@zacariah88 I decided to stop drinking entirely just for good measure, but I am ingesting FAR too much caffeine according to this. I can fit three "cups" of coffee in one of my travel mugs.
But....but....coffee.
But....but....coffee.
Optimizing natural fertility: review of recommendations
- Thread starter mcg1102
- Start date
-
- Tags
- fyi trying for a baby
zacariah88
New member
chrislaforest
New member
Thank you for this, saving the thread 
motionmediavideos
New member
@motionmediavideos Guaifenesin is a drug that increases the secretion of water into mucus, making it less viscous. It won't increase CM production, but it can make it move more. There's some suggestion, though old, that it can actually help the odds of pregnancy*.
Since guaifenesin isn't producing CM, just loosening it, it's not worth taking it prior to the fertile window. There's not necessarily a standardized protocol, but taking it at the dose on the box during the last day or two before ovulation is reasonable.
*https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(16)46287-4/abstract
Since guaifenesin isn't producing CM, just loosening it, it's not worth taking it prior to the fertile window. There's not necessarily a standardized protocol, but taking it at the dose on the box during the last day or two before ovulation is reasonable.
*https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(16)46287-4/abstract
akblessings
New member
@mcg1102 Excellent post. But I have one other question— what about caloric intake? Most days I eat at least 1200 calories (usually more), but other days I’m below that (I have a busy work schedule, not stressful, just busy, so sometimes I forget to eat or don’t have time). Am I hurting my chances?
shasikatesl
New member
@akblessings Not Dev, but I think the biggest indicator of an issue would be if you're regularly ovulating or not. To my knowledge, the biggest risk of chronically undereating/being underweight is hypothalamic amenorrhea, which would be really apparent because you wouldn't be having a regular cycle.
ziggyshrugged
New member
christwife14
New member
@mcg1102 This is such a great post, thank you! Do you know if a regular women's multivitamin that has 400mcg folic acid in it per daily serving will suffice when TTC? I've now seen all over the sub that you should be taking pre-natal vitamins for 3 months prior to TTC and am wondering if I should switch to a pre-natal. Currently in TWW #3.
@christwife14 The recommendation for folic acid actually doesn't help you get pregnant (at least not to any great degree), it's there because folate is required for the proper formation of the neural tube, a structure that includes crowd favorites like the brain and spinal cord. 
Supplementing folic acid sharply reduces the number of neural tube closure defects that occur.
Neurulation, the process of neural tube closure, begins around 6 weeks of pregnancy. Since most people aren't carefully tracking ovulation and testing early, the recommendation is to be on a prenatal even before you start TTC. But there's no specific reason it has to be from a prenatal -- 400mcg from any source is great. (And honestly, bread and cereal products in many countries are routinely made with flour enriched for folic acid -- even diet alone is potentially adequate to meet the requirement.)
Supplementing folic acid sharply reduces the number of neural tube closure defects that occur.Neurulation, the process of neural tube closure, begins around 6 weeks of pregnancy. Since most people aren't carefully tracking ovulation and testing early, the recommendation is to be on a prenatal even before you start TTC. But there's no specific reason it has to be from a prenatal -- 400mcg from any source is great. (And honestly, bread and cereal products in many countries are routinely made with flour enriched for folic acid -- even diet alone is potentially adequate to meet the requirement.)
christwife14
New member
aster302516
New member
@christwife14 I believe that would be fine because that includes the recommended minimum folic acid.
christwife14
New member
@aster302516 Great, thank you! I may just switch to pre-natals to feel like I'm doing everything I can for this possible future baby pre-conception, but that's very comforting.
littleclaypot
New member
@mcg1102 Thanks! How about this one - I read that having unprotected sex prior to TTC is beneficial as the woman's body learns to recognise their partner's sperm and not treat it as a foreign body, thus reducing an immune response that rejects the embryo as foreign material. Can't remember where I saw it, don't know whether it's rubbish or not!
@littleclaypot I think a lot of the immune tolerance stuff is pretty questionable mechanistically. Sperm and embryonic cells are really different, and there's no reason they would display the same surface molecules, such that exposure to sperm would induce tolerance to embryonic antigens. In general, sperm are not attacked by the immune system, though they are broken down and consumed by maternal cells when they die.
It's possible that there's something in there. A lot of it just reads like hand-wavy magic to me, though.
It's possible that there's something in there. A lot of it just reads like hand-wavy magic to me, though.