Photo credit: Alan Betson - All rights reserved

Making lifestyle changes can greatly improve your chances of fertility. This three-month "fertility code" programme has five dimensions and applies to both men and women.

1. THE MIND

It is a vicious circle: fertility problems lead to stress and stress exacerbates fertility problems. In The Fertility Code, Dermot O’Connor and fertility counseling psychotherapist Ann Bracken outline ways to reduce stress and anxiety, adopt a more positive outlook and enhance sleep – seen as a vital factor in improving your chances of conception.

O’Connor regards the psychological aspect as the pillar of the programme, because if your mind is not in the right frame, it makes it difficult to implement all the other parts.

2. NUTRITION

Changing from poor or even average eating habits to optimum nutrition are probably the most powerful thing you can do to enhance your fertility, says O’Connor. His recommendations include 10 portions of fruit or vegetables (organic) a day and eliminating dairy from your diet, as well as avoiding refined carbohydrates and eating hormone-balancing phyto-estrogens, such as beans, lentils, and chickpeas daily.

The nutrition plan should not just help you to achieve your optimum weight, but also smooth out blood-sugar levels, improve insulin sensitivity and have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body. It is designed to promote healthy ovulation and improve the quantity and quality of sperm.

3. DETOX

Decreasing exposure to toxins should not only improve fertility but also benefit the foetus if you do conceive. Top of the list of toxins to avoid are the obvious ones of nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine. O’Connor also recommends clearing your kitchen of all canned and processed food, as well as popcorn, cheese, salted nuts, jam, and marmalade, to mention just a few on the food detox list. You are advised to choose chemical-free skincare products, and avoid household cleaners containing toxic chemicals.

4. EXERCISE

Forget the no pain, no gain mantra – when it comes to exercise to maximize fertility, balance is key and overheating is to be avoided. However, regular exercise will help control weight and reduce stress – both key factors infertility problems. Walking, yoga, gentle swimming, and the Chinese exercise system chi gong are what O’Connor recommends.

5. MEDICAL SCIENCE

Although this is not part of the code per se, it is the fifth dimension that O’Connor advocates for couples with fertility issues because his programme is complementary and supportive rather than an alternative to assisted reproduction.

For their part, mainstream fertility clinics have moved in the past five years, he says, from putting no emphasis on the mind-body element to putting some emphasis on it, but are yet to put a huge emphasis on it.

Read more: Increasing the odds for your family

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
The Fertility Code
by Dermot O'Connor
-- The Fertility Code program delivers a powerful and practical step-by-step approach for those who wish to give themselves the best chance of starting a family.

As many as 500,000 couples in the UK and Ireland actively seek help with fertility, such as IVF treatment each year. While some are legitimate candidates, many have been proven to just need proper lifestyle and fertility advice and assistance in order to conceive.

The Fertility Code is designed for these people, and for those who need more serious intervention, to optimize their fertility. There are a variety of factors that can contribute to preventing a couple from having a baby.

This is why it is important that a fertility plan should address as many of these potential issues as possible. Through many years' experience of helping thousands of couples to become parents, Dermot O'Connor knows that such a plan must be easy to understand, easy to implement and genuinely effective.

The Fertility Code combines the best of both Eastern and Western medicine to provide a comprehensive guide to conceiving successfully and carrying a baby to full term.
It details the optimum plan to enhance fertility, and delivers a proven strategy, incorporating the key elements consistently utilized by the couples Dermot has helped:

• Fertility Awareness Strategies
• The psychology of fertility
• Optimum nutrition for conception and pregnancy
• The importance of detoxification

Paperback: 224 pages
Click to order/for more info: The Fertility Code

Start reading The Fertility Code on your Kindle in under a minute!

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What do popcorn bags, frying pans and mattresses have in common?

Chemicals contained in these and other common household items may affect maternal thyroid function and may lead to impaired fetal brain development, according to PhD candidate Glenys Webster, of UBC’s School of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.

Webster is leading an investigation into the effects of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), chemicals that are used as flame-retardants, and perfluroinated compounds (PFCs), used as stain or water repellents. The chemicals are found at low levels in all Canadians. They leach out of many products, can last for a long time in both indoor and outdoor environments, and accumulate in both animals and humans via dust, foods and air.

