728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.

Preconception Weight-loss Planning

Easy Ways to Boost Health and Increase Fertility

By Kim Seidel

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

Kari Passe and her husband tried to get pregnant for seven years with no luck. Today she's expecting their first child. What was their key to success? Passe and her doctor firmly believe it was her weight loss, achieved by making simple, healthy lifestyle changes. From about June until November 2007, Passe lost 57 pounds; her husband lost 30 pounds as well. They found out they were pregnant that New Year's Eve.

Your Fertility Exercise
Passe's doctor, Paul Silva, a fertility specialist at Franciscan Skemp Healthcare in Onalaska, Wis., says the biggest impediment to getting pregnant he often sees in women is being overweight. A healthy body mass index (BMI) is between 20 and 25. It's also important to not be too thin or underweight for pregnancy – he sees those factors playing a role in infertility patients too.

Before attempting other fertility treatments, Passe says she and her husband wanted to try losing weight naturally as Dr. Silva recommended to them at their first visit. "Something we always wanted to do was to lose weight, but we just ignored advice," she says. Now with the long-time dream of having a baby at stake, they were motivated to exercise, limit sugar and eat more whole grains.

Exercising regularly and eating healthy meals and snacks are two important areas to focus on to boost your health and to increase your fertility, experts say. To maximize fertility, maintain an optimal weight or lose weight if you're overweight or obese, says Dr. Ann G. Kulze, a nationally recognized nutrition expert, physician, author and mother of four children in Charleston, S.C. The best way to accomplish an ideal weight is to exercise regularly the rest of your life, she says.

"Exercise is really the closest magic bullet to protect and to improve your health; there is nothing that comes closer," Dr. Kulze says. "If you can regularly exercise, your general health will be better." Exercise can help you lose weight, reduce stress and improve sleep, Dr. Kulze says. In turn, all of those benefits can increase your fertility factors.


Pages:  1  2  3  4  

Want to see more?

Comments

There are no comments for this article yet.Be the first to add a comment.

Post As:
Enter your comment below:
Title
Comment Text
CAPTCHA
Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection.