels of alcohol consumption can decrease sperm motility. In women, alcohol inhibits the hormones that enable fertility. Therefore, if you really want to increase your chances of fertilization, you should abstain from alcohol for at least three months prior to your attempts at impregnation.
Studies have shown that caffeine has similar effects to alcohol.
Exercise and Diet
The same things medical professionals recommend in order to maintain your health generally, are a doubly important when you and your partner are trying to get pregnant. You should look to exercise and maintain your weight at healthy levels. Similarly, you should avoid fatty foods and red meat and increase your intake of vegetables if they are not already a major part of your diet.
Other Supplements
Finally, you should check with your physician about other supplements such as zinc and folic acid, which can also help you with the fertilization process. A supplement such as zinc, for example, can help your body to metabolize proteins and improve the health of both sperm and ovum.
Although there is not always a medical solution to the problem of infertility, if you are diligent about following the advice of you physicians, you can give yourself the best chance to get pregnant.