How to improve ovarian reserve to get pregnant

How to improve ovarian reserve to get pregnant

Are you over 40 and trying to improve your ovarian reserve? I have some tips for you that are good for you at any point in your life – but are especially useful for women over the age of 40.

First of all, let’s talk about what your ovarian reserve is, and how important it is for your fertility…

In a modern world, where women are deciding to start their families ‘later’ in life, ovarian reserve is becoming a more and more popular topic when it comes to fertility.

Unplanned pregnancy is something you worry and worry about when you’re younger – your priorities are focused on graduating school, building your career, travelling and adventuring.

Then, one day, you wake up, and you start to worry that you waited too long. You start to worry about whether or not you still can get pregnant. You ask yourself: should I get pregnant sooner rather than later? How much time do I have left to try?

This is you either consciously (or subconsciously) worrying about your ovarian reserve. Unlike men – where age hardly has an influence on their fertility – women are born with their lifetime supply of eggs. This number will never go up, but it will eventually begin to decline with age. The older you get, the more rapid the rate of decline.

If you’re over 40 and trying to pregnant, then I have 4 tips for you on how you can improve your ovarian reserve and egg quality…

#1 Get the hormone labs

One of the most important things you can do when trying to understand where you stand with your fertility is to find out the reason(s) WHY you’re facing issues.

Have you had all of the necessary lab tests done? Do you have a full picture of what your hormones are trying to tell you? Having the right tests done means you can create a plan that will work with your ovarian reserve.

Some tests that I recommend to my patients are:

Modern Fertility – Female Hormone Test

It includes a hormone test personalized results that walk you through your ovarian reserve (how many eggs you have “waiting in the wings”) egg freezing and IVF, menopause timing and more, access to a weekly webinar (“egginar”), a 1:1 consult with a fertility nurse, and an invitation to a real talk community of women.

Let’s get checked – Ovarian Reserve Test

At home AMH test to indicate the number of eggs a woman has left, with online results in 5 days.

Biomarkers covered:

• Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH)

Finally, many of my patients come to me saying that their doctors have already done all of their labs with them and assured them that everything is fine.

The fact that you’re here reading this article tells me otherwise, and I will always recommend that you get a second opinion to make sure nothing has been missed the first time.

For more information on what tests you should have done to better understand your fertility, please click here.

#2 Treat the root cause

Getting pregnant depends on a multitude of things being balanced in your body – all at the same time. Sometimes, you’ll need to look outside of your fertility first. Do you have any unresolved health issues? They could be playing a bigger role in your journey towards pregnancy than you think.

The fact that you’re not pregnant yet could be down to issues entirely separate to your fertility. Or it could be a combination of things.

Do you have any:

• Digestive issues

• Stress

• Hormonal Imbalances

• Thyroid Issues

It’s important that you address these as a part of your fertility plan – after all, you’re trying to create the perfect conditions to create and support the growth of a life inside of you. For that to happen successfully, the entirety of your body needs to be considered and nurtured.

#3 Reproductive anti-aging

You need to look at improving your ovarian reserve as if it’s an anti-aging process or prescribing yourself anti-aging medicine.

Those things you could do in your 20’s and recover from afterwards; not getting enough sleep, eating greasy processed foods, skipping exercise to go get a coffee, the late nights that lead to long hangovers, it’s time to give them up. If what you get in exchange is a beautiful baby then it’s obviously totally worth it.

It’s time to ask yourself: what can you do to improve the health of the cells that are responsible for your reproductive system?

Have you…

• Addressed underlying Medical Conditions
• Dealt with any Inflammation
• Considered Lifestyle Factors – It’s no secret that the way we live our life impacts our overall health. Poor sleep, too much or not enough exercise and stress are just a few of the lifestyle habits that may be affecting your egg quality.
• Adjusted your Diet – I know I talk about it all the time but a bad diet, scarce in nutrient-dense foods and full of lots of sugar and processed items will impact not just your overall health but also your fertility.  

#4 Supplements to improve ovarian reserve

One thing I always get asked about by patients looking to improve their ovarian reserve is supplements. Marc, what can I take to help improve my egg count and quality?

While supplements are a great way to help your body and improve your fertility, I’ve put this tip last: this is because although supplements are a magic thing, they aren’t magic.

If you’re not doing all of the other things listed in this article then you’re still going to face problems when trying to get pregnant. You need to to work with the supplements if they’re going to work.

Here are some of the supplements I recommend to women trying to improve their ovarian reserve:

COQ10

CoQ10 supports male fertility by promoting sperm motility, and female fertility by promoting egg quality. CoQ10 supports heart health, healthy blood pressure levels, and maintains optimal CoQ10 levels in patients taking a statin.

BUY IT HERE

Inositol

A 100% pure inositol supplement to promote menstrual regularity and normal ovarian function. (90 day supply).

Each dose contains 2,000 mg of myo-inositol and 50 mg of D-chiro-inositol, in the body’s normal ratio of 40 to 1.

BUY IT HERE

What have you done so far to improve your ovarian reserve? Let me know in the comments.