Infertility is not a word anyone wants to hear, but it is a word many couples are familiar with. At first, the diagnosis can be overwhelming, but being told you are infertile does not always mean you’ll never have children. When I was 20 years old I was told I was infertile. I was overweight and my ovaries were underdeveloped. I was not maturing and releasing eggs – so I was given two options. Make some changes in my life and keep trying or take fertility medications to force egg maturation and release. I chose to start naturally with some lifestyle changes. Those lifestyle changes helped me give birth to my first two children within 18 months.
Diet
I switched fast food with whole foods. I did not cut calories dramatically, just whole foods like brown rice, fatty fish and fresh fruits and vegetables. I did lose a bit of weight, but not enough to make a dramatic difference in my fertility.
Attitude
If I was going to be a mother I needed to learn to relax and have more patience. Instead of focusing on the word infertility, I let go of the need to conceive right now just because the doctor said I couldn’t. Soon, sex took on a more exciting nature again and it no longer felt like work.
Exercise
I did not add exercise to lose weight and the exercise I added was not like marathon training, but I tried to walk a few days a week all alone. This was more about thinking and relaxing than burning calories. I soon grew to like the walks.
After a few months I found out I was pregnant with my first child. The pregnancy was horrible and I hated being pregnant the two additional times I conceived in the future, but being a mother is something I love more than anything in the world so it was well worth the changes I made at home.