You are what you eat. It’s clichéd but true, and important to remember as we enter into the Halloween to New Year’s holiday stretch of high consumption of all things sugary, fat and, unfortunately, delicious. I like to remind my patients that the key ingredient during the holidays — and all year long — is balance. You don’t have to completely deprive yourself — a healthy diet that can improve your fertility is one that gives the body what it needs in the right amounts.
If you have been using birth control for any length of time and are now thinking about starting a family, you may be wondering how birth control may have affected your fertility. In some cases, couples who stop using birth control panic if they don’t achieve pregnancy within weeks and immediately seek out information about their infertility treatment options. Others conduct research into the relationship between birth control and fertility, only to find a lot of conflicting information and, unfortunately, misinformation.
When it comes to treating infertility,especially through in vitro fertilization, or IVF, you will want to do whatever you can to increase your odds of successful conception, even by small percentage points, before you begin your treatment. After all, the purpose of IVF is to beat the odds imposed on you by nature through the miracles made possible by science. That’s why Dr. Laurence A. Jacobs encourages his patients to exercise, eat healthy, quit smoking, and lead generally healthy lifestyles before they even consider pursuing fertility treatments.
Medications play an important role in the treatment of infertility, and are particularly crucial to the success of procedures such as in vitro fertilization, or IVF. Fertility specialist Laurence A. Jacobs takes the time to explain the important role that IVF medications play during consultations at his Chicago practice so that his patients fully understand what to expect during the IVF treatment process.
Infertility is a struggle that is faced by a great number of men and women who are attempting to conceive. While fertility problems can be extremely difficult to face and often come as a shocking blow, many couples find hope when they realize the numerous fertility treatment options that have proven a success for couples around the world. One of the most successful and popular assisted fertility methods is in vitro fertilization (IVF), a process in which harvested eggs are joined with sperm outside of the uterus and then transferred back into the uterus once successful fertilization has taken place. Because of the advanced techniques and technology that are used with IVF treatment and because it assists in every stage of conception, IVF is a viable option for the majority of Dr. Laurence A. Jacobs’ infertility patients. However, there are some factors that have been shown to influence the success of IVF treatment, one of which is a patient’s body mass index (BMI). Here, Dr. Jacobs discusses with his Chicago patients whether IVF in underweight patients can be a success.
When a couple decides that they are ready to conceive, most anticipate a smooth and easy ride into parenthood. Unfortunately, some couples find it difficult to become pregnant and often try for many months (or years) without success. Once a couple has been trying to conceive for a year or more, or if extenuating circumstances may be interfering with pregnancy attempts, the best option is to meet with a fertility specialist such as Dr. Laurence A. Jacobs. Dr. Jacobs can discuss fertility treatment options, such as IVF, which helps patients avoid common fertility hurdles by supervising and assisting in the multiple stages of conception. But one factor that may affect in vitro fertilization success rates is a patient’s excessive weight (increased body mass index, also known as BMI).
Many of our Chicago patients wonder whether IVF can be successfully performed on overweight patients. The answer? While being overweight may have some impact on IVF treatment, ultimately, a patient’s weight does not exclude them from this procedure, unless they are morbidly obese with a BMI over 50. In a case such as that, the medical and anesthesia risks are too high.
When considering IVF candidacy, Dr. Jacobs generally will not exclude a patient for treatment based solely on her weight; however, the patient's BMI must be under 50 to obtain anesthesia clearance for an egg retrieval done under conscious sedation. In addition, to provide patients with realistic expectations for treatment, it is important to understand that the success of IVF may be affected by a patient’s BMI. If a patient is either markedly overweight or underweight, success rates may differ from those of a patient within a healthy BMI range.
For overweight and obese patients undergoing IVF treatment, the primary source of concern is the negative effect on egg quality. Studies show that overweight patients, and particularly those who are considered obese, are less likely to develop healthy eggs. IVF treatment involves ovarian stimulation, and a 5 to 10 percent weight loss may increase the odds that healthy eggs will be produced, resulting in better pregnancy rates. Alternately, women who are severely overweight, or those who have been unable to produce high quality eggs, have the option of undergoing IVF treatment using donor eggs.
Once pregnant, obesity will also lead to increased risks to mother and baby, so weight lossbefore getting pregnant can be very beneficial.
If an overweight or obese patient is considering IVF treatment, losing weight before undergoing fertility treatment is a very good idea. Lowering weight by just a small amount (5 to 10 percent) can significantly impact a patient’s health and increase a person’s chances of successful IVF treatment.
