Sarah Walsh, now 39, and her husband Ivor, 41, celebrated the birth of their daughter, Sadie, eight years ago. Having managed to conceive naturally after only a couple of months trying, both assumed they’d have no problem producing a baby brother or sister for their little girl. Read the full article in the Mail Online.

Most women with PCOS grow many small cysts on their ovaries. That is why it is called polycystic ovary syndrome. The cysts are not harmful but lead to hormone imbalances. Early diagnosis and treatment can help control the symptoms and prevent long-term problems

Fertility solutions are big business and medical intervention is very expensive. Food and its impact on health outcomes has now emerged as one of the major players in achieving a pregnancy.  

Caffeine consumption is a much debated subject when it comes to conception and fertility issues.  Coffee can be described as a double edged sword.  Coffee beans come from a plant so they are essentially a healthy food choice.  They are packed full of health promoting plant chemicals.  When the beans are picked, they are roasted and this process increases their health promoting anti-oxidant levels.

I am seeing more and more women attending me concerned about their AMH reserve.  AMH, is the short name for  Anti-Mullerian Hormone.  It is a substance produced by the granulosa cells in the ovarian follicles.  It is a routine test carried out in fertility clinics.  It may be interpreted as an indicator of low ovarian reserve, in other words a reduced supply of eggs in the ovaries.  

Plant foods
There is a growing trend in the western world towards eating a vegan diet.  A vegan diet is a diet that excludes all animal foods and foods produced by animals. These foods include meat, fish, dairy products, eggs, gelatine and honey.
A vegan diet is also called a plant based diet.  It relies solely on plant foods.  Plant foods are super healthy for us.  Most people do not consume sufficient plant based foods in their diets. 

Women are born with around 1-2 million follicles (immature eggs). This is their complete supply and they don’t make any more. At puberty the number of eggs has dropped by over half down to 400,000-500,000.  With each menstrual cycle up to 1000 follicles begin getting ready for ovulation. Only 1 becomes mature enough to do so. The other 999 or so are lost, so once you start your regular menstrual cycles, you begin to lose eggs on a monthly basis.

The good news is that losing weight, taking supplements, changing diet and cutting down on alcohol are seen as important and amongst those trying for a baby:

•    53% losing weight to boost their chances of conception
•    38%  taking fertility enhancing prenatal vitamins
•    37%  exercising more
•    36%  changing their diet, with most adopting a low-sugar way of eating
 

Very often when we think of fertility issues, we jump to the conclusion that it is a female issue as the woman provides the vessel to carry the baby.  We now have a much better understanding of the importance of the quality of male sperm.