How to Naturally Improve Egg Quality for IVF Success?

Women don’t stress about egg quality or their ovulation cycle until they plan pregnancy. Egg quality is one of the key factors in determining your ability to get pregnant after unprotected sexual intercourse. Poor egg quality or low egg count is seen in women over 35. Your ovarian reserve declines rapidly as you age, making natural conception more challenging.

Not only that, but women planning conception through IVF might also experience a difficult pregnancy if their egg quality is not optimal. So, how can you boost your egg quality? 

We’ve compiled a comprehensive post that explores some natural remedies you can try at home to boost your egg quality and increase your chances of IVF conception. Let’s take a look. 

Factors Affecting Egg Quality

Before we discuss the factors affecting egg quality, it’s important to know the role a woman’s eggs play in achieving a healthy pregnancy. 

When a sperm fertilizes an egg, an embryo develops. This embryo implants into the uterus and turns into a fetus. The quality of the embryo depends on your egg quality. In other words, your chances of having a full-term, successful pregnancy are determined by your egg quality. 

Here are the factors affecting your egg quality.

Age and Genetics: Poor egg quality in a woman can be due to biological factors like age and genetics. Your ovarian reserve declines as you age, and you’ll have fewer eggs. The risk of chromosomal abnormality also increases with age. Sometimes, genetic disorders can affect your ovarian reserve.

Environmental Toxins: Exposure to harmful chemicals and toxins that can disrupt hormonal balance can cause poor egg quality.

Lifestyle Choices: Excess weight, too much alcohol consumption, smoking, and living a sedentary lifestyle are a few factors that affect ovulation.

Natural Strategies to Improve Egg Health

Diet and Nutrition

While there’s no scientifically proven diet that can magically improve your egg quality, your diet can improve your overall health, which, in turn, positively impacts your egg reserve and quality. If you are trying to get pregnant, follow a healthy diet chart. Add fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, healthy fats, and other vital nutrients. Add folic-rich food to prevent pregnancy-related complications.

A nutritious diet doesn’t mean you must give up on your favorites. You can occasionally indulge in your cravings, so long as most of your meals contain nutrient-rich foods. Here’s what an ideal diet plan includes for a woman trying to improve her egg quality:

• Organic food
• Whole grains
• Fiber-rich food
• Green leafy vegetables and fruits
• Fish, beans, nuts, seeds, and other protein-rich food

Add Supplements 

CoQ10 helps improve mitochondrial function, which boosts your egg quality and its ability to implant and divide after fertilization. Start CoQ10 supplements to improve your egg function before conception. 

Folic acid is another crucial requirement for women planning pregnancy. It’s recommended in the supplement form to ensure that you get a sufficient amount before and after conception. The essential vitamins you must add to your diet through natural and supplemental forms include vitamins A, B6, B12, B5, B1, and B2. 

Exercise and Physical Activity

Your ovaries need oxygenated blood to create a suitable environment for the follicles to develop and for your eggs to mature and release each month during your ovulation cycle. Increased blood circulation to your reproductive organs can ensure healthy eggs and proper embryo implantation. The two best ways to improve blood flow to your uterus include:

• Adequate fluid intake
• Regular exercise 

Practicing exercise will help improve blood circulation throughout your body. Regular exercises, such as walking and swimming, are enough. But if your overall health is good and your doctor gives you the green light for moderate-intensity exercise, start immediately. 

Stress Management

Everyday stressors, like a big project, don’t affect your fertility. But chronic stress combined with anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders can take a toll on your physical and psychological well-being. This, in turn, affects your egg quality. 

Stress releases prolactin and cortisol, which causes an imbalance in your reproductive hormones, including estrogen, gonadotropins, and progesterone. 

Stress is associated with a disrupted ovulation cycle, poor egg quality, and poor reproductive outcomes. It also negatively affects the success rate of your IVF procedure. 

Stress-induced ovulation issues can be managed through meditation, yoga, and counseling. They can help balance your reproductive hormones, improving your egg quality and the chances of conception through IVF.

Sleep Quality

You might know the importance of sleep for your overall health. But does it play a role in improving your egg quality? In terms of your reproductive health, a proper sleep cycle regulates melatonin production (a hormone with antioxidant properties). This protects your eggs from oxidative damage.

Poor sleep is linked to increased cortisol secretion, which interferes with your reproductive hormones. So, if you are struggling with pregnancy due to poor egg quality, improving your sleep quality can help regulate your FSH, LH, Insulin, and other vital hormones. Aim for at least 8 hours of sleep.

Limiting Toxins and Environmental Exposures

Exposure to heavy metals, chemicals, pesticides, and other environmental toxins can affect egg quality. Certain chemicals, such as bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, and polychlorinated biphenyls, are linked to an increased risk of reproductive damage in women. 

Likewise, inhaling air pollutants and harmful gasses can compromise egg quality and ovarian reserve. If you work in a hazardous environment, quit your job immediately (if you are planning pregnancy). Moreover, avoiding alcohol, cigarettes, tobacco, and non-prescription drugs can preserve your reproductive health.

The Importance of Consulting Your Doctor

While home remedies can be beneficial, they should not replace professional medical advice. It’s crucial to consult a gynecologist or a fertility specialist to identify your fertility issues and the cause of poor egg quality. Professional guidance will ensure you are on the right path to improving your chances of conception. 

Conclusion

There’s no magical formula or pill you can take to boost your egg quality, but certain lifestyle changes, maintaining good weight, and practicing moderate-intensity exercises can bring a significant change in some cases. Managing stress can also help people with chronic stress conceive. 

If natural conception isn’t possible in your case, consider Assisted Reproductive Technology, like IVF. It has proven to be a reliable way to have biological children. If you’ve tried all medications to conceive naturally but nothing worked, IVF can help.