5 (Basically Free) Ways To Improve Fertility

Fertility seems a mystery sometimes!
Trying to work out if there's an underlying issue or if you need to just keep trying? Knowing when to try? Wanting to know why on earth you're not pregnant yet!?
You're not alone.

Here's 5 free ways you can help boost your fertility

Every woman is unique and where the fertility problem lies can be so different.
Luckily, there are some basics that are universal!

You need:

• Sufficient pelvic blood flow to grow your eggs & thicken your lining
  

• Enough nutrients to be able to survive AND make babies (otherwise the body priorities your life over a baby)
  

• To be able to make enough fertility/pregnancy hormones
  

• To know that you're ovulating and when you're most fertile
  

• To remember it takes two to tango! Your man also needs to be tested and looking after himself too
  

The Basics

If there's been a silver lining to this pandemic, it’s finding the time to slooow down! 

For us & many of our beautiful clients, there's been more time to prioritise our health; to go for walks or actually have a lunch break. Maybe you’ve finally found the time to drink enough water throughout the day, been more mindful in taking vitamins and herbs or just started getting a good night’s sleep.

Fertility is your body's healthiest state. It means your body has enough of the basics to not only survive, but regulate hormones and make babies.

Of course, fertility is more complicated than just drinking 2L+ of water a day! However, necessities like eating enough good food, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep and making an effort to decrease stress, are all non-negotiable basics for improving fertility.

Calm thy Cortisol!

When you have high stress levels for a long period of time, it wreaks havoc on fertility, for men & women. Cortisol is one of your stress hormones and it affects the body by:

• Decreasing pelvic blood flow to your uterus & ovaries
  

• Increasing the production of cortisol hormones instead of fertility hormones

Less pelvic blood flow means growing your uterine lining and making beautiful eggs so much harder! The same applies to men, with high cortisol decreasing blood flow to the testes impacting sperm production.

Fertility hormones like oestrogen & progesterone (& testosterone) are made of the same building blocks as cortisol. So if your body continually needs to make more cortisol, eventually it will start doing so at the expense of your fertility hormones, making fertility that much harder.

CALM YOUR CORTISOL

1. Eat regularly. Plummeting blood glucose levels spike cortisol! Snack regularly and healthily

2. Go for walks, most of us have been walking like a boss lately! If it's not raining, put on a warm jacket and get out there. Your cortisol levels will thank you.

3. Do 20 min Yoga Nidras on YouTube (once described as meditation for people who can't meditate). Free and easy, you can lie back, listen and feel the tension floating away!

4. Do more slow-paced gentle exercises. High-intensity cardio like running, spin classes & HIIT all spike your cortisol levels - the opposite of what we are trying to achieve. 1.5h a week of moderate-intensity exercise per week is plenty!!

Track your cycles

Are you ovulating? (getting periods isn’t a guarantee!) Do you know when you're fertile? Temperature charting answers these questions and more!

You just need a temperature based fertility tracking app (no temps = not accurate) & an Ovulation Thermometer (ok not free - but costs less than $20!).

We love Fertility Friend App (free version). Though FF app isn’t as sleek and sexy as other apps, it gives a really clear picture of what’s going on inside. 

It will tell you:

• When/if you’re ovulating more accurately than pee sticks (did you know you can have LH surges without ACTUALLY ovulating?)
  

• How your period and pre-period symptoms are tracking, to see if you’re moving towards or away from better cycles (who remembers what their period was like 3 months ago?!)
  

• What’s happening with your hormones! If you are working with a fertility practitioner, this information is pure gold!!

For more info on charting check out our blog post here

Fertility Femoral Massage

What now?? This cool technique is free and takes less than 4 mins.

"Massage" your femoral artery in the time between your periods (don't do after ovulation if you may be pregnant).
By applying pressure to the femoral artery on the inside of your leg near your undie line, then releasing it, blood flow to your ovaries & uterus is improved so they can work better!

Here's how to do it

Do Yoga

There's a reason why Yoga has been around for thousands of years and why millions of people do it regularly. It's so good for you!!

Regular, gentle yoga is best. Getting your sweat on is not ideal for fertility. The idea is to reduce stress levels & improve pelvic blood flow.
Too much cardio elevates your cortisol levels (which is the opposite of what you want right now!)

I'm loving Yoga with Adriene on youtube right now. If it all feels too hard (I feel you!) just pick a 10 minute one and do it on your carpet, easy!

Need more help with your fertility? We are here for you.
While Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine may not be for everyone, it has been shown to reduce cortisol levels and improve pelvic blood flow & nutrient absorption - hooray!