Fit For Birth’s holistic approach to wellness focuses on how the “Five Foundations” can impact fertility, pregnancy, and the postpartum period. We’ve broken down each foundation and identified a key takeaway that can specifically help to boost your fertility. All data has been retrieved from scientific research studies – references can be found at the end.
| QUICK CHART | |
| Fit For Birth Foundation | Mechanism of Helping Fertility |
| 1. MIND | Mindfulness & stress management helps the physical body focus on conceiving a baby, rather than “fighting a battle.” |
| 2. BREATHING | Slow conscious diaphragmatic breathing activates the vagus nerve, which reduces stress, thereby indirectly affecting fertility. |
| 3. MOVEMENT | Physical inactivity is associated with infertility. Moderate exercise is associated with reduced inflammation and stress-reduction, both of which can affect fertility. |
| 4. NUTRITION | Eating unsaturated fats, whole grains, vegetables, and has been associated with improved fertility in both women and men. |
| 5. LIFESTYLE | Household toxins, sleep & wake cycles, cell phone usage, and even laughter have all been found to affect fertility! |
THE RESEARCH BEHIND IT
MIND The mind is known to cause physical STRESS in the body:
- “Research shows that negative cognitive styles are associated with increased stress reactivity…results indicate a fundamental link between the thoughts and stress levels we experience.”1
One of the systems that stress affects is the reproductive system2:
- “Stress is known to impact women’s health specifically, through hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis dysfunction and resultant ovulatory dysfunction. Such dysfunction may manifest in menstrual irregularities and/or infertility due to hypothalamic hypogonadism.”3
Stress is associated with your chances of fertility:
- “A direct causal link or a statistically significant association between stress exposure and human reproductive failure was found in seven of the nine studies evaluated.”4
- “It is clear that psychological interventions for women with infertility have the potential to decrease anxiety and depression and may well lead to significantly higher pregnancy rates”5
BREATHING “Breathing exercises produce stress relief” by activating the VAGUS NERVE (VN)6:
- “The reflex is triggered by significant lung volume increase (e.g., during inhalation)” as well as, “slowing down respiration cycles, shifting to longer exhalations compared to inhalations, shifting the main locus of respiration from the thorax to the abdomen (diaphragmatic breathing)”7
- “When a practitioner starts a breathing exercise with a deep breath (a long inhalation), this immediately triggers the reflex, resulting both in activation of VN as well as the initiation of respiration styles that further relay relaxation.”8
The VN reduces stress and stress is associated with your chances of fertility:
- “Breathing exercises produce stress relief” and may even activate anti-inflammatory pathways9
- (See Mind Section above!)
MOVEMENT “This study suggests that sedentary behavior and physical inactivity would represent two independent risk factors associated with infertility”10
What’s important to know is that “regular exercise is shown to exert anti-inflammatory effects” especially with “relatively brief and moderate-intensity exercise,” 11 which is helpful because “inflammation has a significant role in gynecology and infertility.”12,13
When it comes to exercise and infertility, the right amount is the key concern: don’t be sedentary, but also don’t over do it, since “intense long exercise can lead, in general, to higher levels of inflammatory mediators”14
One more thing, since “regular exercisers are more resistant to the emotional effects of acute stress,” 15 which, to the degree that infertility is being caused by stress (see above), may help with fertility.
NUTRITION “Reproductive performance is definitely influenced by foods and type of nutrition…Moreover, nutritional factors may influence not only oocyte maturation, but also quality of embryos and efficiency of implantation.”16 This is true of both “malnourished” people in “developing countries” as well as “eating in excess, fast food consumption, hypercaloric dietary regimens…in well-developed and western societies.” “A Mediterranean diet aimed at maintaining normal body mass may be effective in the preservation of ovarian health and physiology.”17
“Diets high in unsaturated fats, whole grains, vegetables, and fish have been associated with improved fertility in both women and men. While current evidence on the role of dairy, alcohol, and caffeine is inconsistent, saturated fats, and sugar have been associated with poorer fertility outcomes in women and men.”18
LIFESTYLE
- Household & Environmental toxins – “The research is quite clear that metals and chemicals in air, water, food, and health-and-beauty aids are damaging fertility in many ways. These toxicants are causing men to experience relentlessly decreasing sperm count and function while women are suffering progressively worse anovulation, impaired implantation, and loss of fetal viability.”19
- Circadian rhythms (sleep & wake cycles) – “Stress of modern lifestyle can determine changes in hormone secretion, favoring the onset of infertility-related conditions that might reflect disfunctions within the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis…Clock genes affect infertility, producing low levels of sex hormones, causing embryo implantation failure and reducing newborn size both in mouse models and in shift-working women…Chrono-therapeutical strategies that reset or modify the biological clock may contribute to restore the internal synchrony and thus counteract pathological symptoms of infertility.”20
- EMF/ mobile phone radiation – “Cell phone radiation decreases sperm motility” and “also leads to sperm DNA fragmentation.” 21 “Based on the outcomes of both human and animal studies analyzed in this review, animal and human spermatozoa exposed to EMR emitted by mobile phones had reduced motility, structural anomalies, and increased oxidative stress due to overproduction of reactive oxygen species…these negative effects appear to be associated with the duration of mobile phone use.”22
- Village Community – “Participating in infertility forums offers persons information about fertility treatments and social support in the process of coping with infertility.”23 To the degree that lack of community causes one to feel stress, this can be a factor in infertility (See Mind Section above!)