Called the Chemical, Health and Pregnancy study (CHirP), Webster believes it is one of the first such studies in the world. She is collaborating with investigators from BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre, Health Canada, and the University of Alberta.

Animal studies have shown that certain PBDEs interfere with the thyroid system, critical to fetal development. A butterfly-shaped gland in the lower front part of the neck, the thyroid controls metabolism and keeps basic functions such as body temperature, blood pressure and energy levels working properly.

It is known that thyroid disruption in early pregnancy can result in neurological damage in babies, but the mechanism — including any negative environmental factors — is not known. Although there are no known human health risks from common levels of PBDEs and PFCs, very few studies have been conducted in humans, says Webster, so at this point nothing is conclusive.

She suspects the chemicals may put additional stress on the thyroid system. Animal and laboratory studies have shown that certain PBDEs can mimic thyroid hormones and bind to a transport protein that sends the damaging “imposter” hormone from the mother to the fetus, possibly directly to the brain.

“Until recently, we didn’t have the analytical methods we need to measure low levels of these chemicals and study effects on human health,” says Webster, whose previous research focused on environmental toxicology and looking at how chemicals move through the environment. “There is considerable new interest among scientists to start looking at human health effects, and governments, including Canada’s, are now making decisions about regulating these chemicals.”

Researchers will enroll 150 pregnant women for the study, which was launched last month and will extend to September 2008. Participants will be asked, during in-home surveys, about exposures to PBDEs found in mattresses, furniture foam, plastic casing of electronic equipment such as TVs and computers, and other household goods. The women will also be asked about exposure to PFCs via products ranging from microwavable popcorn bags to non-stick cookware coatings and self-cleaning ovens.

Levels of PBDEs and PFCs will be measured in the air, dust and dryer lint in homes. Also, maternal blood samples will be collected in mid-pregnancy and a sample of umbilical cord blood will be collected at delivery. Levels of both groups of chemicals won’t be analyzed until all 150 subjects have been recruited.

In humans, accumulation rates and toxicity relative to exposure levels are not well understood. It is known that PFCs are some of the most persistent compounds known, and the half-life of PBDEs in human tissues ranges from approximately 15 days to six years. However, fast-degrading PBDEs don’t actually clear the body after two weeks. They transform into slower degrading chemicals and persist. A puzzling factor is that age doesn’t necessarily affect PBDE accumulation.

In North America, PBDE levels in humans are approximately 10-100 times higher than levels found in Europe or Japan, according to a review of PBDE levels in humans conducted in 2004. Health Canada data showed PBDE levels in Vancouver mothers’ breast milk increased approximately 15-fold from 1992-2002, but are still lower than levels found in certain areas of the US. Canada has this year prohibited the importation of certain chemicals that turn into PFCs.

Should expectant mothers be alarmed?

We’re not expecting to see dramatic changes here – the effects, if any, will be subtle but may still be important, and show a trend that should be monitored, says Webster. I think it’s important to start looking at connections so we can take precautionary measures, if needed. Even if effects are subtle, because virtually everyone is exposed to these chemicals, any small effects may still represent a public health concern.

BC Women’s Hospital andHealth Centre is an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority.

This article is featured in the Mobilemom.com newsletter!

Source: PublicAffairs.ubc.ca

Chemicals found in household items such as non-stick cookware and flame-retardant furnishings may affect fetal brain development. (Photo by Martin Dee - All rights reserved)

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Midlife Motherhood: A Woman-to-Woman Guide to Pregnancy and Parenting
by Jann Blackstone-Ford

-- What's a woman to do when she's facing menopause, toddlers, and elder care all at the same time?

Women who have been there and done that provide some insight in Midlife Motherhood.

Offering humor, warmth, and frankness, this is a hand-holding guide for the uninitiated.
What's on their minds:
• Common fears and concerns: from Down's syndrome to being too old
• Fertility challenges and what to physically expect from pregnancy
• How to juggle postpartum demands-parenting, working, caring for aging parents . . . and all at once!
• Hot flashes and warm bottles: coping with hormonal changes while caring for a new baby

Paperback: 288 pages
Click to order/for more info: Midlife Motherhood

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