Skip to main content
09 Oct 2018 If you want to get pregnant you can give mother nature a helping hand with a fertility boosting diet.  A summary of what is known about food that improve female and male fertility has just been published in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
The proportion of Australians who are overweight or obese is at an all-time high. We know excess weight is linked to many adverse health consequences, but there is now growing understanding that it also affects fertility.
There is an old saying that we are what we eat. And this has some truth as every cell in our body is made from what we eat and drink and will function more or less well depending on what and how much we eat.
For most people, pregnancy and having babies is ‘women’s business’. But the more we learn about the miracle of having a healthy baby, the more we understand that the health of both women and men before pregnancy is critical for this to happen.
In a series of papers published in The Lancet, research shows that women’s health in the months and years before they become pregnant can impact on their health during pregnancy and the baby’s development.
To have the best chance of getting pregnant and having a healthy baby both women and men should strive to be in the best possible health.
n a study of more than 40,000 women who gave birth to their first child between 1990 and 2014 at a Sydney hospital, researchers compared the mothers’ weight and outcomes of the births that occurred 1990-1994 and 2010-2014.
Two recent studies show that common over-the-counter painkillers which contain the substance ibuprofen (e.g. Nurofen and Advil) can reduce male fertility and disrupt the development of the ovaries in female foetuses.
If you’re planning to have a baby this year, one of the best ways to improve your fertility is to quit smoking. It also helps if your partner quits.
As we cheer in the new year, we also often reflect on what we could do to improve our health and wellbeing. Goals that can help improve the chances of having a baby include losing some weight, eating a healthier diet, increasing physical activity, and stopping smoking.