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Getting pregnant can sometimes require a little extra assistance. For people experiencing fertility issues, Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), like IVF, can be used to help couples have a baby. While IVF alone has a relatively high success rate, you might be wondering if there is anything you can do to boost your chances of success with the procedure.
In order to increase their chances, some people turn to treatments outside the realm of Western reproductive medicine, like acupuncture, throughout the IVF process. While there is still research to be done to determine the exact outcomes of acupuncture on IVF, there is some evidence to indicate that acupuncture can be helpful for patients trying to conceive.
So, what exactly is acupuncture and how does it affect IVF?
Acupuncture is a therapeutic treatment used in Chinese medicine that dates back thousands of years, but has gained popularity in the West in the past 40 years due to an increase in scientific studies proving its efficiency.
Today, over 10 million people undergo acupuncture every year in the US alone.
The procedure is often used to treat pain, stress management, and overall health by inserting tiny needles into your body at different strategic points. In doing so, the energy and blood flow in your body is rebalanced.
Typically, practitioners will first ask you questions about your lifestyle, diet, if you experience any pain in your body, and what your sleep and exercise routines look like. They will then examine physical parts of your body, like the shape and color of your tongue, and the strength, and rhythm of your pulse.
They will then determine where on your body they will insert the needles. Usually, between 5 and 20 points will be chosen depending on the person. You will then lie down on a bed and the needles will be inserted.
This might sound scary, but the needles are so small that there is usually minimal discomfort. Acupuncture clinics and practitioners are also usually very calming and the session should feel relaxing.
The needles will remain in your body for between 10 and 30 minutes, and will then be removed by the practitioner. After a session, you should drink a lot of water and take it easy for the rest of the day.
It might be clear why people use acupuncture to help with pain or stress but how can it help with IVF success?
For one thing, IVF can be a stressful process, not just physically but mentally. In fact, research shows that 30% of couples stop IVF treatment before becoming pregnant because of the negative psychological effects.
There is also evidence to show that even for couples that do not stop IVF prematurely, emotional stress significantly lowers the chances of success because of the negative effects it has on ovarian function and implantation.
As mentioned above, acupuncture is often used to reduce stress. This is because when the needles are inserted into the strategic points, your body will experience natural endorphin release. This is because acupuncture helps to balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic parts of the nervous system.
While additional research is necessary to show exact numbers, existing studies found that the longer someone undergoes acupuncture treatments, the better the results.
In addition to stress reduction, a regulated nervous system also increases blood flow. When this happens, nutrients-filled blood makes its way to the uterus and ovaries.
One Swedish study found that after 8 acupuncture sessions, women’s uterine blood flow increased dramatically and stayed that way for weeks afterward.
When there is increased blood flow to the uterus, the lining of the uterus will become thicker. The thicker the uterine lining, the better environment it becomes for egg implantation, which is crucial for success with IVF.
Chances are if your hormones are imbalanced, you are more likely to experience issues with fertility. In a number of studies, acupuncture was found to improve the production of fertility-related hormones, like estrogen, progesterone, and prolactin in women.
Imbalanced hormones can also lead to irregular menstrual cycles and anovulation, which is when women do not ovulate and ovulation is necessary for pregnancy. Data shows that acupuncture has also been used in these cases to help women achieve regulated menstrual functioning.
For women with preexisting conditions like Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), infrequent ovulation can lead to fertility issues, especially when going through IVF. Acupuncture over an extended period of time has also helped these women achieve more regular ovulation cycles.
Being well-rested is not only important for overall health and feeling good, but for increasing the chances of successful IVF cycles. In fact, women with insomnia have a 400% higher chance of experiencing fertility issues.
Thankfully, acupuncture has also been used to improve sleep quality in everyone, including those that suffer from insomnia. Acupuncture increases chemicals in the body, like amino-y acids, that are responsible for calming the nervous system and reducing insomnia leading to longer-lasting and higher-quality sleep.
For couples undergoing fertility treatments, the man’s fertility loss as a result of semen quality is equally as important for achieving a successful outcome. Acupuncture has not only been found to benefit women’s fertility when using IVF but men’s as well.
One study found that for men diagnosed with low sperm activity or quality, acupuncture could be used to help in these areas. Another study included men who had previously been unsuccessful when trying IVF with their partners. After 8 weeks of acupuncture treatments, there was an increase in sperm count and quality, along with higher fertilization rates at their next IVF cycle.
Because additional research is necessary to produce more precise data, there is no one clear answer to this question. However, existing studies are able to guide us in the right direction.
One study looked at women over a five-year period and compared those that did IVF alone and those that did IVF and acupuncture at the same time. These women did between 13 to 15 sessions of acupuncture throughout their IVF cycles.
The results found that the women who incorporated acupuncture into their lives during IVF were 60% more likely to have a baby than those who just did IVF.
The majority of acupuncture research points to the fact that the longer the period of time that you do acupuncture, the better the results. Meaning, that starting acupuncture before starting IVF cycles may yield even better results.
In fact, women that did acupuncture only on the day of embryo transfer in IVF, saw little to no increase in pregnancy rates, which further backs up this theory. For this reason, it is recommended to start acupuncture between 30 and 90 days before any fertility treatments begin.
Acupuncture is becoming more and more popular as a complementary treatment for IVF. Around 30% of women in Australia report undergoing acupuncture before starting IVF, and almost half during IVF.
The number of clinical research related to the efficiency of acupuncture has significantly grown in the past few years, giving people a reason to believe the hype. That being said, there is still much more research to be done in order to fully understand the effects of acupuncture on IVF.
Many clinical trials in acupuncture are ignored because there are no quantitative evaluation methods established to measure clear data points. Some in the medical field believe that positive results post-acupuncture can be chalked up to the placebo effect.
At this stage, there is not enough scientific evidence to prove one way or another. However, the trials that have been carried out do not show any harmful side effects as a result of acupuncture. It might be worth a try to see if acupuncture is a good addition to your IVF journey.
The World Health Organization reports that almost half of all pregnancies each year are unintended and that 61% of these pregnancies end in induced abortion. The decision to have an abortion is a very personal one, but statistics show it is very common and nothing to be ashamed of.
Even if women know they want to have children at some point in their lives, they may become pregnant without intending to before they are ready. Fearing that having an abortion will affect their future fertility may be a factor in whether or not they decide to go through with the procedure.
Women should be free to choose if and when they want to have children. Unfortunately, the negative stigma around abortion often prevents people from gaining accurate information, making it difficult for women to make informed decisions about their course of treatment.
Whether you have had an abortion in the past or are considering an abortion, worrying about how it might affect your future fertility is completely normal and we aim to address these concerns in this article.
There are two types of abortions available, the procedure a woman can have depends on how many weeks pregnant she is.
To start, data shows that an abortion carried out with no complications has virtually no chance of causing future fertility issues. The chance of experiencing any complications that could lead to infertility (assuming the abortion is safely carried out) are 0.23%.
Making a decision about having an abortion shouldn’t be rushed. However, the earlier in pregnancy the abortion takes place, the lower the likelihood of complications is. While major complications are rare, as with any medical procedure, there are potential risks.
It should be noted that according to multiple studies, legally performed abortions have a lower chance of negative outcomes than vaginal childbirth or C-section. In fact, the risk of death from childbirth is 14 times more likely than from abortion.
As previously stated, there is no evidence to support that having had a complication-less abortion in the past will lead to an increased risk of spontaneous abortion, ectopic pregnancy, preterm birth, or low birth weight in future pregnancies.
