Transcript
Welcome to The Ask Dr Cris Show, the next question is about fertility. I often get asked by couples how do we know if we are fertile and can have children. Particularly couples that have either been trying for a long time, or have waited to have children until their later years, and they are just wondering how hard it will be to conceive and what they can do to approve fertility. So in terms of fertility and how do you know if you are fertile there are test you can do. For men it is quite simple – a sperm test and a GP can organise that and that can give you a lot of information around a male’s fertility. For a woman it can be a little bit more complicated – you can have a test called an AMH test and that one is done just after a women’s menstrual period or if you are on the pill it is done just after you finish taking the sugar pill. If you skip your period it can still be done although it may not be as accurate and that can give us some ideas about your fertility in terms of egg count. Now it is not exact but it gives you some idea in terms of your egg count or it there are any issues with the egg count itself.
In terms of fertility though for women the egg quality is the best predicator for fertility and that we won’t know until you start trying. The best predicator if you are going to have fertile eggs is unfortunately the younger you start trying the better for fertility, for women in particular.
Egg quality can’t be improved really that much but your overall health can be improved and that is things like reducing caffeine and alcohol, getting some exercise, improving your diet and enough sleep and reducing stress. Now all easy said than done but those things in small amounts are obviously balanced amounts and have been shown to improve fertility. For women your overall chance to conceiving. So for fertility can be a complex issue if you have been trying to conceive for a long period of time and it is just not happening it might be worth seeing your local doctor and they can provide you with some great tips and suggestions or may have to refer you to a fertility specialist. It is a very, very common and they say that now in our days that one in three couple swill have troubles conceiving with fertility, so you are not alone if you are struggling, or if you are wondering about those sorts of questions you are in the right place when you present to your local doctor to ask any questions you may have about your fertility.
Thanks for the question if you have got any further questions please ask them below and I will get to them next time on The Ask Dr Cris Show.
#healthyhabits #healthyliver
Dr Cris
Holistic Medical Doctor, Author ‘Healthy Habits, 52 Ways to Better Health‘ and Healthy Liver
