Pregnancy gets more complicated as you age, and while 30 isn’t old at all, the reproductive system starts to slow down. When women are born, they have a limited quantity of eggs. This quantity as well as quality starts to reduce as you get older.
Let’s look at some of the common issues that might crop up when looking to get pregnant in your 30s.
This article is part of our comprehensive write-up on Fertility.
Is it harder to get pregnant in your 30s?
Yes, it is because fertility reduces with each decade. At 30, a healthy and fertile woman has a 20% chance of getting pregnant. By the time they are 40, there’s a less than 5% chance of getting pregnant each cycle.
What are the signs of not being able to have a baby?
If you’ve been trying to get pregnant for more than 12 months unsuccessfully, it may be a sign of infertility. In addition, some women may have very heavy or irregular periods, making conceiving a baby more difficult.
You may also have problems getting pregnant if your partner has trouble keeping an erection or if they have problems with ejaculation. If you’re having painful sex, it is essential to get it checked out because it could be a sign of endometriosis.
What are the symptoms of poor egg quality?
Main symptoms that would be present if you suspect poor egg quality is difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant. It is possible to have miscarriages when the egg quality is poor. Late, absent or shorter menstrual cycles are also symptoms of poor egg quality.
How many eggs are left at age 30?
By the time women reach 30, they have about 100,000 eggs left. Women are born with roughly 1 million eggs at birth, which is all the eggs they’ll have in their lifetime.
She loses about 1000 eggs a month, for every month after puberty. Only one of those eggs matures and ovulates each month.
How to boost fertility in your 30s naturally?
There are no ways to increase the number of eggs present, but it is possible to try and improve your fertility. Increasing the quality of your eggs and your overall health could help you boost fertility and get pregnant quicker.
Being conscious of food choices
Start with planning a healthy fertility diet to increase your vitamin intake and your chances of pregnancy. First, increase your intake of foods rich in antioxidants such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains.
Antioxidants from walnuts can improve the quality of sperm in men, and it is found that increasing dietary folate increases the chances of healthy live births. Also, choose high fibre foods and swap out your trans fat for healthy fat choices.
Get active
In your 30s, it is necessary to get a healthy amount of exercise to increase fertility. Strenuous activities can hurt your ability to get pregnant, but a reasonable amount of training allows your body to function healthily. Boost it up or take it down a notch, depending on where you’re at right now.
Prenatal vitamins
Prenatal supplements give your baby a healthy foundation for growth with all the essential vitamins needed. While prenatal vitamins will not increase your fertility, they will help you experience a healthy pregnancy. Take vitamins rich in folic acid, DHA and Omega-3 for the health of your baby.
For more on prenatal vitamins, read ‘Prenatal Supplements: Why Do They Matter And How To Choose One?’
Ensure healthy weight range
Maintaining a healthy weight range is essential because being underweight and overweight both affect a person’s fertility. Having a healthy amount of fat stored in your body allows regular menstrual function. Obesity could cause a lack of ovulation or menstrual irregularities.
For other factors that affect fertility, read ‘Causes of Infertility in Males and Females’
Natural supplements
Include natural supplements into your diet to increase fertility through organic food choices. Some foods that you can increase are royal jelly made from bees that increase ovarian hormones and maca, a plant found in Peru that can improve semen quality. Before trying natural supplements, be sure to check if you have any allergies to these foods.
Relax and de-stress
Spare time for relaxing and de-stressing because the chances of getting pregnant decrease when stress levels are high. Stress causes changes in hormones which makes getting pregnant more difficult.
Find some time for meditation or yoga to help you de-stress. Speaking to a counsellor would also help take off the anxiety you might face through this process.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol
Heavy use of alcohol and caffeine affects the rate of fertility. You will need to cut out caffeine and alcohol while pregnant, but it’s good to start beforehand to ensure that the early weeks of embryo formation are also healthy. Thus, it’s wise to cut back on your soda and coffee caffeine because it impairs fertility.
Importance of boosting fertility
Boosting fertility is vital for a healthy pregnancy and delivering a healthy baby. While there’s no guarantee and many complications could occur, boosting fertility gives your baby a safer environment for growth.
Treatments for increasing ovulation
If you’ve tried natural ways to boost fertility and those haven’t worked, you should consult a medical professional to consider treatments for ovulation. An ovarian reserve testing may need to be done to determine the quantity and quality of eggs.
You can also do an over-the-counter test kit for ovulation testing. You can speak to our team of medical professionals at Ova for a telehealth consultation or for treatment options if you need.
Conclusion
There are many natural ways to try to increase your fertility rates and see which ones work for you. You should also communicate your concerns about fertility to a healthcare professional when trying to get pregnant.