Freezing Eggs or Undergoing IVF? Here's Why Preconception Care is Important

In today’s society, it would seem that we have more knowledge of how to prevent the occurrence of pregnancy than we do of successfully becoming pregnant. From my own clinical experience, I rarely meet a woman who understands her menstrual cycle and the beautiful dance her hormones do throughout the month, and when we talk about ovulation, she doesn’t know the signs to look out for and more often than not relies on an app that guesses when she ovulates. During a 1:1 consultation, I explain the female cycle in all its glory so that my clients feel educated and empowered and understand the inner workings of their body.

According to statistics, in 1991 most women commonly had their first child in their 20s. These days late 20s and early 30s are when most women are becoming new mothers. However, the bigger trend is the percentage of women having their first child over the age of 30 (an increase from 23% in 1991 to 48% in 2016).

Did you know that a woman is born with all the eggs she is going to have in her lifetime? A women’s eggs age with her, decreasing in quality and quantity. This means that age is the single most important factor affecting a woman's fertility. As a woman who became a first-time mother at 34 years of age, I understand the many reasons why women are having children later in life. While the research states that fertility decreases as we age, I am here to educate you on how to optimise your health and egg quality to increase your chances of conceiving.

This blog post is focused on improving egg quality for women who have chosen to freeze their eggs and for women undergoing IVF treatment.

Can I improve the quality of my eggs before freezing or IVF?

Yes! The egg freezing process - like an IVF cycle - stimulates a woman’s body to produce as many eggs as possible. IVF is one of the most important innovations in the modern world. However, IVF only works on solid ground, in other words, it comes down to healthy eggs and healthy sperm, meaning it cannot improve egg quality. If none of the eggs retrieved are healthy, there is no way to get around it—no matter how many rounds of IVF money can buy. Improving egg quality is something that only we, as individuals, can do. No person or technology can do this for you, it is up to you! In science, egg/ovum health is known to be a modifiable epigenetic process, meaning that the way you live, eat, think, and move can either improve your egg quality or negatively impact it.

Taking care of your eggs before their retrieval is like making sure a flower has everything it needs to be able to bloom.

Tips to improve egg quality

Manage stress and anxiety:

There is an inverse relationship between stress hormones and sex hormones. What I mean by this is when our stress hormones go up, our sex hormones go down. This is a protective mechanism that your body uses in times of stress. Some of my top tips for reducing stress include - time in nature, meditation, quality sleep, deep belly breaths, energy work, herbal medicine (lemon balm, chamomile, passionflower, skullcap, oat seed, Withania), setting boundaries.

Exercise:

Not too much, not too little. The success rate of IVF may be reduced by at least 25% in obese women and 50% in very obese women. IVF centres generally recommend a target BM1 of 30 before starting treatment. Women with a BMI less than 19 who may have irregular or absent menstruation should aim to increase body weight to improve egg quality and fertility outcome.

Environmental toxins:

Avoid storing and reheating food in plastic containers. Switch to natural beauty and personal care products to avoid toxic chemicals and phthalates which are known to disrupt or interfere with our hormones by mimicking the body’s sex hormones. They can make the body think it has enough of a particular hormone and it doesn’t need to make any more, so production goes down.

Sleep:

The more science there is on the importance of sleep, the more we understand why one third of our life is dedicated to it. 8 hours of quality sleep is the sweet spot for optimal health. This is especially true for our egg quality.  We each have an inbuilt circadian rhythm, which means we are designed to wake to the sun and go to bed when it gets dark. Quality sleep is a key pillar for healthy hormone balance, which is essential for healthy egg development.

Coenzyme Q10:

Coenzyme Q10 is a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger required for mitochondrial function. The amount of CoQ10 the body produces declines with age, which means our cells (including oocyte/egg cells) have less energy available. Women’s egg cells are very large and require a lot of energy for egg maturation, fertilisation, and embryonic cell division, hence the important role of CoQ10 supplementation for women 33 years and older. One study found that women who supplemented with CoQ10 had an increased number of retrieved oocytes, higher fertilisation rate, and more high-quality embryos compared to placebo when undergoing IVF treatment.

Vitamin E:

Vitamin E is another potent, fat-soluble antioxidant that is important for maintaining the health of the ovaries. A study that assessed women undergoing IVF treatment found that higher levels of serum vitamin E were associated with higher-quality embryos.

Zinc:

Zinc should be a key mineral in your preconception multivitamin, however, you should get some pathology testing to assess zinc levels as increased supplementation may be necessary. Zinc is one of the most important nutrients required for reproduction and ovulation, as well as for the development of the oocyte in females.

Folate:

Folate will also be in your preconception multivitamin as it is an important vitamin for oocyte quality and maturation. Impaired folate metabolism - which occurs if you have the MTHFR gene polymorphism - can result in poor oocyte quality.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids:

Omega-3 fatty acids have a regulatory effect on the cell membrane and on oocyte quality and embryo implantation. One study found that omega-3 fatty acids may be effective in delaying ovarian ageing and improve oocyte (egg) quality.

Whole Food Diet:

No amount of supplements can do what a healthy, whole food diet can. Aiming for 7 serves of vegetables per day is a great start. One serve equals 1/2 a cup of cooked or one cup raw.

Preconception Multivitamin:

The final stages of oocyte (egg) development takes approximately 100 days, which is why a Naturopath will recommend at least a 3-month preconception period to correct any potential nutrient deficiencies which may be vital for reproductive health and function. It is important to understand that healthy fertility occurs when your health is optimal, and by that I mean everything you eat, drink, think, environments you are exposed to. A preconception multivitamin I personally prescribe is Naturobest.

Acupuncture:

Research has shown that acupuncture increases the blood flow around the ovaries, which may improve egg quality and IVF outcome. From personal experience, acupuncture is the one place I fully switch off, hugely beneficial for stress reduction.

Remember, no matter how many rounds of IVF money can buy, improving egg quality is something that only we, as individuals, can do. You deserve to have someone who understands your current health status and needs (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual), and supports you during your fertility journey. Book an appointment to discuss your fertility.