Infertility: Why It Happens And How To Overcome It

Before I was 30, I never really heard about infertility but now, pregnancy is all everyone talks about. It’s my age group. My friends who haven’t had kids yet but have been trying for 6-12 months with no results. In the last year I’ve realized just how common it is to have a difficult time getting pregnant.

Part of the reason is birth control pills. Women who have been on birth control for almost half of their lives are coming off it and expecting to get pregnant right away. That, of course can happen, but it seems that more and more women can’t get their hormones back on track fast enough.

A study was performed to test how long it took to get pregnant after being off oral contraceptives (birth control pills) and they found that 72% to 94% became pregnant after one year.

However some women get pregnant just days after they’ve stopped taking birth control… so what gives? The reality is, we’ve been lead to believe that getting pregnant is way easier than it actually is. For some people yes, this does happen but the majority of women have to work a lot harder. This is because you have approximately a 30% chance of getting pregnant each menstrual cycle.

Your partners fertility also plays a role. Not to mention factors like smoking, weight, stress and lack of sleep play a roll in your changes of conceiving.

The fact is, even though some tests seem to prove it can take a year to get pregnant, it’s not necessarily your contraceptives that are to blame. In fact even people who were using non-hormonal forms of contraceptives like condoms, still took almost a year to get pregnant.  What it comes down to is age.The quantity and quality of your eggs isn’t what it once was. 

Your fertility actually decreases every year after the age of 25. So what can you do to help your body? The first step is to truly understand your body. What is your body telling you? Let’s review some signs and some solutions. 

Your period is your fertility meter. If you’re getting warning signs like spotting or irregular periods this might be what’s happening to you:

Brown spotting before your period starts can indicate low progesterone levels which means you might be able to get pregnant but have difficulty sustaining the pregnancy. To counter this, try eating vitamin B6 rich foods or you can try B6 supplements to increase your progesterone levels through encouraging the development of your Corpus Luteum (responsible for the production for progesterone).

Irregular Menstrual Cycles can make it difficult to get pregnant because it means you’re not ovulating. Note: spotting or bleeding can be mistaken for a period but it actually doesn’t mean you’ve ovulated.

Most women can tell if they haven’t had their period or if they are sometimes two weeks early or two weeks late. Learning how to track your ovulation and find ways to re-regulate your period is key.

A common cause of an irregular period is PCOS. Though other reasons can be a sugar-rich diet or chronic stress. If you have PCOS, S’moo is a great way to counter it and get your hormones back on track. Getting yourself on a healthy diet and finding ways to counter your stressful situations are also key. 

If you’re in your 30’s and experiencing vaginal dryness, thin/brittle nails, hair loss, irregular periods, hot flashes and night sweats you might be experiencing premature aging and these could be signs that you will have a difficult time getting pregnant.

This is caused from a lack of nutrients that is preventing your body from producing enough or certain hormones. A good place to start if you’re experiencing this is to get your hormones tested with a doctor.

Once you have a clear understanding of what is going on, problem solving with supplements and diet can help rejuvenate your body and get your hormones back on track. Women have also had luck with a daily scoop of S’moo added to their smoothies or breakfast to help get them back on track.

Irritable Bowl Syndrome (IBS) and Leaky Gut Syndrome can cause you bloating and discomfort, not to mention an uncomfortable trip to the bathroom more often than you’d like, these can also cause an autoimmune response that can cause infertility issues. This is from Estrobolome, which regulates your estrogen dominance which affects your fertility.

We often don’t think about our gut health but in reality, maintaining a healthy gut is essential because it affects many aspects of your body, like your estrogen levels, which in turn affects weight, libido, and mood.

A solution for maintaining good gut health is cutting out foods that include gluten, sugar and dairy. While including a good amount of phytonutrient-dense foods like avocados, dark green leafy vegetables (such as spinach, kale, broccoli, and romaine lettuce), red, orange and yellow vegetables and fruit (such as tomatoes, carrots, peppers, squash, sweet potatoes, peaches, mangos, melons, citrus fruits, and berries).

It’s amazing how often we underestimate food and even supplements and how with the right research, dedication and planning we can get our bodies back on track. 

Hopefully this blog shed some light on the way your body is working based on your symptoms and age and how you can counter your symptoms and balance your body into a better ground for becoming pregnant. If you’d like to connect with like minded women, feel free to join the S’moo Babe Private Facebook Group!