Among those factors that may affect your fertility treatment results is your weight. Here is why watching your diet can increase your chances of getting pregnant.

Your weight is very important when it comes to trying for a baby. Whether you are trying on your own, or you are having fertility treatment keeping an ideal weight means a lot, not only for a healthy kick-off, but also, to carry all the way through until delivery.

Excess weight is a common cause of ovulation problems, a disorder known as anovulation. Disorders of ovulation may stop the regular release of an egg each month, and by this way, increase the time it takes to conceive. Pregnancy itself is also affected by weight. Obesity increases the risk of miscarriage and it is also linked to a higher risk of developing high blood pressure and diabetes in pregnancy.

When it gets to fertility treatment, excess weight means you may need an increased dose of hormonal medicines in order to produce an adequate number of eggs, sometimes even this may not me enough, resulting in cancellations of treatment.

As IVF success depends largely on the number of eggs produced during ovarian stimulation, it really pays off starting with an ideal weight.

Moreover, keeping an optimal weight reduces the risks of anaesthesia which obesity may carry, an important factor when considering the process of egg retrieval which requires a mild form of anaesthesia.

When looking at results of IVF treatment, excess weight is related to lower chance of getting pregnant and a higher risk of miscarrying. The situation may be different in treatments with egg donation, as studies have not found the same effect of obesity in treatment outcome. This may be an indirect sign that egg quality is primarily affected by excess weight.

The role of exercise and physical activity cannot be overstated enough, as even obese women when having some form of regular exercise tend to make up for the above discussed weight-related problems.

Whether you are actively trying to get pregnant or you are having IVF treatment make sure you keep an eye on your weight. It will surely pay off.

©2021, Nicholas Christoforidis, Fertility Matters
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