Positive lifestyle changes before and during IVF treatment will help improve a person’s health and overall well-being, increase their chances for getting pregnant and, most importantly, enhance the likelihood of a healthy baby.
Dr. Laurence A. Jacobs takes great joy in seeing patients receive the news that they are pregnant. If you have been dealing with the stress and heartbreak of infertility, we can help you explore fertility treatment options that will help you achieve the dream of parenthood.Contact us at your earliest convenience to learn more about our wide range of fertility treatments. We look forward to hearing from you!
Dr. Laurence Jacobs understands just how important the concept of family is to those who want to have children but who struggle with fertility problems. Not only is Dr. Jacobs one of the nation’s foremost providers of infertility treatments, but he is also the father of four children that he had after having gone through fertility problems of his own. He has devoted the past 27 years of his professional life exclusively to helping couples and individuals overcome infertility and realize their dreams of having children, opening his clinic doors to any prospective parent who could provide a loving, nurturing home to a newborn baby.
When a woman reaches her mid-30s, her chances of achieving successful pregnancy diminish with each passing year. This is true even of women who have never struggled with fertility problems, which makes age a particularly relevant issue for the 10 percent of the population who are faced with fertility issues, including those who are seeking to have children through advanced treatments such as in vitro fertilization, or IVF. Even if a couple’s difficulty in conceiving a child can primarily be attributed to male factor infertility, the age of the female partner plays a significant role at a certain point, and the closer a woman is to the age of 40, the more her age has to be taken into account as a contributing factor in the couple’s infertility.
For couples facing any number of fertility problems, IVF offers an effective solution. IVF assists in fertilizing an egg outside of the body so that a multitude of fertility complications and problems can be bypassed all together. This fertilized egg (or eggs) is then transferred into the female’s uterus in hopes of conception. IVF has grown in popularity as techniques have improved and success of treatment has increased. While a growing number of patients are becoming familiar with IVF treatment, many still have questions about what the treatment experience is like and how daily life will be impacted. For instance, many of our Chicago patients have questions regarding IVF and exercise. Here, Dr. Laurence A. Jacobs’ patients can learn whether it is safe to continue exercise throughout IVF treatment.
Exercise is a healthy habit that improves the overall health of the body and also has been shown to have a positive impact on a person’s emotional well-being. Because of the significant benefits of exercise, we always encourage our patients to participate in some form of exercise or physical activity. In general, exercise is considered safe throughout the stages of IVF treatment. However, patients may need to alter their regular exercise routine slightly as treatment progresses in order to avoid an increased risk of complications or discomfort. For patients who do not already have an exercise routine, it is probably not a good idea to start a new, strenuous routine at the start of IVF treatment, although low impact activities should be perfectly safe and may even benefit the patient throughout treatment.
One thing to note is that more than four hours per week of "vigorous" exercise during an IVF stimulation has been shown to lower pregnancy rates. This is due to diminished ovarian blood flow as more blood flow is diverted to muscles.
During the initial phases of IVF treatment, patients should be free to continue with whatever exercise routine has already been established. However, once treatment progresses, Dr. Jacobs will likely advise patients to alter their exercise routine to include only low impact activities. The reason that we ask patients to avoid high impact activities is that the fertility medications that are used may enlarge the ovaries. With strenuous activities, the ovaries may become twisted and a condition known as ovarian torsion may develop. This rare side effect of IVF can be a painful condition for patients. In order to reap the benefits of physical activity while avoiding potential complications of IVF treatment, patients should consider the following exercises, which should be completely safe throughout all phases of IVF treatment:
Overall, the best advice regarding IVF treatment and exercise is to do everything in moderation. While some amount of exercise and physical activity is good for the body, it is important not to overdo it. Patients should never push the body to the point that it is in pain or overly fatigued.
If you have had difficulty conceiving or have been diagnosed with an infertility condition and would like to learn more about your fertility treatment options, contact us at your earliest convenience. Dr. Laurence A. Jacobs is happy to answer any questions you may have regarding IVF or fertility treatments in general. We look forward to hearing from you!
At the fertility center of Laurence A. Jacobs, M.D., many of the patients who turn to us for information about in vitro fertilization (IVF) are affected by endometriosis. Naturally, they often have questions regarding this condition and how it might have affected their fertility and how it may affect their attempts to conceive through IVF or another infertility treatment. During consultations between Dr. Jacobs and such patients at our state-of-the-art fertility center in Chicago, IVF and endometriosis discussions often revolve around separating myths from reality and clearing up misconceptions. Patients generally emerge with greater peace of mind and a better understanding of how they might benefit from IVF.