The body clock blues:
why there's no need to panic
 
It's a dilemma faced by all women that want a baby: the younger you are, the better your chances of conceiving – but you don't feel ready yet. Fear not, there are ways to maintain your fertility for longer.
 
Dr Glenville's Program
Based on the results of a study she carried out, Dr Marilyn Granville she has come up with the following suggestions for couples with previous infertility problems.
    You can increase your chances of conceiving – now or in the future – by making the same basic changes as the couples in the study.
 
Change your diet. Much of our food is processed and covered in pesticides and additives, leaving many of us lacking in the vitamins and minerals we need to conceive.
  • Eat more nuts, seeds and oily fish – essential for omega-3 and omega-6 essential fats, which are vital hormone balancers, and selenium, a powerful antioidant, for optimum fertility.
  • Add soya to your diet as it contains phyto-œstrogen – a natural plant œstrogen that can stabilise hormone levels in the body – and has been shown to prevent heavy or long periods, which can affect fertility.
  • Choose organic food to reduce your intake of growth promoters and antibiotics, which can have a direct effect on fertility.
  • Increase your zinc levels. A deficiency can lead to reduced fertility and an increased risk of miscarriage. The recommended daily dose is 15mg and the best sources are wholemeal breads, cheese, poultry, tuna, eggs and beans.
  • Cut out coffee. A study in medical journal The Lancet showed that drinking just one cup a day can halve your chance of conceiving.
  • Eat less cheese, cream and meat. A diet high in saturated animal fats can stimulate œstrogen production and compromise fertility.
  • Take folic acid supplements. Apart from helping to prevent spina bifida, it is also one of a number of B vitamins needed to produce DNA. The Department of Health recommends women get at least 400mcg a day while trying to conceive and during the first three months of pregnancy.
Quit smoking and cut down on alcohol. Smoking alone as much as halves your chances of conception. This is because cigarettes contain cadmium, a heavy toxic metal that stops zinc (essential for fertility) from being absorbed into the body. Researchers in Denmark and at Harvard University have also found that women drinking five or fewer units of alcohol a week were twice as likely to conceive within six months as women as women who were drinking double that amount.
 
Maintain a healthy weight. In fact, it is body mass index (BMI) rather than what it says on the scales that counts. Your BMI identifies the percentage of body tissue that is fat. As female sex hormones can only be produced with the help of fat cells, a BMI lower than 20 can stop egg release. Being overweight (above a BMI of about 25) also lowers fertility.
 
Learn to relax. Studies have shown that stress can effect a man's sperm count and the quality of sperm produced. In women, the release of the stress hormone prolactin can not only affect her ability to conceive but in severe cases can stop her ovulating. If you're stressing out about having sex on certain fertile days, remember that research shows that the more enjoyable the sex, the more likely you are to retain active sperm. This is because the contractions caused by an orgasm draw more sperm, and arousal makes the vaginal environment less acidic, allowing sperm to survive longer.

 

THE FREEZING OPTION
 
Freezing your eggs sounds like one way to delay motherhood without compromising your ability to conceive. But it's not easy. James Yeandel, from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), says: "It is up to the individual health authorities to apply for a cyropreservation licence, though to my knowledge no authority has yet asked to do so, and they would in theory give priority to cancer or early menopause sufferers. You could pay for it – there are two private licensed centres, in the UK (The Care at Park Hospital, Nottingham, and The Assisted Reproduction and Gynæcology Centre, London), but egg freezing and fertilisation is not yet 100% successful."
    The HFEA granted permission for eggs to be frozen in 1998, but only in the last year has it allowed fertilisation of frozen eggs to begin. The cost of egg removal and freezing procedure is £1,500, plus £2,800 a year to keep them frozen.
 
 
The above was found in M magazine with the Mirror of Saturday 18th. May 2001.
 

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