Women's Wellness & Fertility Centre
Every fertility treatment does not need IVF. Nor does it start with IUI or IVF. Sometimes, a basic correction in the body is good enough. Intervention in dietary habits, body and mind exercises and positive spirit alone can achieve the results. At PSFC, we give high priority to the body and mind. Fertility treatment starts with physical and mental wellness.
Fertility and Nutrition
Nutrition has a strong correlation with fertility.
- Being underweight can lead to anovulation, reduced estrogen levels, and increase miscarriage risks
- Obesity affects menstruation regularity
- Obesity can lead to ovulatory issues and diminished responses to fertility drugs
- Obese women are at higher risk for miscarriage, gestational diabetes, hypertension, preeclampsia, or toxemia
- PCOS is linked with insulin resistance, which causes hormonal imbalances in the ovaries
- Hormonal imbalances can interrupt the normal cycle of ovulation
- Being overweight can upset the balance of sex hormones, with or without PCOS
- Excess abdominal fat can increase the production of androgen levels, which must be consistent for regular ovulation and conception
- Excess body fat can trigger imbalances of the hypothalamus and pituitary hormones in the brain, which are needed for normal ovulation
- Increased insulin levels due to either obesity or PCOS disrupt the balance of sex hormones in the ovaries, which can interfere with ovulation
The best diet to maximize your fertility is one that supports a healthy body and, thus, a healthy reproductive system. Too much of processed or high-fat food and too little physical activity raise our obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Everything in moderation is a good maxim to remember. We need to eat a well-balanced diet and exercise regularly.
Skipping meals disrupts the natural balance of a functional metabolism. Undernourishment can send a message to the body that the food supply is scarce, which may not be the optimum time to become pregnant. At the same time, eating too much unhealthful food can affect the exquisite hormonal balance your body requires to conceive.
There are different ways to prepare your body for pregnancy, including healthy eating habits to boost your fertility rate by providing essential vitamins and minerals to your diet.
Try these:
- Fruits and Vegetables: in addition to supplying vitamins, minerals, fiber, and disease-fighting plant nutrients or phytochemicals, eating more vegetables and fruits help displace higher-calorie foods without leaving you feeling hungry
- Healthful Proteins: lean meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, beans, soy foods, nuts, seeds, and reduced-fat dairy foods provide necessary vitamins and minerals, are more filling than carbohydrates, and help you feel full longer. Women require 50 grams per day of healthy protein, while men require 63 grams
- Homemade Foods: trim your fat intake by eating out less often and limiting fried or prepared foods with lots of butter and oil. Research has tied the intake of unhealthy trans fats found in processed foods to higher rates of infertility
- Whole Grains: choose whole grain bread, fiber-containing cereals, brown rice, and other unprocessed grains. At PSFC, we help you find a good balance with the help of a Nutritionist (by appointment).
Fertility and Nutrition
Each person is unique mentally and physically. He or she needs an individual approach. What suits one may not be the best for the other.
At PSFC, we recognize this fact. We do not generalize and categorise our patients. We do not make any assumptions. We look for information and data (based on diagnostic tests) as to why they are not conceiving and choose the specific treatment option that yields best results. Without wasting time or money. That sets us apart from other Fertility Centres.
Body & Mind calmness
We know that stress takes a toll on an individual’s ability to persevere through fertility treatments. In addition, research shows that stress is the number one reason patients drop out of treatment. People who are experiencing infertility report the same levels of anxiety and depression as do people with cancer, HIV+ status, or heart disease. Stress can lead to many physical issues, including high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.
Many factors trigger stress. Time, money, unsuccessful cycles, envy at a friends’ pregnancy, absence of vacation, queries from friends and relatives about your fertility status, offer of free advice and so many more. Coping with stress is a challenge that often makes you feel isolated and lonely. Fortunately, you are not alone. Your experience is natural and shared by many. Nevertheless, it does not help your cause of conceiving.
It’s why our Wellness Center offers the Mind/Body Program for Fertility.
The goal of this program is to help you get your life back, to become the person you were before you started trying to build a family, and to feel healthy and whole as you continue to pursue your dream of parenthood.
The program is led by our team of psychologists (by appointment), besides Yoga and Meditation advisors who are experts in the emotional aspects and challenges of infertility and family-building.
Our program can be held on Zoom and offers support for people at any stage of treatment. The program enables participants to take back control of their lives, positively cope with treatments and learn about lifestyle habits that contribute towards happiness and good health.
Lifestyle changes
There are certain behaviors that can impact the rate of male/female fertility decline, such as:
A natural cure calls for avoiding the above substances and by improving BMI.
Acupunture
We support in offering in-house acupuncture treatments that synchronize with IUI and IVF procedures. Our acupuncture specialist works alongside you to custom-design a course of treatment that is right for you. We offer acupuncture treatments by appointments.
Program fast facts
We recommend fertility acupuncture just before and right after IUI and IVF treatments
How acupuncture can help
- Enhance the possibility of IVF success by improving diminished ovarian reserve markers
- Normalizes menstrual cycle and hormone levels
- Increases your likelihood of a successful birth by supporting your body’s overall health during pregnancy
- Improves pregnancy outcomes if you have experienced recurrent pregnancy loss
- Increases blood flow to the uterus and ovaries, which can improve the quality of eggs and heighten chances of a successful implantation
- Returns ovulation if you have stopped ovulating due to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).
Coordinated treatments
On the day of your embryo transfer, you will arrive one hour early in PSFC to meet with a PSFC IVF Wellness Center acupuncture practitioner just before your scheduled procedure.
A 30-minute acupuncture treatment will be performed. The pre-transfer treatment uses acupuncture points that help dilate the cervix, making the insertion of embryos easier. Other points are used to calm your nervous system, which relaxes the uterus and causing a decrease in cramping and contractions.
Other acupuncture points help improve blood circulation to the uterus to create a thicker uterine lining. The treatment is calming and helps optimize uterine receptivity.
Just after your doctor performs the embryo transfer, you will again visit our fertility wellness center, where your acupuncturist performs a second acupuncture treatment. Post-transfer treatment focuses on relaxing the nervous system and uses acupuncture points that help circulate additional blood to the uterus. This aids in preventing contractions, nourishes the newly implanted embryo and makes successful implantation more likely.
For 24-48 hours after an IVF or IUI procedure, acupuncture continues to be effective in putting a patient’s mind at ease and decreasing the spasms and cramping sometimes associated with IVF and IUI procedures. Although we recommend patients participate in a longer-term fertility acupuncture program, this one-time option is a stand-alone treatment that offers a higher success rate than no acupuncture at all.
