The Best Ways To Prepare For Your Body For IVF

Whether you're just now considering in vitro fertilization (IVF) after consulting with your fertility specialist or you've already made the appointment to begin the process, it's a great idea to dig into what IVF entails. It's not an easy process, and as you put your body through major changes, your mental health may be affected as well, so learning how you can prepare your body for IVF and the road ahead is a great starting point.

IVF is the most successful assisted reproductive process in which eggs are collected from the ovaries and taken to a lab where they're fertilized by sperm (sometimes the sperm comes from a partner and other times from a donor). The embryos are then moved either back into the uterus or into the uterus of a gestational carrier (Via Mayo Clinic). In short, it's an invasive, expensive procedure that holds no guarantees — but it has the potential to change lives, making the entire process incredibly rewarding when it produces the desired results.

Preparing your body (and mind) beforehand will help you get into a healthy routine, which is ideal to start early as you'll likely need to stick it out throughout the course of pregnancy. It can also prevent complications from arising during IVF and pregnancy, as well as increase your odds of live birth and producing a happy, healthy baby.

A study from 2018 has suggested that your food can directly correlate to your fertility levels. Yes, you can still eat your Cheetos and ice cream, but moderation, balance, and eating regularly are the building blocks to incorporating a nutritional diet into your day-to-day life. As you prepare for IVF treatment, eating fertility-friendly foods can increase your chances of conceiving, and continuing your nutritional diet throughout pregnancy will help your baby get the nutrients it needs to develop, too.

In the same study, a Mediterranean-style diet is heavily recommended because it can boost your reproductivity, as well as your mood and overall wellness. A Mediterranean diet consists of lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, and healthy fats while limiting your intake of red meats and sugar. If your partner is the embryo's sperm provider, it might be a good idea for them to follow these eating habits, too, as it can lead to a higher sperm count.

Obviously, nobody wants to go on a diet, but it doesn't have to be a chore. Changing your eating habits as a couple can inspire some cute and fun date nights in the kitchen, cooking up new recipes together. If you've needed an excuse to try a new restaurant or cuisine, you've just found it.

Your body needs to be strong and well-rested to undergo the IVF journey, and the best way to get there is by getting the right amount of rest. While more research is still needed to determine the exact correlation between sleep and fertility, one study concluded that between seven and eight hours of sleep a night is deemed optimal for women undergoing IVF treatment (via HuffPost). Getting adequate sleep can help boost your reproductive hormones and reduce stress — something that has been strongly linked to fertility and menstrual issues, as well as miscarriages.

Surprisingly, the same study also noted that too much sleep may actually be harmful to your reproductive health as well, with links to fertility and menstrual cycle changes. This might be a little incentive to not sleep until noon, but with the addition of hormones fueling your mood changes, sleeping the right amount as you begin IVF treatment may prove challenging. That's why getting yourself into a solid routine now can help you maintain a healthy sleep cycle later on.

Ultimately, you know your body best and the amount of sleep you need to feel recharged and stress-free, and your very best is between you and your pillow. If you struggle to sleep already, try deep breathing exercises, switch off your screens an hour before bed, read a book, or drink herbal tea to switch your brain into sleep mode.

The jury is still out on whether caffeine directly inhibits your fertility. Many studies have concluded that alcohol has a much greater impact on IVF treatment than caffeine, and less than 200 to 300 milligrams of coffee a day is probably okay for women trying to conceive, but any more may be a bad idea. Caffeine is a stimulant that can increase your blood pressure, disrupt sleep, and alter your reproductive hormones when consumed in large quantities (via Healthline). Treatments can put your body and mind in a very fragile place, so adding a bunch of coffee into the mix probably isn't the best idea.

For those who can't open their eyes before their morning cup of joe or are sipping on Starbucks throughout the day, cutting down your coffee intake might be hard. But doing it now will get you over the caffeine headaches and other withdrawal symptoms ahead of time because it's really not something you'll want to deal with while going through IVF. Retraining your body to live with less (or no) caffeine might leave you groggy for the first week or two, but with simple changes like switching to decaf, tea, or taking a cold shower in the morning, it'll become easier. Ultimately, your caffeine consumption is your choice, but moderation is key.

Regular exercise is already a highly recommended way to stay healthy and in shape, and you probably hear it all the time. But it's also a fantastic way to improve your mood, sleep, cognition, and overall quality of life (via CDC). Oddly, there's a lot of conflicting advice out there for IVF patients; do you take it easy or push yourself harder? Light exercise before and during your IVF treatment can improve blood flow, increasing your chances of successful implantation. It's recommended you opt for low-impact exercises, like yoga, as it's easier on your body and can improve your flexibility, diminish stress, and help you cope mentally if your IVF cycle fails (an unfortunate but very real possibility you will need to prepare for).

However, a 2006 study has linked over-exercising to consequential outcomes during the IVF process. In the study, those who exercised more than four hours a week saw more issues while undergoing IVF, including failed implantation or miscarriage. As you decide your activity levels, be kind to yourself and start small, aiming for around 30 minutes a day of brisk walking or stretching. Essentially, how much you exercise is up to you; listening to and respecting your body's signals will be something you'll have a lot of practice in by the end of the IVF process, and it's something you can start working on now.

No, you don't have to quarantine yourself away in your house (we've done enough of that in recent years). But, contracting anything more serious than a common cold may result in a temporary postponement of your IVF treatment, depending on what stage you're in and the severity of your symptoms (via UNC Fertility). A fever or stomach bug can throw off your cycle and perhaps make your body believe it's not well enough to become pregnant at that time. Planning for a family is stressful enough, so aside from the annoyance of rescheduling your IVF appointment, an illness would be an unwelcome surprise to your body and stress levels at this time.

This is sometimes unavoidable, especially when flu season comes around, but there are always preventative measures you can take, like washing your hands, avoiding unnecessary travel, getting plenty of immune system-boosting vitamins in your system, and staying up to date on your flu shot. Also, if you want to be extra careful, there's probably still an abundance of facemasks lying in one of your drawers somewhere — COVID may not be as much of a concern as it used to be, but putting your health first right now is what matters most.