Fertility Booster

If you haven't been able to get pregnant in a normal amount of time, you should see a doctor to find out what's wrong and how to treat it. Someone should look at you and your partner. Your doctor will do a physical check and get a full medical history.

Fertility tests might include:

Ovulation testing -  An over-the-counter ovulation prediction kit that you can use at home can pick up on the rise in luteinizing hormone (LH) that happens before ovulation. A progesterone blood test, indicative of post-ovulation hormone levels, can also determine ovulation status. Additional tests may be conducted on additional hormones, such as prolactin.

Hysterosalpingography - A special dye called X-ray contrast is put into your uterus during hysterosalpingography. Then, an X-ray is taken to look for problems inside the uterus. The test also checks to see if the blood leaves the uterus and flows out of the fallopian tubes. If problems are found, you'll probably need more testing.

Ovarian reserve testing - This test helps find out how many and what kind of eggs are available for ovulation. This set of blood and image tests might be given to women over 35 who are at risk of having their egg supply run out.

Other hormone testing -  Other hormone tests check the amounts of hormones that control reproduction, such as thyroid and pituitary hormones that control ovulation.

Imaging tests - A pelvic ultrasound checks for problems with the uterus or fallopian tubes. A sonohysterogram, which is also known as a saline infusion scan, or hysteroscopy is sometimes used to see things inside the uterus that an ultrasound can't.

Hysterosalpingography

A thin catheter is put into your cervix by a doctor or worker. It sends a contrast material into your uterus as a liquid. The dye follows the shape of your uterus and fallopian tubes so that they can be seen on X-rays.

In rare cases, your research might include the following:

• Laparoscopy - A small cut is made under your belly for this minimally invasive surgery, and a thin viewing device is put in to look at your fallopian tubes, ovaries, and uterus. A laparoscopy can find endometriosis, scars, problems with the ovaries and uterus, and fallopian tubes that are blocked or not working right.
• Genetic testing - Genetic testing can help you figure out if any changes to your genes might be stopping you from getting pregnant.

Treatment

How you treat infertility relies on what's causing it, your age, how long you've been trying to have a baby, and your own personal preferences. Because infertility is a complicated problem, treatment requires a lot of time, money, effort, and mental health.

Medication or surgery can be used to try to restore your fertility, or more advanced methods can be used to help you get pregnant.

Medicines to help women get pregnant again

Infertility drugs are medicines that control or speed up ovulation. Fertility drugs are the main way that women who can't have children because of problems with ovulation get help.

Most fertility drugs work to start ovulation in the same way that follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) do naturally. These pills are also given to women who ovulate to try to get a better egg or more eggs.

Some fertility drugs are:

Clomiphene citrate: This drug, when taken by mouth, causes the pituitary gland to release more luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). These hormones help an ovarian follicle with an egg grow. Usually, this is the first thing that women younger than 39 who don't have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) try.

Gonadotropins - The ovary is stimulated to make more eggs by these injected treatments. Gonadotropin drugs include Menopur (human menopausal gonadotropin) and Gon-F, Follistim AQ, and Bravelle.

The human chorionic gonadotropin (Ovidrel, Pregnyl) is another gonadotropin that is used to make the eggs develop and get them ready to be released when the ovaries open. There are worries that using gonadotropins raises the risk of having multiple babies and giving birth early.

Metformin - This medicine is given to women who are having trouble getting pregnant and insulin resistance is known or thought to be the cause. Usually, these women have PCOS. Metformin (Fortamet) lowers insulin tolerance, which can make it more likely that a woman will ovulate.

Letrozole - Letrozole, which is sold under the brand name Femara, is an oestrogen inhibitor and works in the same way that clomiphene does. Letrozole is most often given to women younger than 39 who have PCOS.

Bromocriptine - A dopamine agonist called bromocriptine (Cycloset, Parlodel) may be used to treat fertility problems that are caused by the pituitary gland making too much prolactin (hyperprolactinemia).

Pros and cons of fertility drugs

There are some risks that come with using fertility drugs, such as

Pregnancy with multiples - Oral medicines mostly cause twins, with a very low chance of multiples (less than 10%). With injectable drugs, your chances go up by up to 30%. The main risk of having twins or more is also present with injectable fertility drugs.

In general, the more babies you're carrying, the higher the risk of going into labour early, having a baby that is too small, or having problems with growth later on. If too many follicles form, changing the medicines can sometimes lower the risk of having multiples.

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) - Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is an uncommon illness that may occur with the administration of reproductive medications to induce ovulation. Symptoms and signs, such as swollen and painful ovaries, generally go away on their own. Other symptoms and signs include mild abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.

A worse type of OHSS can happen, which can also lead to fast weight gain, painfully swollen ovaries, fluid in the belly, and shortness of breath.

Long-term risks of ovarian tumors - Most studies that look at women who use fertility drugs find that there aren't many or any long-term risks. Some studies, though, show that women who take fertility drugs for 12 months or more and still can't get pregnant may have a higher chance of getting borderline ovarian tumours later in life.

Ovarian tumours are more likely to happen in women who have never been pregnant, so it may have something to do with the problem itself rather than the treatment. Because results are usually better in the first few treatment rounds, it seems like it would be best to check medication use every couple of months and focus on the treatments that work best.