There is also no evidence to show decreased fertility or difficulty conceiving postabortion. However, in a small number of women who developed an infection and did not treat it right away, there is some risk.
Asherman’s Syndrome is a disorder in which scar tissue lines the walls of the uterus, and can sometimes occur after a surgical procedure such as C and D surgical abortion. One study found that out of 844 women only 0.7% were found to have Asherman’s Syndrome following sharp curettage and repeat curettage procedures.
Unfortunately, most women who have Asherman’s Syndrome do experience menstrual and fertility problems. In a study of 16 women with Asherman’s Syndrome who had not undergone treatment, only three patients achieved term deliveries.
The good news, however, is that hysteroscopic treatment of Asherman’s Syndrome has shown promising results, with a pregnancy rate of 62.5% in women under 35 years of age.
Thankfully, legal and safe abortions have a very low percentage of risk to women’s health and fertility. However, while women in parts of North America and Europe generally have access to abortions, there are many women around the world who do not.
The rate of serious abortion-related complications is much more likely in parts of the world in which the procedure is illegal or difficult to obtain. Many of these cases go unreported, but it is estimated that 8-11% of maternal death worldwide is the result of unsafe abortions.
Restricting the availability of the procedure is the most dangerous risk involved in abortions We must remove the stigma that surrounds abortion in order to give women the right to choose the course of care that is safest for them.
If you’ve decided that you’re ready to get pregnant, you probably already know that certain things like alcohol and smoking can have a negative effect on your fertility. While these substances are never good for your health, you might be wondering how less obviously harmful parts of your lifestyle might play a part in your fertility.
Information about what medications to avoid when pregnant is generally more accessible, but what about when you are trying to conceive? Is it possible that everyday medications could cause fertility loss?
The most common kind of painkillers are Ibuprofen, Aspirin, and Aleve, which are nonsteroidal inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The research on the effects that these drugs have on fertility is somewhat conflicted. While the general consensus seems to be that taking NSAIDs in small doses is unlikely to affect fertility, if taken over a long period of time, they could potentially impair ovulation.
Healthy ovulation occurs when an egg reaches maturity and breaks through the ovarian sack as the egg is released. Because this is an inflammatory function of the body, excessive use of anti inflammatory drugs like NSAIDs could, in theory, significantly delay ovulation.
However, studies show that the required dose of NSAIDs that a woman would have to take for this to happen is much higher than normal usage, so taking the occasional Aspirin for a headache should not cause this to happen.
Another study found that taking NSAIDs to delay ovulation could even be useful in preventing the cancellation of IVF cycles, which can happen when a woman ovulates before her scheduled IVF appointment. Planning the exact time of ovulation, though, is tricky, so this might not be as effective in practice.
NSAIDs have been found to have little effect on male reproductivity, again, as long as they are not being abused.
Opioids, such as codeine, hydrocodone and oxycodone are narcotic painkillers prescribed by some doctors for mid level to more serious pain. Taking these drugs during pregnancy can be dangerous for the fetus and should be avoided by pregnant women. In fact, 5.6% of spontaneous miscarriage can be linked to opioid use during pregnancy.
Women trying to conceive should understand that opioids are highly addictive and it may take time to be able to fully stop taking them before becoming pregnant. Also consider how long you’ve been taking the drug.
One study found that out of 47 women taking opioids over an extended period of time, half experienced amenorrhea, also known as abnormal periods and reduced hormone function.
Give yourself some time to adjust once you stop taking opioids. Women who stopped taking opioids less than a month before becoming pregnant were more likely to have babies with birth defects like congenital heart defects and neural tube defects. Though, exact numbers are hard to find.
Around 16.5% of all women worldwide take antidepressants. Depression is extremely common and nothing to be ashamed of, but when thinking about having a baby it is important to consider the possible implications of SSRIs on fertility as well as the potential consequences that could come with stopping these medications.
Data suggests that women who take antidepressants may be less likely to conceive naturally. Unfortunately, there is not enough research to fully back this claim. SSRIs have also been linked to lower sperm count in men.
All antidepressants are found to have some effect on sexual function in both men and women, from decreased libido to erectile disfunction. The dosage on type of SSRIs may be linked to the severity, but not enough research has been done to have definitive answers.
While many doctors may suggest stopping SSRIs when trying to conceive, the decision is not that easy and leaves couples battling depression with a difficult decision to make. Leaving depression untreated has its own implications.
Women with mood disorders who stop taking their medication may not be in the best mental state to worry about prenatal care. In fact, women with untreated depression have a higher chance of giving birth to babies who will develop depression, anxiety and behavioral disorders later in life.
Couples coping with mood disorders, hoping to conceive should talk to a psychiatrist and weigh the risks of stopping their medication. A combination of counseling and varied medication levels may be the solution.
Couples suffering with depression should remember, getting pregnant is only the first step, being healthy parents once the baby is born is crucial and they need to put their mental health first for this to happen.
Studies have found that antibiotics do not have any negative effect on ovulation or menstruation. However, antibiotics such as Penicillin, ampicillin, and tetracycline have been found to decrease sperm production in men.
While the effects seem to improve once medication is stopped, it is not always possible to discontinue the use of antibiotics, especially if your partner is fighting an infection. Consulting a doctor about the pros and cons is advised.
Asthma affects between 5-10% of women all over the world, making it a very common chronic disease that women of reproductive age suffer from.
While many women with diagnosed asthma conceive just as quickly as women without. One study found that women using short acting asthma relief medication were 30% more likely to have taken more than a year to conceive.
While it is unknown exactly the cause of fertility issues in asthmatic women, it is possible that the inflammation in the lungs could be causing inflammation in other parts of the body, such as the uterus.
If you use beta-agonists to treat your asthma, talk to your doctor about a potential alternative before and during your pregnancy.
Immunosuppressive medications are used to treat autoimmune conditions like lupus, psoriasis, Crohn's disease and alopecia. There are many autoimmune conditions, but the main thing that they have in common is that the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues and medication can be used to help reduce the impact.
Immunosuppressives are also almost always taken after a person receives an organ transplant to reduce the risk of the body rejecting the new organ.
While there is again, not enough research to know the definitive outcomes of immunosuppressants on fertility loss, studies show that they are almost certainly linked to birth defects and fertility issues.
Women on these drugs who wish to get pregnant should alter the dosage if possible and should discuss their options with their doctor.
There is no doubt that there is a link between epilepsy and fertility issues in both men and women. The problem is that it is very difficult to determine if these issues are linked to the epilepsy itself or anti-epileptic medications.
Depending on the severity of the epilepsy, some people may need to take multiple anti-epileptic drugs, the main ones being carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine (OXC) and valproate.
Women taking three or more drugs to treat their epilepsy were 18 times more likely to experience fertility problems than women not taking any epilepsy medications. Studies have also found that men taking epilepsy medication experienced sperm abnormalities.
While the exact causation is unknown, epileptic people are more likely to experience fertility issues. Those with epilepsy who want to get pregnant should consult with fertility specialists and neurologists about their options when it comes to changing or stopping their medication.
There has been a lot of talk about the COVID-19 vaccination affecting fertility. According to the CDC, there is no evidence that the COVID vaccine has any negative effect on women planning to get pregnant. If you plan to get pregnant, vaccinating against COVID is recommended for your health and the health of your future baby.
