Acknowledgements

I would like to thank everyone involved in this book, including Nim Barnes at Foresight for her expert advice and insight into the issues that can affect fertility. To Jennifer Barclay and her team at Summersdale, especially my editor Anna Martin for her support, encouragement and helpful suggestions that helped create this book. Thanks also to my agent Isabel Atherton, and the numerous clients and couples who told me their fertility secrets and problems. And finally I’d like to thank my family for their continued support.

Author’s Note

For many years I have been teaching conception and birth classes to numerous women, both within and outside of the NHS. Many of them have spoken of wishing they had access to more information about understanding their fertility; for some, becoming pregnant was a frustrating and difficult journey, taking much longer than expected.

Indeed it took several attempts for me to conceive and get past the 12-week stage before I eventually gave birth to a son. Prior to trying to conceive again, I decided I should learn more about my own fertility; which lifestyle factors affected it, the importance of my diet and how I could maximise my chances of becoming pregnant. By the time I next conceived – another very healthy boy – I had changed my lifestyle and was taking herbal supplements and eating a balanced diet.

I wrote this fertility book to offer easily accessible information. It suggests the lifestyle changes you may need to adopt, the diet you may need to consider and the treatment and options you may have to contemplate to be able to successfully conceive. I wish you all good luck in your quest for a healthy baby.

Sally Lewis

Foreword

By Nim Barnes, founder of Foresight

There is a great deal in this book that will be really useful to all couples hoping to have a baby, which is by far one of the most joyful and exciting experiences in life.

Yes, it is important to get everything right; the healthier the sperm and ova, the stronger the uterus and the better the outcome is likely to be.

At Foresight we have been looking after couples with fertility issues for the last 32 years. Some couples have spent many years pursuing their dream of starting a family, and they come to us mentally and physically exhausted.

Many of the ideas in Sally’s book echo those of Foresight. This book is well worth reading; it is full of valuable advice for all couples hoping to conceive and I wish all readers the best of luck in starting or adding to their family.

Introduction

What is fertility?

Fertility is a woman’s ability to become pregnant, and a man’s ability to make a woman pregnant. Generally, most couples don’t think too much about reproduction and their fertility until they decide they want a family. For many of those couples the ability to conceive – that is the fertilisation of a woman’s egg with a man’s sperm – poses no problems at all; for many couples regular unprotected intercourse is all that is required to make a baby. Yet conception is a complex and delicate process, which is affected by a range of factors including age, weight, smoking, lifestyle, stress and even prescribed medication.

According to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), approximately a quarter of couples will experience a period of infertility lasting a year or more, and some will continue to experience problems for longer. At least one in six couples will consult an infertility specialist, and approximately one in 80 babies in the UK are born as a direct result of in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

What is infertility?

Infertility is defined as ‘failing to get pregnant after two years of regular unprotected sex’, according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), who consider that fertility problems affect one in seven couples in the UK, although approximately 84 per cent of women will get pregnant within a year if they are not using contraception and having regular sexual intercourse.

Why does infertility occur?

Getting pregnant isn’t always easy, but if it doesn’t happen within a few months of trying it doesn’t mean that you have a ‘fertility problem’. In fact, it is much more likely that you are not making love at the right times; during a woman’s monthly cycle there are only two to three days when pregnancy can occur, so it’s easy to see how those days can be missed.

There is also a strong link between fertility and modern lifestyles: convenience foods offer little nutritional value; work-life balance affects stress levels and all too often leads to unhealthy habits like smoking or drinking too much alcohol and consuming too much sugary food and drink. It is no wonder that modern men and women have a decreased sex drive and hormonal imbalances.

This book explains how biological, social, psychological, genetic and lifestyle factors all affect fertility. It offers practical advice and a holistic approach to help improve your fertility. You’ll discover how eating a balanced diet rich in nutrients will help to support the reproduction system and redress the balance of hormones, and about the importance of exercise. You’ll learn about the tests you can take to check for ovulation sperm levels, or the levels of environmental toxins you may be exposed to, along with the conventional tests that your GP or fertility expert may use to see what, if any, fertility problems you may have. There is also a section on medical treatments and assisted conception: what you are entitled to and what to ask as you embark on this journey, and who to turn to should you need further support and help along the way.

You’ll learn strategies for dealing with the stress and anxiety you may experience from trying for a baby and receive information about appropriate supplements and complementary therapy techniques that you might find beneficial. At the end of the book you will find details of useful organisations, helpful products, books and other sources of advice and support.