- Fun & Laughter – “Medical clowning as an adjunct to IVF-ET may have a beneficial effect on pregnancy rates and deserves further investigation.”24 (This Israeli study was performed on women who were performing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET), finding that the pregnancy rate of women who attended “the unit for ET on the clown’s visit day” was 36.4%, compared with 20.2% for those who did not receive the dose of laughter25.)
REFERENCES
12014. Engert, Smallwood, and Singer. Mind your thoughts: associations between self-generated thoughts and stress-induced and baseline levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase, Biological Psychology. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25457636/
22017. Yaribeygi, et al. The impact of stress on body function: A review. Experimental and Clinical Sciences. “Stress can either activate, or change the activity of, many endocrine processes associated with the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal glands, the adrenergic system, gonads, thyroid, and the pancreas.” Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579396/
32022. Vigil, et al. Chronic stress and ovulatory dysfunction: implication in times of Covid-19. Frontiers in Global Women’s Health. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://doi.org/10.3389/fgwh.2022.866104
42008. Nakamura, Sheps, and Arck. Stress and reproductive failure: past notions, present insights and future directions. Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2582116/
52018. Rooney & Domar. The relationship between stress and infertility. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6016043/
62018. Gerritsen & Band. Breath of Life: The respiratory vagal stimulation model of contemplative activity. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6189422/
72018. Gerritsen & Band. Breath of Life: The respiratory vagal stimulation model of contemplative activity. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6189422/
82018. Gerritsen & Band. Breath of Life: The respiratory vagal stimulation model of contemplative activity. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6189422/
92018. Gerritsen & Band. Breath of Life: The respiratory vagal stimulation model of contemplative activity. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6189422/
102019. Foucaut, et al. Sedentary behavior, physical inactivity and body composition in relation to idiopathic infertility among men and women. PLOS One. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210770
112017. Dimitrov, Hulteng, & Hong. Inflammation and exercise: Inhibition of monocytic intracellular TNF production by acute exercise via β2-adrenergic activation. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Retrieved 6/27/22 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0889159116305645 [Rented]
122009. Weiss, et al. Inflammation in Reproductive Disorders. Reproductive Sciences. Retrieved 6/27/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3107847/
132020. Rasheed & Hamid. Inflammation to Infertility: Panoramic View on Endometriosis. Cureus. Retrieved 6/27/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7746006/ “Inflammation is an important cause of infertility in endometriosis”
142020. Cerqueira, et al. Inflammatory Effects of High and Moderate Intensity Exercise—A Systematic Review. Frontiers in Physiology. Retrieved 6/27/22 from https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.01550
152014. Childs & de Wit. Regular exercise is associated with emotional resilience to acute stress in healthy adults. Frontiers in Physiology. Retrieved 6/27/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4013452/
162019. Silvestris, Lovero, and Palmirotta. Nutrition and Female Fertility: An Interdependent Correlation. Frontiers in Endocrinology. Retrieved 6/28/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6568019/
172019. Silvestris, Lovero, and Palmirotta. Nutrition and Female Fertility: An Interdependent Correlation. Frontiers in Endocrinology. Retrieved 6/28/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6568019/
182018. Panth, et al. The Influence of Diet on Fertility and the Implications for Public Health Nutrition in the United States. Frontiers in Public Health. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6079277/
192018. Pizzorno, Joseph, ND. Environmental Toxins and Infertility. INtegrated Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6396757/
202020. Sciarra, et al. Disruption of Circadian Rhythms: A Crucial Factor in the Etiology of Infertility. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7312974/
212014. Gorpinchenko, et al. The influence of direct mobile phone radiation on sperm quality. Central European Journal of Urology. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4074720
222020. Okechukwu, Chidiebere Emmanuel. Does the Use of Mobile Phone Affect Male Fertility? A Mini-Review. Journal of Human Reproductive Sciences. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7727890/
232020. Sormunen, et al. The role of social media for persons affected by infertility. BMC Women’s Health. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12905-020-00964-0
242011. Friedler, Shevach, et al. The effect of medical clowning on pregnancy rates after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. Fertility and Sterility. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21211796/
252011. Friedler, Shevach, et al. The effect of medical clowning on pregnancy rates after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. Fertility and Sterility. Retrieved 6/25/22 from https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282%2810%2902958-4/fulltext#relatedArticles