If you are planning to travel overseas and need certain vaccinations beforehand, speak to your doctor about whether or not you should wait a recommended amount of time before trying to conceive. While there shouldn’t be any issues, it is best to be on the safe side.
If you think there is a chance you may already be pregnant, check with your doctor before getting any vaccinations to make sure that they are safe.
There are a few chemicals found in beauty products that have been blamed for fertility issues over the past few years. Ingredients like parabens, triclosan, and phthalates are commonly recommended to avoid. While not enough research has been done to draw a clear conclusion about their effects, it might be best not to use products containing these or other unnatural ingredients when trying to conceive.
Certain over the counter medications may be just fine, while others might be directly linked to fertility loss. If you are trying to get pregnant and take medication or have concerns about how your lifestyle might have an effect on your fertility, it is best to discuss it with your doctor.
Celiac disease, an immune reaction to eating gluten, has been connected to a wide array of symptoms from gastronomical to mental. In some cases people with celiac disease have no obvious symptoms at all, making it difficult to diagnose at times.
While going gluten free might seem like just another diet trend, research shows that this is not entirely true. More and more people seem to be developing celiac disease over time and while the cause is not entirely clear, the consequences cannot be ignored.
Those suffering from undiagnosed celiac disorder may experience a number of health issues but could otherwise unexplained fertility loss be one of them?
While most of us have probably heard the terms celiac disease or gluten intolerance being thrown around in the last few years, we might not know what they mean. In short, celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which a person has a negative reaction to gluten, a protein that is found in barley, wheat, and rye.
When a person with celiac disease (CD) consumes gluten, their immune system becomes inflamed and overactive, which when left untreated over time can damage the body’s internal organs, such as the intestines. However, celiac disease can cause a number of symptoms that are not only stomach related.
Some of the main physical symptoms connected to celiac disease are:
Celiac disease has also been linked to some neurological symptoms, with as much as 36% of adult patients presenting with neurological changes such as depression, ADHD and even epilepsy.
People can develop CD at any age and the exact causes of the disease are still unknown. Studies show that while a susceptibility for the disease is inherited, the disease itself is not.
Numbers currently stand at about 1 in 133 people with gluten intolerance. However, it is believed that the numbers are actually higher with many people left undiagnosed.
People experiencing obvious symptoms are more likely to seek treatment. However, it is important to note that people with CD who do not present symptoms will still experience health complications over time.
Recent studies suggest that there is a connection between undiagnosed celiac disorder and reproductive changes in women. Some of these changes include fertility loss, miscarriages, low birth weights, preterm labor and early menopause. One study even found that babies of women with undiagnosed celiac disease who were delivered with a cesarean had a higher chance of developing the disease themselves.
Up to 50% of women with untreated CD have experienced either miscarriage or unfavorable pregnancy outcomes. Pregnancy complications are found to be four times more likely in women with undiagnosed CD than healthy women.
Undiagnosed women also experience a shorter fertility period and have been shown to begin menstruation later and begin menopause two to three years before women who treated the disease.
The numbers speak for themselves, but you may still be wondering how celiac disease causes these reproductive changes.
Celiac disease affects women in two main ways:
While these potential outcomes may be overwhelming, it is important to note that the women who experienced these issues were only diagnosed with CD after their pregnancies. Women with CD who stopped consuming gluten before and during their pregnancies eliminated many of the risks highlighted above.
Experiencing infertility can be extremely stressful, especially when the cause is unknown. Symptoms of celiac disease have also been known to worsen when a person is under an intensified amount of stress. Which when left undiagnosed can increase chances of infertility further.
This information can actually be good news for many women experiencing unexplained infertility. Around 10-15% of women experience unexplained infertility and studies have found that many of these women have dramatic therapeutic effects after cutting gluten from their diets.
Many doctors are becoming more aware that CD may be a cause of unexplained infertility, but if you are trying to get pregnant or are considering it, it may be a good idea to go ahead and get tested for CD even if you do not have any other obvious symptoms.
If you were diagnosed with celiac disease and you still cannot get pregnant, don’t panic. Your body may need some time to recover and adjust to a gluten free lifestyle. One Swedish study of 11,000 women found that fertility was reduced in women for two years after a CD diagnosis, but returned to normal afterwards.
Women with untreated CD are not the one ones who experience fertility loss. Men with undiagnosed celiac disorder may also experience fertility loss, with one study showing up to 19% of undiagnosed celiac men with abnormal hormone and sperm levels.
While there is a lack of information on the subject, there is some evidence that celiac men, like women, who refrain from eating gluten have also been shown to regain normal sperm and hormone levels over time.
Therefore, men who are experiencing unexplained infertility should also be tested for celiac disease even if there are no other clear symptoms pointing to gluten intolerance.
The course of treatment for celiac disease may seem obvious, stop eating gluten.
Thankfully, today, celiac disease is much more widely recognized than it once was and there are many gluten free alternatives available on the market. That being said, a gluten free diet can still be a serious lifestyle change, even for people who don’t necessarily care for bread and pasta. There is gluten hidden in all kinds of less obvious foods that people with CD will need to look out for.
People with celiac disease will need to stick to a gluten free diet for their entire lives if they want to remain healthy. Consuming gluten even in small amounts can cause autoimmune flare ups. Consulting a doctor or dietitian, especially in the beginning of the transition, is highly recommended.
Women with CD planning to get pregnant should also ensure that once they have cut gluten out of their diets, they are not losing nutrients found in glutenous foods such as fiber, folic acid, and vitamin D. There are many options for gluten supplements such as vitamins and other food sources. Again, consulting a doctor is important for determining the right diet for you.
Getting a celiac disease diagnosis may seem discouraging at first. However, the positive results of a gluten free lifestyle for people with CD are extremely encouraging. The long term negative effects of CD decrease to almost zero the earlier treatment begins.
People with celiac disease can expect to live happy, healthy lives as long as they make the necessary changes to their diet. For celiacs, gluten-free means worry free.
If you’re in a toxic relationship with a partner who’s physically, mentally, or emotionally abusive, or is hyper-controlling when it comes to money, sex, or daily life, it’s probably best to delay trying to start a family until your relationship reaches a more healthy place.
But a toxic relationship can spring up in almost any area of your life: at work, with your boss or a colleague; with your siblings or parents; or with someone you think of as a friend.
If you’re in a toxic relationship, you might find it hard to concentrate at work, difficult to enjoy yourself when you’re with your friends, and even struggle to sleep well at night. But have you considered that your bad relationship could also be affecting your ability to conceive?
Having a conversation with a toxic friend or relative can be incredibly stressful, and stress can impact fertility levels. Even seeing them or just thinking about them can raise your levels of alpha-amylase and cortisol, the primary stress hormones, and trigger your brain to release adrenaline which preps your body’s “fight or flight” response.
As well as leaving you feeling jumpy and exhausted, when these hormone levels are elevated, it throws your body’s hormone balance out of whack and that can affect production of vital reproductive hormones.
Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) is the substance your body produces to trigger the release of sex hormones like estrogen, which controls a woman’s menstrual cycle and ovulation, and testosterone, which governs men’s sperm quality and sperm count. Scientists have suggested that higher stress hormone levels could interfere with GnRH production, and thus affect both male and female fertility.
When men experience high levels of stress, it can also boost the release of glucocorticoids, which are steroid hormones that influence testosterone and thus affect sperm production.
Being in a toxic relationship means that you are frequently attacked, demeaned, undermined, and generally made to feel worthless and like a failure. No matter how much you tell yourself that “it’s them, not me,” or how many times your friends and partner reassure you, this kind of attack can drag down your self-esteem and trigger depression, anxiety, or both.
Both depression and anxiety can affect your fertility. As well as causing stress hormone levels to rise, anxiety disorders can be accompanied by an imbalance in your estrogen or testosterone levels.
Depression can interrupt the regular functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which is the central system controlling the menstrual cycle, or disrupt the body’s ability to regulate the luteinizing hormone that is responsible for ovulation.
It might not be the relationship itself which affects your fertility, but the way that you cope with its impact on your life.
If you’re in a toxic relationship, there’s a good chance that you’ll use alcohol, cigarettes and tobacco products, and “comfort foods” to help yourself calm down and recover from a painful interaction.
Although moderate drinking hasn’t been found to have much effect on either male or female fertility, drinking too much — defined as 4-6 drinks a week or more — can be harmful. One study found that women who drink more than 4 alcoholic drinks weekly are more than twice as likely to have a miscarriage as woman who don’t drink, and women who are heavy drinkers could experience menopause at an earlier age.
For men, heavy drinking is often associated with erectile and ejaculatory dysfunctions, which make it difficult to conceive, while long term, heavy alcohol use can lower testosterone, cause testicular atrophy which damages sperm production, and trigger liver dysfunction, which in turns leads to hormonal imbalances when the liver can’t metabolize estrogens effectively.
However, if you’re undergoing IVF, even one extra drink a day for women can significantly affect your chances of success. It’s also known that moderate to high alcohol consumption during early pregnancy can damage the unborn fetus and cause alcohol-related birth defects.
If you quit smoking, you’ll know how easy it is to restart when times get stressful, but any amount of cigarette smoke can make it harder to get pregnant. One study found that if one member of the couple smokes, it can take them around twice as long to conceive than for non-smoking couples.
For women, the chemicals in cigarettes can harm the ovaries and produce poor-quality eggs, as well as disrupting your brain’s endocrine function which is responsible for producing and releasing sex hormones.
Men who smoke are affected too. Cigarette toxins can damage the DNA in sperm and reduce sperm quality, affecting their ability to fertilize the egg and increasing miscarriage rate when conception does occur. 120,000 men in the UK aged 20-39 are infertile because of smoking.
When men and women turn to food to soothe their feelings, they are very likely to eat foods that are high in fat, sugar, and chemicals, speeding up weight gain and obesity which in turn affect fertility.
One study found that your chances of getting pregnant naturally within 1 year (the definition of normal fertility) drop by about 5% for every extra BMI point a woman has above 29. Men who have a BMI of over 25 could see sperm counts fall 22% and sperm concentration drop 24%.
Women who become obese, or eat far too little, could experience anovulation, where the ovaries stop producing eggs on a regular basis or quit altogether.
It’s not surprising that people in toxic relationships have trouble sleeping, because their anxiety and stress levels are so high and they struggle to wind down enough to sleep. But the body uses sleep to regulate hormone production, so if you’re not sleeping well, it can throw your sex hormones out of sync.
Finally, toxic relationships have a way of taking over your life. Everything you do revolves around your reaction to the last incident, or your attempts to avoid having another bad interaction, to the extent that you can’t even enjoy sex. Less sex is practically guaranteed to lower your chances of conceiving.
A toxic relationship can even end up poisoning the other, healthy, relationships in your life, causing your stable marriage or partnership to fall apart.
There’s any number of reasons for leaving a toxic relationship, but it seems like you can add fertility to the list. If you’re hoping to start a family, whether through IVF or by conceiving naturally, removing toxic relationships from your life can only be a good move. We hope your path to parenthood will be smooth and stress-free.
It’s common knowledge that smoking cigarettes can reduce a woman’s ability to conceive. But as the e-cigarette craze continues sweeping the globe, the trend raises questions about the impact of consuming tobacco and nicotine in other forms, such as vaping, for women trying to conceive.
So, how does vaping really affect fertility?
The negative impact of smoking on fertility can’t be overstated. Multiple studies and meta-analyses have found that:
With cigarette smoking linked to both troubles in conceiving and negative outcomes for pregnancy, doctors recommend that women who are trying to get pregnant stop smoking. Even a few cigarettes a week can put a roadblock between a woman and a healthy pregnancy.
It’s clear that smoking reduces the chances of becoming pregnant naturally. Can the same be said for women who are trying to conceive via assisted reproduction?
An American study of women undergoing IVF treatments found that smokers experienced lower rates of success. They had a 50% reduction in implantation and ongoing pregnancy rate, compared to women who did not smoke during their treatment cycle.
Strikingly, the study found that women who had stopped smoking shortly before their treatment cycle had the same rates of implantation and full-term pregnancy as non-smokers, illustrating just how damaging smoking is for fertility.
That conclusion was confirmed by a Danish study, which found a direct link between smoking and unsuccessful fertility treatments. Tobacco use before and during pregnancy lead to higher rates of maternal, fetal, and infant morbidity and mortality, the researchers wrote, along with lower rates of pregnancy.
Often touted as a healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes, vaping refers to consuming tobacco via an electronic device. There are a number of vaping devices on the market. Some are visually similar to traditional cigarettes, while others are sleek, futuristic-looking devices.
Unlike cigarettes, these battery-powered devices heat up cartridges filled with liquid, turning them into vapor which is then inhaled by the user.
Because the most damaging chemicals in cigarette smoke -- carbon monoxide and tar -- are not present in vape smoke, the UK’s National Health Service has recommended that smokers try vaping as a tool to wean themselves off cigarettes.
However, vaping is not harmless. Vape liquid contains large amounts of highly addictive nicotine, and initial studies have linked the practice to lung irritation. And because vaping is so new, the long-term effects are still unknown.
While research is ongoing, it appears that yes, vaping can lead to fertility difficulties.
A recent study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society found a correlation between e-cigarette use and embryo implantation. Researchers found that mice exposed to e-cigarette vapor had major delays in the onset of their first litters, along with difficulties in embryo implantation. In pregnant mice, vaping “caused changes in metabolic, inflammatory, neurological, and pulmonary factors within exposed offspring.”
In other words, there was a strong connection between delayed pregnancy, impaired implantation of embryos, birth defects, and vaping. The negative impact on both fertility and fetal health should serve as a caution for women who vape that are considering becoming pregnant.
Researchers from Oregon State University found in a meta-analysis that “e-cigarette usage during pregnancy will be as harmful to fetal lung development as is conventional cigarette usage.”
But it’s not just women’s fertility that’s impacted by vaping. Men who use e-cigarettes daily were found to have poorer quality sperm and lower sperm counts than non-smokers.
A Polish study noted that vaping liquid contains a range of harmful substances that have the potential to affect fertility, including “endocrine disruptors, which disturb hormonal balance and morphology and the function of the reproductive organs.”
Although e-cigarettes may be safer than traditional cigarettes, nicotine is definitively linked to health risks for both pregnant women and their fetuses.
Some of the dangers for babies exposed to nicotine in utero include:
For women who are trying to conceive, there’s a clear link between smoking and a higher chance of ectopic pregnancy. Nicotine has been found to cause a spike in abnormal sperm morphology among male mice, and it’s likely that also applies to humans.
E-cigarette liquid is largely unregulated, which means that it’s hard to know just how much nicotine one cartridge contains. This lack of standardization adds another risk factor for women who are trying to conceive or who are pregnant.
Absolutely!
If you’re thinking about becoming pregnant, this is an excellent time to put the vape down and embrace a nicotine-free life. While it’s tempting to think that e-cigarettes are a safe alternative to smoking, the truth is that vaping can also seriously hurt your health - not to mention that of your future baby.
There are many resources available to help you kick your tobacco habit before you become pregnant. Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is one option, but you should consult with your doctor about the best plan of action for you.
Cutting out nicotine doesn’t just raise your chances of becoming pregnant - whether you’re conceiving naturally or using reproductive assistance - it can also increase the likelihood of carrying a baby to term. Not to mention that your baby will have a smaller risk of potential issues upon birth.
Although research is still ongoing into whether or not e-cigarettes are safer than traditional smoking during pregnancy, there’s plenty of evidence that shows any nicotine consumption can negatively affect the health of both mother and baby.
It’s widely known that the toxins and chemicals in cigarette smoke can affect your fertility, and that if you want to become pregnant, it’s best to stop smoking.
But cigarette smoke isn’t the only source of harmful chemicals that can make it hard for couples to conceive and give birth to a healthy baby. As science advances, scientists learn more about the ways that regular products that you use at home every day can interact with your reproductive health.
There are 3 main ways that environmental toxins can harm your fertility, but bear in mind that some products can affect you in more ways than one:
Each one of us is exposed to millions of chemicals every day, and no one is certain just how many of them could impact on fertility. It’s estimated that each pregnant woman in the US is exposed to over 43 different chemicals on a regular basis.
Here are some of the most common products that you’re likely to have at home and could contain chemicals that can make it harder for you to conceive.
Old pipe networks and paint compounds used to contain high levels of lead, which can damage the reproductive system. For example, the headline-grabbing health crisis in Flint, MI, in 2015 was caused by lead leaching out of old pipes and into the water supply.
If you live in an old house which hasn’t had the paint replaced since the 1970s, the chances are high that it’s lead-based. Oil-based paints, paint thinner, and painting supplies can contain lead and mercury, but newer paints aren’t 100% safe, either. Latex-based paints can be made with ethylene glycol ethers and biocides, which can disrupt the menstrual cycle, decrease sperm quality, and increase the risk of miscarriage.
The chemicals in paint don’t have much impact on your health if they are already on the walls, but they can affect you if you start scraping them off or putting on a fresh coat of paint. That’s when you’ll either create fine particles of dried paint or release paint fumes into the air, which can be easily breathed in.
Many household cleaning products and detergents contain:
Heavy metals have been linked to increased incidence of miscarriage, uterine fibroids, and hormonal disorders which affect fertility.
Triclosan is an endocrine disruptor which raises thyroid hormone levels, affecting fertility in men and women, and can also increase breast cancer. It’s found in many antibacterial soaps as well as household cleaners.
Chlorinated hydrocarbons are used in cleaning agents, pesticides, and the manufacture of PVC items. Women with the highest levels of PCBs have a 50% decrease in their ability to get pregnant, and are far more likely to miscarry when they do become pregnant.
If you live in a busy city or close to a main road, you’re likely to be breathing in a lot of traffic fumes which contain heavy metals, particulate matter, and other harmful chemicals. There’s a slight but definite link between the distance a woman lives from a highway, and her fertility levels.
Traffic fumes affect male fertility too, with motor vehicle exhaust emissions found to affect sperm count, motility, and vitality. .
Organic solvents like polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs) are used as fire retardants. They can affect thyroid balance and sex hormone production, which in turn damages the menstrual cycle and ovulation in women.
One study of PFRs among 211 women undergoing IVF found that women with the highest concentrations saw their chances of successful fertilization drop by 10%, of embryo implantation falling by 31%, and a 38% drop in live births.
PFRs and PBDEs are used in:
They are very prevalent in the US and are already in most people’s bloodstreams.
Phthalates and parabens, which are serious endocrine disruptors, are used in a massive number of different household and personal products.
You’ll find them in:
Phthalates and parabens are among the most harmful chemicals for reproductive health, and what’s worse is that they are truly everywhere. Over 97% of Americans have a detectable level of phthalates in their bloodstream, even though phthalates are quickly excreted from the body, because they are so prevalent that blood-chemical levels are replenished just as swiftly.
Many studies over the past several years have linked higher phthalate levels to lower chances of successful IVF outcomes, and increased miscarriage risk both for natural pregnancies and those enabled by IVF. In April 2020, researchers warned that pre-conception phthalate exposure could be a risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes. Men with high phthalate levels show damage to sperm.
It’s important to read the labels on cosmetics and look for items that are paraben-free and fragrance-free. It's also a good idea to regularly air your house to get rid of any build-up of fumes, and choose nail polish brands that don’t contain acetone. Although nail polish choices will only prove problematic if you paint your nails weekly or more often.
An astonishing number of plastic products contain BPA (Bisphenol A) or the almost equally harmful Bisphenol S (BPS). Like phthalates and parabens, these are endocrine distributors that affect male and female reproductive fertility.
In men, high BPA levels can drag down sperm count, sperm vitality and motility, and sperm concentration, while in women it can damage tissue in the uterus, ovaries, and the hypothalamus and pituitary gland which govern sex hormone production.
BPA is used in many different types of plastics, including:
BPA is also used to coat sales receipts, so it’s best not to handle them with wet hands and to throw them out ASAP. You should avoid heating up food in soft plastic containers or covering it with cling wrap, because BPA chemicals and phthalates too transfer when they are heated. Use glass or ceramic dishes to reheat food, and cover it with a paper towel instead of plastic.
Unless you buy organic food, all your produce, meat, and dairy is likely to contain some pesticides. If an all-organic diet is impossible, it’s still worthwhile to do what you can to cut your exposure to pesticides as much as possible.
Pesticides can damage sperm quality and quantity, act as endocrine disruptors, and affect fetal development leading to miscarriage. A study of women in Ontario, Canada, found that when pesticides use rose, fertility fell. Washing produce before eating it can help, and if you’re involved in gardening or farming you should also stay away from pesticide usage.
You can also help cut the level of phthalates in your food by avoiding processed foods and takeout food that are sold in soft plastic packaging.
You can’t always remove all the multiple factors that have an impact on your fertility, but the more that you can reduce them, the better.
Checking the products you bring into your home to make sure that none of them contain dangerous parabens, phthalates, BPA, or other harmful chemicals, and trying to stay away from thing that would adversely affect you, can help remove obstacles in your path to starting a family, whether you’re using IVF or hoping to get pregnant.
For many couples who are trying to start a family, that 40th birthday can loom up ahead like a fertility cliff. Becoming pregnant between the ages of 20 and 35 may well be the ideal, but we all know that life doesn’t always work according to plan.
Let us give you some positive encouragement, for a change: even though it’s far easier to become a mother for the first time at a younger age, it can be safe to become a mother after 40.
Pregnancy is not always an easy experience even for younger women, and you’re likely to feel the impact even more when you’re past 40. But you can take steps to lower the effects of pregnancy on your health.
Pregnancy hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and relaxin soften the ligaments, which increases the risk that you could strain a muscle. At the same time, your larger stomach changes your posture and balance, which could put an additional strain on your joints.
Pay attention to the way you sit and stand, so that you don’t accidentally strain a muscle or harm your joints. Try to avoid lifting heavy objects past your first trimester.