Surgery to make a woman fertile again

Several surgeries can fix issues or make it easier for women to have children. But because other methods work so well, surgery to help with fertility isn't used very often these days. Among them are::

Laparoscopic or hysteroscopic surgery - During surgery, issues with the uterine structure may be addressed by excising endometrial polyps and certain types of fibroids that alter the configuration of the uterine cavity, or by resolving adhesions between the pelvis and the uterus.

Tubal surgeries - If your fallopian tubes are obstructed or filled with fluid, your physician may recommend laparoscopic surgery to remove adhesions, clear a blockage, or create a new opening in a tube. Most of the time, in vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a better way to get pregnant than this process. If you want to get pregnant with in vitro fertilisation (IVF), having your tubes taken out or blocked close to the uterus can help with this surgery.

Help with reproduction

The most popular ways to get help with getting pregnant are:

Intrauterine insemination (IUI) - During intrauterine insemination (IUI), which occurs around ovulation, the uterus is seeded with millions of healthy sperm.

Assisted reproductive technology - To do this, mature eggs must be taken out and fertilised with sperm in a lab dish. The babies must then be moved into the uterus. IVF is the best tool for helping people get pregnant. Getting pregnant through IVF takes a few weeks and involves getting daily hormone shots and having blood tests often.

Coping and support

Managing infertility can be both physically and mentally exhausting. To deal with the ups and downs of testing and treating infertility, try these things:

Learn all you can: To help you and your partner get ready for therapy, ask your doctor to walk you through the steps. Knowing how things work might help you feel less stressed.

Seek support: Even though infertility is a very private matter, you can get help from your partner, close family or friends, or a professional. You can talk about problems related to infertility in a lot of online support groups without having to reveal who you are.

Exercise and eat a healthy diet: Despite infertility, a healthy diet and fitness routine can improve your health and focus.

Consider other options: As soon as possible during the treatment for infertility, think about other options, such as adoption, donor sperm or eggs, or even not having any children at all. This can make you feel less stressed during treatments and less upset if you don't get pregnant.

Best foods for getting pregnant

Eating a varied diet and staying at a healthy weight are the best ways to make sure you can have children. These foods, on the other hand, may help that you get pregnant:

A. Walnuts

Walnuts, which are easy to eat, help with ovulation and keep sperm healthy. They are rich in omega-3s, which can help you get pregnant. Walnuts also have vitamin E, which is an antioxidant that helps make more sperm and make them move around more.

One study that looked only at walnuts and male fertility found that men who ate just one handful (about 42 grammes) of walnuts every day for three months had healthier sperm. Samples of sperm from people who ate walnuts had more viable sperm in them than samples from other people.

B. Tomatoes

Tolons are a great way to get vitamins A and C. But they also have lycopene in them, which is the chemical that makes many red fruits and veggies red. Lycopene is known to make sperm move and multiply more.

Cooking tomatoes is the best way to get the most lycopene out of them. Heat reduces vitamin C in tomatoes, but also increases lycopene, which is healthier. The amount of lycopene in tomatoes goes up by 54% after being heated for just two minutes, to 190.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The lycopene level goes up by 75% after 25 minutes. Besides that, lycopene is better absorbed by your body when tomatoes are warmed than when they are fresh.

You can still get a lot of lycopene from tomatoes even if you can't eat them cooked. You can pick tomato sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, or fresh tomatoes. But keep in mind that tomato paste already has a lot of sugar in it, and look for brands that don't add any extra sugar.

C. Citrus fruits

Vitamin C, which is found in lots of citrus foods, is another antioxidant that has been shown to help sperm. They also have a lot of polyamines, which are chemicals that are important for both men and females to reproduce.

These orange fruits are the best places to get polyamines:

• Grapefruit
• Lemons
• Oranges
• Tangerines
• Full-fat dairy

There are no rules about how much cheese you should eat while trying to get pregnant. For women, on the other hand, there is evidence that eating full-fat dairy products may lower your chance of ovulatory infertility. This is when you can't make eggs or release them regularly.

Vitamins A, E, and D can be found in large amounts in full-fat cheese. There are also a lot of polyamines in cheeses. Parmigiano-Reggiano, Camembert, and Asiago are some examples of hard cheeses and raw milk cheeses that have the most.

D. Beans and lentils

If you want to increase your chances of getting pregnant, don't miss out on beans and lentils. They have a lot of folate and spermidine, which is a polyamine that is linked to ovulation. Researchers have found a link between higher folate levels and higher rates of fertilised eggs implanting and clinical pregnancy with the help of artificial reproduction. Men who have higher folate levels have more and better sperm.

Plant-based protein can also be found in beans and lentils. Researchers have found that women who get their protein from plants are less likely to have problems with ovulation that make it hard for them to get pregnant.

E. Sardines and salmon

It can be hard to conceive while eating fish. Omega-3 fatty acids can help with fertility, but women who want to get pregnant should stay away from foods that are high in mercury, which can make it harder to get pregnant and cause problems with your periods.

It can be hard to find the right mix of high omega-3 fatty acids and low mercury, but it's worth it. Couples who ate eight or more plates of seafood per cycle got pregnant in less than half the time it took couples who ate less.

You can choose sardines or salmon, either canned or wild. They're not the only choices, though. These are some other low-mercury sources of omega-3 fatty acids:

• Anchovies
• Canned mackerel
• Herring
• Oysters