Getting pregnant faster advice from Dr Marilyn Glenville

Mar 30 2008 by Emma Pomfret, Sunday Sun

A STAGGERING one in three couples have trouble conceiving.

One in seven go on to seek medical help and at least a quarter of all pregnant women miscarry.

With misleading information all over the internet, GPs varying in their support and understanding, and well-meaning friends and family full of anecdotal advice, it can be hard to know where to turn.

Dr Marilyn Glenville, president of the Royal Society of Medicine and the UK’s leading expert in woman’s health, has put together a simple guide called Getting Pregnant Faster.

She says: “No two couples are ever alike in terms of what may be preventing them from getting pregnant, which is why it is so important to have all the information at your fingertips.

“From many years’ experience of helping couples to become parents, it is clear to me that a well-structured plan is needed — one that ticks all the boxes — so that you know what you should be doing and when, in order not to waste time.”

Indeed, with female fertility declining rapidly after an average age of 35, coupled with the growing trend for many women to delay trying for their first baby until their mid-thirties, Glenville says that time is of the essence.

She says: “Although we all look and feel younger these days, our biological clocks are still ticking at exactly the same rate that our grandmothers’ generation’s were, so the need to devise an efficient three-month action plan is vital.

“My book is designed for any woman who wants to have a baby, from those who are thinking about it for the first time to those who have been trying for months, or even years, without results.”

She says it is also useful for couples undergoing infertility treatments as it can help prepare the body and therefore provide the best chance for success.

“Couples who have already had a baby will also find it useful if they are struggling to conceive again, and likewise, it will be beneficial to those who are going for egg or sperm donation and those who have had a miscarriage.”

:: Getting Pregnant Faster by Dr Marilyn Glenville is published by Kyle Cathie, priced £9.99. For more advice and information see www.marilynglenville.com

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Food for fertility

DR GLENVILLE says: “If you’re sceptical about the connection between food and fertility, bear in mind that your body uses the nutrients from the food that you eat and the supplements that you take to repair cells, produce hormones and, ultimately, produce healthy eggs and sperm.

“Clean up your diet, take out additives, preservatives and artificial sweeteners, and eat as naturally as possible.

“Also try to eat as organically as you can and use natural skincare products in order to avoid xenooestrogens — or “gender-bender” chemicals — which come into the body from the plastics and pesticide industry.

“They could have a negative effect on male fertility and may increase the incidence of fibroids and endometriosis in women which also affects fertility.”

A healthy, nutrient-rich, balanced diet in the preconception period will not only boost your chances of getting pregnant and having a healthy baby, it will also keep your blood-sugar levels in balance and your weight under control, according to Glenville.

She says: “If your blood sugar is not balanced, or if you are under or overweight, the reproductive hormones which control your fertility will not work properly, severely limiting you chances of conceiving.

“A healthy, well-balanced diet of fresh, whole foods is therefore the cornerstone of my fertility- boosting action plan.”