Fertility and conception can be challenging for many couples, leaving many frustrated and unsure of how they can boost their fertility. Naturopathy can help here, offering a holistic approach that considers overall well-being alongside reproductive health. By targeting the root cause of health issues instead of just the symptoms, naturopathy can help to improve your fertility. How, you ask? Let our guide today show you!
How naturopathy helps with fertility
Naturopathy and naturopathic doctors can help couples improve their chances of conceiving by addressing the underlying cause of fertility issues. Typically, this involves balancing hormones, improving sperm and egg quality and creating a supportive environment for conception. How naturopathy achieves this is done through several methods, including:
- Acupuncture - which helps to improve blood flow to your reproductive organs and reduce stress
- Botanical medicine - to support reproductive function and overall health
- Lifestyle counselling - that can help couples make sustainable changes, supporting fertility
- Nutritional counselling - which addresses dietary deficiencies and supports hormonal balance
- Stress management techniques - to reduce the impact of stress on fertility
Naturopathy looks at the foundations for preconception care to help with fertility, which we have detailed below for you to learn more about this course of treatment.
Egg quality
Egg quality usually declines with the age of a woman, but there are other factors that can reduce the quality of eggs. These include an unhealthy diet, smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, and underlying conditions like ovarian cysts or endometriosis.
Naturopaths work with an individual to support the quality of the egg. They might encourage lifestyle changes, using nutraceuticals to support hormonal imbalances and supplements to reduce oxidative stress, which can diminish egg quality.
Sperm quality
Sperm quality refers to sperm count, motility, and morphology. It can be impacted by dietary and lifestyle choices. A naturopath will provide education on the importance of a nutrient-rich diet and appropriate exercises to support healthy sperm production. They can also explore environmental factors, testosterone levels, and stress management, which can impact healthy sperm production.
Holistic Health
A large part of naturopathy is holistic health, where you focus on treating the whole person rather than one health concern they may have. You will look after the overall health of the body. To do this, a comprehensive intake and lab testing are conducted to assess your current health. From this, a naturopath can create a treatment approach that supports a healthy pregnancy for the patient.
Alongside lifestyle changes, botanicals and acupuncture will be offered to support conception. They will also look at psycho-emotional stressors that you can encounter during fertility difficulties and help you manage these.
Adjunctive care to conventional fertility treatments
You don’t need to choose between naturopathic and conventional treatments, as they can be used in conjunction with one another. Naturopathic care can be used alongside IVF or other fertility treatments.
Lifestyle tips that can improve fertility
While naturopathy can be helpful, in some cases, changing your lifestyle can be enough to improve your fertility. Below are several ways that you can improve fertility through your lifestyle. Remember, these might not work for everyone, but they can improve your chances of conception.
Reduce your weight
Being overweight can impact ovulation, especially if you have excess fat in your abdomen. This can be linked with insulin resistance, where your body works harder to keep your blood sugar at normal levels. This can cause irregular menstrual cycles, making it harder to conceive. Some obese women also suffer from ovulation disorders, which prevent them from releasing eggs.
By lowering your weight, you can avoid these conditions to help with fertility. Being overweight during pregnancy comes with its own set of challenges, too, so it's better to address this issue now.
How naturopathy helps with fertility (cont.)
Eat foods rich in antioxidants
Studies have found a positive link between antioxidant consumption and oocyte quality and maturation, implantation, and placenta formation. Zinc also plays a role in ovulation and the menstrual cycle, so eating more foods rich in antioxidants can improve your fertility.
Limit caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol
Caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol can impact your ability to get pregnant and negatively impact your baby’s health once you do conceive. It is a good idea to limit your consumption of these substances before conception.
Rescue stress
It can be tricky to do so, but lowering your stress can impact your fertility. Psychological stress can impact your fertility and your physical health in general. Where possible, take time to find ways to reduce day-to-day stressors and improve your health and fertility.
Address the cause of fertility issues
It is always worth seeking professional help to see if there is an underlying or root cause of your fertility issues. There might be a health condition that is impacting your ability to conceive, and you should address it alongside making any lifestyle changes.
Find fertility naturopaths in Brisbane
Fertility naturopaths play an important role in helping you better understand your body and fertility. There are plenty of fertility naturopaths in Brisbane that can help you with your fertility journey, providing you with the care and support you need. Find your fertility naturopaths in Brisbane today.