Exercise plays an important role in a healthy pregnancy. It raises your mood, helps you sleep better, and helps reduce the potential backaches, nausea, and constipation that often accompany pregnancy. According to the Mayo Clinic experts, regular exercise could even help you have a shorter labor, avoid a C-section, and lower the risk of developing gestational diabetes.
In general, healthcare professionals agree that you can continue any exercise program, but should be careful about taking up a new kind of workout during pregnancy. It’s not a good time to try to reach your peak fitness goals, though; just maintain your current level.
Some of the best workouts for a healthy pregnancy include:
No matter how you slice it, you won’t have as much energy during pregnancy as you normally do, nor will you be as energetic as 20-something expectant mothers. Don’t push yourself to do more; it’s not a competition. Instead, allow yourself plenty of time to rest.
It can be difficult to get enough sleep during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester when every position feels uncomfortable, so take naps and rest as much as you can.
The awkward truth is that the older you are, the higher your risks of a pregnancy ending in miscarriage, rising from about 18% for 30-year-olds to 38% when you reach 40 and 70% at age 45.
Chronic conditions like thyroid disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure all add to the risk of pregnancy loss, so if you’re otherwise healthy you’ll be better placed to give birth to a healthy baby. However, it’s not always clear what causes a miscarriage.
The risks of stillbirth, on the other hand, aren’t much higher for women aged 40+ than for those in their 20s — until you reach the 39th week, that is. From week 39 and on, the risks of stillbirth among the over-40s are double those of someone aged 35. For this reason, best practice in the UK is to induce older women once they reach this point in pregnancy.
The statistics show that if you’re giving birth past the age of 40, you’re a lot more likely to need interventions like a C-section, forceps, or vacuum delivery. The chances of needing a c-section double for women aged over 40.
Here are some of the reasons:
But don’t let minor side effects scare you. Assisted birth interventions and C-sections are safe and usually bring favorable birth outcomes. Here’s what you should know regarding the risks of birth interventions.
The risks to your health
When you have an intervention like vacuum or forceps delivery, it can raise the risk that you’ll have a 3rd or 4th degree vaginal tear, which takes longer to heal and can cause temporary incontinence. You’re also at a higher risk for blood clots, so it’s even more important to keep moving, and you ought to consider wearing compression socks. If you follow medical advice postpartum, however, you’re unlikely to experience any long-term effects.
A C-section is a surgical procedure, so like any surgery, there are risks of infection, surgical injury, and having a reaction to the anesthesia. But that said, the risks of serious harm following a c-section are very low. Choose a doctor whom you can trust, and follow all the advice you’re given about post-surgery care.
The risks to your baby’s health
It’s rare for a baby born through a C-section or assisted delivery to suffer any serious or long-term ill effects. After a forceps or vacuum delivery, your baby might have marks on their head and/or face, and/or small cuts on the face and scalp, but these all heal quickly. Some babies develop jaundice after an assisted birth.
After a C-section, a few babies develop transient tachypnea, which is a breathing problem, but it too resolves itself within a few days.
Conceiving a healthy child
The older you are when you conceive, the higher the chances of having a baby with a chromosomal defect. That’s because your eggs are older too, and their quality isn’t as high as for younger eggs. Older eggs are less likely to divide correctly during gestation, and that’s what causes chromosomal defects.
The most common chromosomal defect is Down’s syndrome, also known as trisomy 21. It’s what happens when the 21st chromosome produces three copies of itself in every cell, instead of just two. The risk of giving birth to a baby with Down’s syndrome is 1 in 1,250 if you’re aged 25, but it’s 1 in 100 when you’re 40 years old, and 1 in 60 by age 42.
If you use your own eggs that you froze when you were younger, you can lower this risk. It’s also particularly important to carry out prenatal screening for Down’s syndrome and other chromosomal issues once you’ve passed 40.
Overall, studies have found that babies born to mothers aged over 40 are 35% more likely to spend time in intensive care, more likely to have a low birth weight, and 70% more likely to be born with a medical issue.
There are a number of conditions which women can develop during pregnancy, and your risk of experiencing them does rise when you’re over 40. But much depends on how healthy you are before you get pregnant, and how well you take care of your health during pregnancy.
If you’re otherwise healthy and fit, you don’t have high blood pressure or other chronic health conditions, and you’ve conceived naturally, there’s no reason why your pregnancy should be higher risk than that of the 30-year-old in the next room.
Preeclampsia is a serious condition that’s caused by having high blood pressure, and can develop into organ damage. When you’re pregnant, the strain on your heart goes up massively, plus your body produces more progesterone which also pushes up your blood pressure and cholesterol. For women who already have high blood pressure or heart issues, that’s sometimes enough to cause preeclampsia.
Your blood pressure (hypertension) generally increases as you get older, and a lot of people aren’t even aware that they have borderline hypertension. When you’re aged over 40, the risks of developing preeclampsia shift from 3-4% to 5-10%.
But there are steps you can take to lower the risk:
Women who are over 40 are four times more likely to develop gestational diabetes — a type of diabetes that only affects pregnant women — than younger women. It goes away after you give birth, but it can increase the risks of developing type-II diabetes postpartum.
You can reduce your risk, however, by paying attention to your diet. Cut the amount of sugar, red meat, and high-cholesterol foods you eat, and increase the amount of fiber. One study found that women who ate 10 grams more fiber per day lowered their risk of gestational diabetes by 26%.
Exercise also helps decrease the risks of gestational diabetes. Studies found that women who were the most active before getting pregnant cut their risk of developing gestational diabetes by up to 55%, and exercising in early pregnancy can also help lower your odds. It seems that the exercise you do before getting pregnant has a bigger impact than exercising during pregnancy.
Placenta praevia happens when the placenta doesn’t move up and away from the opening of the uterus. It can cause a rupture, leading to severe bleeding and possibly preterm labor.
Placenta praevia occurs when your blood (vascular) system can’t support the uterus to expand enough to accommodate your baby. Older women have a higher risk of vascular disease, which in turn increases your risk of placenta praevia.
There’s no specific treatment or cure for placenta praevia, although maintaining a healthy lifestyle which protects your heart and vascular system can help. It’s important to consult your doctor if you have any vaginal bleeding, and get regular ultrasounds so that placenta praevia can be spotted before it causes a serious health issue.
If your doctors suspects placenta praevia, they will avoid performing vaginal exams and recommend that you avoid sex and exercise, to reduce the risk of triggering a hemorrage. In some cases, you might be put on bed rest for the remainder of your pregnancy, to help make sure that you reach term and deliver your baby safely.
Although the risks are higher when you become a mother after the age of 40, there’s no reason to give up on starting a family, either through IVF or by conceiving naturally. Take steps to live as healthy and active a lifestyle as possible, both before and during pregnancy, and carry out all the health checks and screenings recommended by your doctor. We hope your pregnancy and birth go as smoothly as possible.
If you’re over age 35 and you don’t yet have children, you’ve probably had at least one interfering person remind you that you’d better hurry up because your fertility will decline. No one ever says that to men, of course. Menopause is like a ticking time bomb for women who want to start a family, but men don’t have the same finish line for their fertility.
Or do they?
Men can produce sperm throughout their lives, so there is no “male menopause” when men can’t have children any longer. But that said, studies have shown that male fertility does decline with age.
