What a BFF (Best Fertility Friend) Would Say – Ch. 16
Jan 15, 2021
These blog posts titled “What a BFF (Best Fertility Friend) Would Say” are a collection of random tips to give you strength and assurance as you try to get pregnant. I hope they help!
With appreciation for inviting me on your journey,
Julie
Table of Contents
You Must Have This Test!
Last month, a panel of 120 health and medical experts wrote an open letter to world governments calling for a widespread, immediate increase of vitamin D intake to 4,000 IU per day for healthy adults in order to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s not only important to have adequate vitamin D levels to maintain a strong immune system, Vitamin D is also critical for fertility.
During the implantation process, vitamin D protects the embryo from the mother’s immune system attacking what is essentially a foreign body. It also stimulates AMH production so if you have low AMH, you definitely want to make sure your vit D level is enough. It has also been shown to increase IVF success. For those and many other reasons, you want to make sure you have adequate levels.
Get your blood tested for 25-hydroxy Vitamin D so you know where your baseline is. Aim for a blood level of 40-60 ng/mL, closer to 60 ng/mL is more ideal. If low (which most people are, especially during winter when we’re outside less), retest after taking Vit D3 for one month. Some people will have a gene variant that requires a much higher dose than usual. Taking vitamin D without first testing is a crapshoot since you have no idea what your starting point is.
One of the important functions of vit D is to maintain healthy levels of calcium. K2 works with Vit D to keep the calcium in bones and away from soft tissues where it doesn’t belong. That’s why it’s better to take a vitamin D + K2 supplement, if you need one.
Safe Teas to Drink when TTC
For the past week, I’ve been drinking a new tea. It’s fresh lemongrass, ginger, and pandan. Pandan is a fragrant plant with blade-like leaves that have a sweet, floral taste and is used in Asian desserts, giving it a green color. Pandan can be found in Asian markets, usually frozen. I found mine at Ranch 99.
But you’re probably not going to get pandan so let’s talk about the teas I recommend when you’re trying to get pregnant. You have the herbal teas which are naturally caffeine-free (mint, ginger, rooibos, Tulsi/holy basil are easy to find). Then you have flower teas like chamomile, rose, lavender, hibiscus. Butterfly Pea Flower tea makes a beautiful intense blue tea. Green tea and matcha tea have caffeine but their health benefits outweigh the little caffeine they have.
Make sure to read the labels on the tea boxes. They often have an ingredient called “natural flavors” which doesn’t tell you what that is actually and is made in the laboratory.
Buy tea brands that are organic and non-GMO-certified to reduce your exposure to pesticides like Numi, Traditional Medicinals, Tielka (Australia), Buddhateas.com
What to “Do” to Get Pregnant
If you feel like your fertility journey is a struggle, that right there is one of your obstacles, blocking your path.
Imagine holding your baby in your arms. What feelings do you experience as you picture this? Love, joy, satisfaction. What else?
Do you already feel those emotions without the baby?
If not, your work is to be that person NOW, not when your baby comes.
- Be loving to yourself and others.
Experience joy in the small moments i.e. be present.
Feel satisfaction in what you do every day.
In doing so, you will magnetize your heart to attract more of the same, in the form of a baby.
Women are often asking what else they can do to improve their chances of success and get pregnant with a healthy baby.
My answer is once you’ve set the foundation with the proper nutrition, supplements, exercise, and relationship nurturing, your job is to BE the person you imagine yourself to be when you actually have your baby in your arms.
Watery Cervical Mucus and Retaining Sperm After Sex
This post is in response to questions submitted by a reader:
1) She’s concerned about mucus during ovulation changing to a more watery consistency. Regardless of the consistency of cervical mucus, all types are potentially fertile. Sticky, creamy, egg-white, watery – they’re all good. The more watery the mucus is, the more optimal your fertility is, showing that you’re getting closer to ovulation. So watery is a good thing!
2) What to do about sperm coming out immediately after making love? Gravity will cause spillage if you get up too soon after being intimate – that’s normal and to be expected.
Before making love, pee so you don’t need to after the big finish. Otherwise you’re flushing down the toilet what should otherwise be swimming into your uterus.
Afterwards, stay horizontal for at least 30 minutes. Better yet, go to sleep if it’s night time. You can use a pillow to prop up your hips if you still feel a lot of slippage.