Preconception Multi for Women

Most people have heard of prenatal vitamins, which are taken during pregnancy to support the healthy growth of the baby. However, the health boost of key nutrients from preconception multivitamins plays a vital part in helping you to have a healthy conception and baby.

It’s important to prepare your body with the right vitamins and minerals in advance so that you’re in the best possible condition, both physically and mentally, to conceive a child. Preconception health plans, including daily supplements, can help you to get to this point.

Preconception is the time 3-4 months prior to conception, when maintaining nutrient levels and general health can support fertility and increase the likelihood of a healthy conception. Rather than waiting for the first trimester, preconception vitamins give your baby a head start.

Preconception care involving a healthy diet and lifestyle, can reduce health risks further down the line, helping to prevent premature labour, birth defects, miscarriages, and stillbirths. These multivitamins aren’t just for women, either – men’s preconception vitamins improve sperm health, contributing to a smoother pregnancy.

Here are 6 things you could do to improve your chances of becoming pregnant, starting from at least 3 months before you attempt to conceive:

Maintain a healthy body weight – Being underweight or overweight can reduce the odds of conceiving. Higher body fat results in excess oestrogen, which can interfere with ovulation. If you don’t have enough body fat, this can also interfere – causing irregular periods or stopping them altogether.

Eat a balanced diet – There’s no specific pregnancy diet, but you should aim to eat a variety of foods to build up stores of vitamins, proteins, calcium, zinc and iron. Preconception vitamins can help you to get more nutrients. You should avoid foods/drinks with caffeine and mercury (such as tuna), which may impair fertility.

Do moderate exercise – While staying physically active is important to maintain your general health, strenuous workouts can disturb your menstrual cycle. Continue to do light exercise every day, but avoid over-exercising or participating in activities that are extremely physically demanding.

Kick bad habits – As you’re probably aware, smoking and excess alcohol are known to lead to fertility and pregnancy problems, including reducing egg count and causing abnormalities. If you partake in these substances, it’s time to stop if you’re serious about conceiving a healthy baby.

Manage medications – If you take any regular medications, you should consult with your doctor to ensure they won’t affect your fertility, and swap to viable alternatives if necessary. When you’re trying to conceive, you should also check that your medications won’t affect pregnancy tests.

Monitor your menstrual cycle – There are plenty of apps that can help you to track your periods and predict ovulation. But the most accurate way of detecting ovulation is to pay attention to your body. 24 to 36 hours prior to ovulation you will experience an LH (luteinising hormone) surge and this can be detected with an ovulation predictor kit (similar to a pregnancy test).  You should also notice fertile mucus that looks and feels like raw egg white.  When you notice these signs, start having sex twice daily for the next few days to maximise your chances of conception.   Sperm can fertilise an egg up to 24 hours after ovulation, but waiting for too long means that the sperm might not reach the egg before it disintegrates.

Your partner should also follow these lifestyle changes during this time to improve their sperm health, so you’re both in the best shape to contribute to a healthy conception and pregnancy.

Menstrual cycles can vary in length between 21 days and 40 days, though you can work with a fertility naturopath or herbalist to aim for a 28-29 day cycle. Tracking your cycle with a calendar or specialised app for at least a few months will help you to measure their regularity and identify the likely ovulation period.

After following a preconception care plan, most couples will conceive within a few months. If you don’t conceive after 6 months if you are older than 35, or 12 months if you are younger than 35, you should seek advice from your family doctor. You may have to go through some tests to determine what the issue could be.

If you miss a period at any point, you can take a pregnancy test from the first day of your missed period. If it’s positive – congratulations! It’s time to visit your midwife or doctor to plan your antenatal care.  For advice around diet and supplementation during pregnancy, you should also seek care from a fertility naturopath or nutritionist.

Quite simply, it takes two to make a baby. If both partners are in the best possible health, with optimal levels of key nutrients, this increases the likelihood of successfully conceiving a healthy embryo. Just as the mother is expected to take supplements, so should the father.

It’s been well-documented in recent years that sperm counts are declining among men in the Western world, so it’s more important than ever to give your sperm the best chance at fertilising an egg by boosting your sperm health with a healthy diet and lifestyle.  Taking preconception vitamins can support your preconception health.

As reported by Australian Family Physician, infertility affects up to 20% of couples, with men being solely responsible 30% of the time, and co-contributing 20% of the time. There are many possible causes of male infertility, but there are also many ways to increase male fertility.

In addition to certain lifestyle changes and any other treatment advised by your practitioner, taking daily preconception vitamins will help to improve your general physical health and boost sperm production. You can find further advice on more ways to improve fertility below.

Here are 8 top tips for life changes that you can make to help improve your fertility, in conjunction with taking daily preconception multivitamins:

Be a healthy weight – Being overweight or underweight can affect your sperm. Determine your ideal weight with your doctor and follow a balanced diet with regular physical activity to achieve this.

Get enough sleep – Lack of sleep can also have a negative impact on the quality of your sperm. It’s important to get a sufficient amount of sleep – at least 7.5-8 hours every night to be well rested.

Stop smoking and drinking – Smoking cigarettes or any other kind of substance can result in sluggish sperm and a low sperm count. Alcohol does the same, and can even cause sperm abnormalities.

Cut down on caffeine – Though it may be slight, caffeine and soft drink intake can reduce sperm concentration. You should try to eliminate coffee and drink one cup of tea instead and eliminate soft drinks and energy drinks.

Do more exercise – On top of eating and sleeping well, regular exercise helps you to stay in good physical condition, and reduces pent-up stress that can negatively affect your sperm quality.

Make sure meds are fertility-friendly – If you take any medications, consult your doctor to check whether any of them can affect your sperm, and switch to a suitable alternative if this applies.

Keep testicles cool – Sperm production requires an ideal temperature, and heat can kill off sperm. Avoid things like tight clothes, long hot showers, electric blankets, and cycling – and never use a laptop on your actual lap.

Avoid infertility-causing toxins – Unfortunately, there are plenty of chemicals that can damage sperm and decrease sperm count. If you work around heavy metals, solvents, pesticides, radiation, or any other toxic substances, be sure to limit your exposure and always take protective measures.

As we’ve mentioned, sperm production can take up to 78 days, which means that any changes you make will also take this long to affect your sperm count and quality. This is why you should make such changes as soon as possible, and begin taking daily preconception multivitamins at least 3 months before you intend to conceive.

After 3-4 months, when you’re ready to conceive, you should make sure that you and your partner are regularly having unprotected sex.  In the days leading up to partner’s ovulation (indicated by a positive ovulation predictor kit and the presence of fertile mucus), try having sex twice daily until one day after ovulation has occurred.  Although your sperm count will decline with frequent ejaculation, the quality of your sperm will be improved and this is the most important factor for a healthy conception.

After following a preconception plan, it is common to conceive within a few months.  If you’re unable to conceive after 12 months, consult your doctor, as tests may be required to determine a cause.

If your partner misses their period, they’ll be able to take a pregnancy test any time from the first day of the missed period. Your partner can do a test at any time of day although morning is best. If the test is positive, contact your health practitioner to begin planning prenatal care – and congratulations!