If a man is over age 45, it can take five times longer for he and his partner to conceive than if he was aged 25 or under. When the man is over 40, he and his partner are 30% less likely to conceive during a 12-month period than if the man is under 30.
Male age affects IVF success rates too. One study found that when both the man and the woman are aged 35-39, they have a conception rate of 29%, but that drops to 18% if the woman is aged 35-39 but her partner is five or more years older.
Women tend to see their fertility drop off steeply in their late 30s and 40s, but for men, fertility lessens much more gradually, and from a later age. Male fertility generally starts to fall in their 40s and through their 50s.
A French study found that women’s reproductive capability drops from age 35, but for men it’s only from about age 40. Other research concluded that before age 34, there was no noticeable change in sperm concentration, sperm motility, sperm morphology, or sperm volume, but that after 40, sperm concentration and sperm morphology had both declined.
There are two main ways that male fertility can decline over time:
Scientists have also found that as men age, sperm shows increasing DNA fragmentation, which in turn increase the chromosomal defects that trigger miscarriage.
When men struggle to achieve erection, it’s referred to erectile dysfunction. Without an erection, a man can’t naturally ejaculate the sperm which fertilize the egg and achieve conception. ED can have a number of causes, including insufficient testosterone and poor blood circulation. The risks of severe ED rise 300% between the ages of 40 and 70, and those of moderate ED by 200%.
As men get older, their hormonal balance changes and testosterone levels drop. The decline begins at around the age of 40, which is much later than the age when female fertility begins to decline, but it’s still significant.
Testosterone is the hormone that controls men’s libido, ability to ejaculate, and the ability to achieve and hold an erection. Total testosterone declines at around 0.8% per year, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) increases at 1.6% per year, which scientists speculate further reduces testosterone levels.
By now, scientists agree that sperm quality decreases with age, but there’s less agreement about exactly why and how that takes place. The drop in testosterone certainly plays a role. Leydig cells in the testes generate very high levels of testosterone which produce sperm, but those Leydig cells drop in number with age.
There are a number of factors which affect sperm and semen health. (Sperm is what fertilizes the egg, and semen is the liquid which holds the sperm.) The main issues are:
It’s still unclear whether sperm concentration falls significantly. Some scientists even think that sperm concentration may increase slightly with age.
There are studies that show that sperm morphology can decline by anything up to 0.9% per year, with a total change of up to 18% over 20 years. Sperm shape affects the sperm’s ability to fertilize the egg. The more that it varies from the normal, the harder it will be for conception to take place. However, sperm morphology is difficult to research with confidence, because the data can vary a lot between studies.
Scientists are far more concerned about the way that changes to sperm motility affects male fertility. According to the most recent research, sperm motility could drop by 0.8%/year of age for every year of age. In fact, 40% of men aged 40-60 have low motile sperm, in contrast with just 20% of 20-30 year olds and 17% of 30-40 year olds.
Other issues that cause sperm health to decline are a drop in semen volume, and a loss of strength in vesicular function, which means that the semen is ejaculated much more weakly and doesn’t travel as far.
Women are born with a finite number of eggs, but men keep on producing sperm throughout their lives. Every time that sperm is made, it reproduces the male DNA, and with every replication there’s a risk of mutations, or DNA fragmentation. As men get older, DNA fragmentation increases.
A rise in DNA fragmentation also means a rise in chromosomal abnormalities, which can cause health defects, low birth weight, and miscarriage or stillbirth. The risk of miscarriage in the first trimester is 25% higher when the father is over 35, even if the mother is under 30. Another study found that babies born to fathers aged 45 or over were more likely to be born premature and more likely to have a low birth weight and Apgar score than those born to younger fathers. Additionally, babies with fathers aged over 55 were more likely to need assisted ventilation and to be admitted to a NICU.
Bear in mind that the older you are, the more time you’ve had to be exposed to toxins, germs, and to develop conditions that can affect fertility. The authors of one study observe that “the risk of developing a medical condition or of being exposed to environmental toxins increases with age.”
Some of the environmental issues that can affect male fertility include:
Endocrine disruptors are found in many common items both at home and at work. These are materials that disrupt the release of the sex hormones which control sperm production and erectile function. Some serious endocrine disruptors include:
Other chemicals that affect the hormonal balance include pesticides, DDE, diesel fumes, lead, and paint thinners. Traffic fumes can also affect sperm count, motility, and vitality.
Sperm production works best when the testes are a couple of degrees cooler than typical body temperature, but a lot of men work in hot environments like factories, garages, etc. which raise testicular temperature. When the testes are too hot, they are more likely to produce sperm that’s the wrong shape, affecting sperm motility.
Male fertility problems are often linked to other health conditions, like obesity, cancer, hypertension, heart disease, and kidney disease. Heart disease and hypertension, for example, affect vascular health and increase the risks of ED. Obesity can affect the hormonal balance. All of these conditions are more likely to affect older men rather than younger men.
Common medications like spironolactone and calcium channel blockers prescribed for hypertension, H2 blockers prescribed for stomach ulcers, and antiandrogen treatments (flutamide) for the prostate can all have side effects that affect sperm production.
Like with other health issues, maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding known toxins can make a difference to male reproductive health. If you’re having trouble conceiving, it’s also worth considering if there’s something in your workplace or home environment that could be affecting your fertility.
However, no one can (or should try to) avoid getting older, and it’s inevitable that male fertility will decrease somewhat with age. If you’re a man aged over 40 and you and your partner are struggling to conceive, it’s worth it to check if there’s anything that could be affecting your fertility levels as well as investigating female fertility.
Whether you use IVF, donor sperm, or natural conception to build your family, we hope your experience is as smooth as possible.
Maintaining good health is always a concern, but when you’re pregnant or trying to conceive, the world can feel like it’s full of germs and infections.
It’s an understandable feeling. There are some diseases and bacteria which can cause serious problems for you and/or your baby, but that healthy people would ordinarily shrug off.
But most of these health threats can be kept away by following good hygiene practices and getting vaccinations on time. Here are some of the diseases that can be harmful during pregnancy, and what you can do to protect yourself and your baby.
Chickenpox is usually harmless for children, but it can cause serious damage if you catch it while you’re pregnant. If you get infected with chickenpox before your 28th week of pregnancy, there’s a 2% chance that your baby could develop foetal varicella syndrome (FVS), which can harm their skin, eyes, legs, arms, brain, bladder and bowel.
If you catch it between 28 and 36 weeks, your baby will be infected too, but he/she won’t be born with any symptoms. However, it could become active while your child is still a baby or toddler, and cause painful shingles.
If you catch chickenpox after week 36, your baby will be infected and could be born with active chickenpox.
If you didn’t catch and recover from chickenpox yourself as a child, you should get vaccinated before you start trying to conceive.
Whooping cough (pertussis) has been rising in the last few years, with a serious epidemic in 2012 that saw 10 times as many cases as normal in the UK, and more annual cases than any year in the last 60 years in the US.
Whooping cough isn’t dangerous during pregnancy, but it can be fatal for your new baby. Babies under 6 months are too young to be vaccinated against the disease, but they are protected by your antibodies.
You were probably vaccinated against whooping cough when you were a child, but by the time you come to start a family, your antibody levels have dropped. They are usually high enough to protect you from the disease, but don’t provide enough protection for your newborn baby.
That’s why public health authorities in many countries recommend that women get a booster shot some time between 16 and 32 weeks of pregnancy.
