not looking to become pregnant any time soon but i'm on a quest to better understand fertility and the intricacies of uterine ownership lol. Like, if someone once said in passing from an obscure or even totally made up source, I’ve probably tried it. From higher numbers of good quality eggs and embryos in IVF to successful pregnancies after years of unexplained infertility or recurrent losses, these stories inspire me to keep following the science and keep sharing what I discover. I thought I was done reading books on how to improve fertility and increase the odds of getting pregnant, at least for awhile, but here we are. Most couples in an IVF clinic only end up with 3-5 healthy blastocysts because they’re at least in their mid-30s and have multiple disadvantages other than DOR (history of cancer, genetic diseases, male factor infertility, endometriosis, etc.

I turned 40 during this pregnancy and I can’t believe this was possible with just some simple changes. So much of this process is out of our control and can make you feel a tad crazy, not to mention the odds get stacked against couples after a certain age.Starting this early before trying to get pregnant ensures that the supplements you’re taking will affect that next cohort of ovarian follicles for better quality when you ovulate that egg. In it, she breaks down the evidence and concludes that the right supplement can make all the difference in improving your egg health—and thus, odds of getting pregnant.

One CRAZY MIND BLOWING thing I read, was that men think they're off the hook if they pass a sperm test--but she points out the tests only look at how many sperm and how they are swimming. However, when compared to other books of the same kind, this one has the plus of offering numerous (and hopefully not too cherry-picked) references to scientific literature.The latest science shows that it is possible to improve egg quality and ovarian function — by correcting hormone and nutrient deficiencies, balancing blood sugar, reducing inflammation, adding supplements to support energy production in developing eggs, and avoiding certain common toxins.

When sperm quality is an issue, it can be even more important to optimize egg quality, since good quality eggs can often repair damage in sperm. Watch out for chemical disinfectants such as benzalkonium chloride, which has been found to compromise fertility in animal studies. Egg quality is well-known in the fertility world to be a major factor in whether a woman can conceive a healthy pregnancy with her own eggs, either naturally or through IVF. In It Starts With The Egg, Fett explains that high homocysteine levels can increase DNA damage and may be associated with miscarriage.I went through the egg freezing process a while later, and although my ovarian reserve wasn’t where I wanted it to be, I was able to freeze enough eggs to give me a good chance of having my own kids down the road. Two months later we were pregnant and it’s our first pregnancy to make it past six weeks (we’re 13 weeks now).

Rebecca Fett is a best-selling author who shares essential information about prenatal supplements and fertility, especially for women 35 and above.The chapter on diet is nothing groundbreaking and as a dietitian more or less follows the recommendations I give to most people to improve their health. Based on specific fertility issues, the author also suggests other supplements including CoQ10 or Coenzyme Q10 (egg quality), melatonin (egg-related or age-related infertility), myo- inositol (for women with PCOS), and more. Still, I feel like it is unnecessary to repeat the similar information in almost every chapter when more examples or situations should have been added instead. There’s so much information out there that often contradicts itself, and this feels like a guide to cut through all of it so you can focus on implementing changes that have the best chance of improving your results without driving yourself crazy.