It takes 2 weeks for antibody levels to peak and transfer to your baby. Then your baby has whooping cough antibodies in their own system to keep them safe until they can be vaccinated themselves.
CMV, or cytomegalovirus, is a common virus that’s part of the same family of diseases as cold sores and chickenpox. Once you’ve caught CMV, it remains dormant in your system but it can be reactivated if you get exposed to the virus again.
Most people catch CMV and have nothing more than a cold. But if you catch it or get reinfected when you’re pregnant, your baby could be born with congenital CMV, which can cause blindness or visual impairment, hearing loss, epilepsy, learning difficulties, or more serious birth defects. CMV can also cause stillbirth. It’s worst for babies whose mothers hadn’t been infected with CMV before, and catch it for the first time during pregnancy.
CMV is only harmful to your baby if it’s active while you're pregnant. The dormant virus isn’t dangerous.
Around 1 out of 150 babies is born with congenital CMV, and around 20% of those have birth defects or long-term health problems. Disabilities caused by CMV are more common than those caused by Down’s syndrome, spina bifida, or cystic fibrosis, which are all better known than CMV.
CMV is highly infectious, and it’s passed on through bodily fluids like urine, mucus, saliva, and tears. Small children often catch and pass on CMV, so you should be particularly careful if you come into contact with them.
Currently, there’s no effective way to treat CMV in babies or in pregnant women, although giving babies antiviral medication shortly after birth can reduce the severity of their symptoms. To prevent catching it, you should
Wash your hands regularly with soap and hot water, especially after changing diapers or wiping a child’s nose
Avoid sharing food, plates, or silverware with young children while you’re pregnant
Avoid kissing a child on the face
Flu is no fun at any time of life, but it’s particularly serious during pregnancy. Pregnant women are at a higher risk of developing complications from the flu, and it could cause your baby to be born prematurely, with birth defects or low birth weight.
Flu can also cause stillbirth. The best protection is to get the flu vaccine. One study found that stillbirth rates fell by 51% among women who received the flu vaccine
Most women are vaccinated against rubella in childhood, in which case you’re immune for life. But if you haven’t been immunised and you didn’t catch it as a child, you should get vaccinated before trying to conceive. It’s not recommended to get vaccinated during pregnancy.
If you develop rubella during your first 4 months of pregnancy, you could experience a miscarriage or have a baby with serious birth defects like heart damage, brain damage, vision problems, or deafness.
Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by parasites that are found in cat faeces, so it can be present in cat litter, in the soil, and in children’s sandpits that cats might use as their toilet. It’s usually a mild disease, unless you’re pregnant. Toxoplasmosis during pregnancy can cause blindness, intellectual disabilities, and other birth defects in your unborn baby.
To avoid coming into contact with anything that could transmit toxoplasmosis, you should:
Get someone else to clean the litter tray if you have a cat
Wear gloves if you’re gardening or handling newly-dug vegetables, and/or wash your hands well afterwards
Make sure that all vegetables are washed thoroughly before you eat them.
Group B streptococcus, or group B strep, is a common and usually harmless bacteria that’s present in the bodies of around 30% of people. You wouldn’t know that you have group B strep unless you get tested.
Group B strep doesn’t harm you or your baby during pregnancy, but if you have group B strep, it can infect your baby during birth. This happens in approximately 1 out of every 1,750 pregnancies.
Babies infected with group B strep can develop meningitis, blood infections, and/or pneumonia, causing long-term disabilities in around 1 out of every 14 babies who are infected. Approximately 5% of babies with group B strep die from the disease. But most babies make a full recovery if they are treated early with antibiotics.
Group B strep is effectively treated with IV antibiotics during labor, so it’s recommended that every woman get tested for the bacteria between her 35th and 37th week of pregnancy. The bacteria grow fast, so testing earlier could mean that infections go unnoticed. If you have group B strep when you give birth, there’s a 1 in 400 chance that your baby will be infected, but if you get IV antibiotics, the risk drops to 1 in 4,000.
Listeriosis is a type of food poisoning caused by listeria. Listeria can be found in:
Soft cheese
Raw, unpasteurised milk and dairy products made from raw milk
Pate and deli meats and other chilled ready-to-eat foods
Chilled smoked seafood
so it’s best to avoid these foods. It can also live on the surface of fruits and vegetables, so wash all fruit and vegetables before eating them or handling them without gloves.
Although listeria is rare, even a mild case can cause serious damage to your baby, resulting in miscarriage, stillbirth, and severe illness in your newborn.
A number of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can be harmful to your foetus or newborn baby. It’s best to always practice safe sex, including using a condom.
Chlamydia is particularly common, and you might not know that you have it. If you’re concerned that you might have been infected with chlamydia, ask for a test during pregnancy. It can cause premature birth, miscarriage, birth complications, and eye infections or pneumonia in a newborn baby. Chlamydia can be successfully treated with antibiotics before and during pregnancy to prevent you from passing it on to your baby.
Hepatitis B can be caught by contact with infected blood or sexual relations with someone who has the disease. If you have hepatitis B, you’re likely to pass it on to your baby. In that case, your baby will be given a vaccine at birth and at intervals during their first year, and it’s very effective at preventing them from developing long-term infection.
You might not know that hepatitis B is in your bloodstream, so it’s important to get tested for it during pregnancy. Women who are exposed to it during pregnancy can take antibodies that help reduce the risk of transmitting it to their baby. If you’re in a situation that increases your exposure to hepatitis B, you should get vaccinated before you try to start a family.
Hepatitis C is another blood-borne disease that’s transmitted through having sex, sharing needles, or getting a blood transfusion from someone who has the disease. The risk of passing it on to your baby is a lot lower than for hepatitis B, but if it happens there’s no effective cure.
Genital herpes are transmitted through having sex with someone who has genital herpes sores. If you catch genital herpes for the first time during your last 6 weeks of pregnancy, it could infect your baby with neonatal herpes. Neonatal herpes can be fatal if it goes untreated, but antiviral medication is very effective. The risk of transmitting it is a lot lower if you’ve had genital herpes before.
If you have genital herpes sores towards the end of your pregnancy, your doctor might recommend a caesarean section instead of vaginal delivery, to reduce the chances of infection.
The Zika virus is spread by infected mosquitoes, although you can also catch it through having sex with someone who’s infected. Zika disease is usually mild, but if you catch it while pregnant it can cause serious birth defects, like microcephaly, seizures, developmental disabilities, and blindness, as well as stillbirth.
ZIka outbreaks are common in some parts of South and Central America, parts of south and southeast Asia, the Caribbean, Africa, and some Pacific Islands. They’ve also occurred occasionally in some parts of North America, but the risks of catching it there or in the UK or Europe are very low.
It’s best to avoid traveling to areas where Zika is widespread during pregnancy, and to use mosquito repellent and to cover up if you are in an area with an outbreak.
Fifth disease, also called slapped cheek disease, is caused by the type B19 human parvovirus. It’s common among young children and it rarely provokes any serious effects, but it can cause miscarriage if you catch it when you’re pregnant.
Many women are already immune, because they caught it in childhood. There’s no vaccine against Fifth disease, so avoid being around anyone who might have it. You can also reduce the risk of catching it by washing your hands thoroughly.
Although there are a lot of dangers around you when you’re pregnant, the right precautions can help you keep yourself and your baby healthy and safe. Whether you’re hoping to conceive naturally or planning to undergo IVF treatment, we hope your pregnancy and birth go smoothly and without anxieties or health scares.
