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One of the most common questions we get at Pulling Down the Moon is whether holistic treatment can impact or improve egg quality. While age still matters, the thinking around egg quality has evolved over the last decade and a diagnosis of poor egg quality has the potential to change or improve.
While no treatment has 100% success rate, holistic treatments like acupuncture, massage, yoga and nutrition counseling work to improve the environment eggs develop within by increasing blood flow, lowering hormonal disruption through stress management and improved sleep, and decreasing inflammation that can impair cell function.
You can shop for Egg Quality Supplements here:
There are a lot of statistics and some "dice rolling" involved in successfully getting pregnant. Some factors impacting human egg quality are simply genetic. Science has also established that a woman’s age is a significant factor in infertility.
Although it’s hard to control your age or your genetics, lifestyle factors can also help improve the environment in your ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus, which can help eggs that are healthy to stay healthy and increase the chance of conception and birth. For example, strong scientific links have been drawn between female egg quality and lifestyle issues such as smoking, stress, alcohol consumption, nutritional intake, etc.
Supporting healthy egg quality at whatever stage you are in your fertility journey is where we focus our efforts. Significant science demonstrates that making lifestyle changes can increase your chances of getting pregnant and staying healthy during that pregnancy. Additionally, making sure you’re getting the right levels of important nutrients is also important for egg quality and fertility. But it can be hard, even if you’re eating well, to get the optimal levels of nutrients to support healthy egg quality.
The DNA in your eggs is what it is, so when we talk about how to improve egg quality, there is no way to take one degraded egg and “heal” it. The DNA controls everything about creating a healthy embryo and helping it develop into a healthy baby. However, there is still likely a percentage of “normal” eggs waiting to be fertilized. And it only takes one healthy egg and one healthy sperm to make the magic happen. The goal of holistic fertility services is to create an environment that increases the chances of that healthy, happy meeting, either through natural means or ART means. So, while trying to increase egg quality isn’t scientifically possible, we can support the healthy eggs that still exist and give them a chance to shine.
Supporting healthy egg quality at whatever stage you are in your fertility journey is where we focus our efforts. Significant science demonstrates that making these lifestyle changes can increase your chances of getting pregnant and staying healthy during that pregnancy:
Keep in mind that too much vigorous exercise can actually lower fertility levels, so talk with our team at Pulling Down the Moon about the right kind and amount of exercise to boost your fertility levels.⁷
Making sure you’re getting the right levels of important nutrients is also important for egg quality and fertility. But it can be hard, even if you’re eating well, to get the optimal levels of nutrients to support healthy egg quality. Science has found that getting the optimal (not too little, not too much) of the following nutrients is critical to a good prenatal vitamin to improve egg quality:
These and other micronutrients can help protect your egg quality and improve other aspects of fertility and support a healthy pregnancy.
If you are eager to know more about how to improve egg quality in your efforts to become pregnant, you are not alone. The entire team at Pulling Down the Moon has worked with thousands of women, and we constantly research the latest science about how to help women and men improve their fertility. We’ve also created a community of people going through the emotional and physical roller coaster of infertility. Once again:
you are not alone. To get the holistic, knowledgeable, and caring support you need as you go through your fertility journey, reach out to us.
Schedule an appointment today!
Women start with all the eggs their ovaries will ever contain from birth (in the millions). By puberty, that number has decreased to around 300,000, which still provides a lot of opportunity for pregnancy. As menstruation continues, egg count and quality will naturally decrease until menopause hits. Human female egg quality has a significant impact on the chance of conceiving and carrying out a healthy pregnancy. Genetic egg abnormalities such as extra or missing chromosomes can decrease the chances of an egg becoming fertilized and developing into a healthy fetus that can mature through pregnancy to birth. A woman’s overall health and environment also significantly impact egg quality and pregnancy success or miscarriage. Efforts to increase egg quality should be focused on controlling the things you can control (like a healthy environment, smoking cessation, good fertility nutrition, and quality sleep) while releasing stress about the things you can’t control. And remember, a man’s sperm quality counts as much as egg quality in fertility too! Pulling Down the Moon can help you focus on the things you can control with our fertility education resources and a wide range of holistic fertility services.
Women in their twenties and early thirties have a greater chance of conceiving and carrying out a healthy pregnancy for several reasons. Ideally, a woman’s body is at the peak of health in this age range and able to handle the demands that pregnancy places upon it. Egg quality and quantity also diminish as a woman ages. Women in their late thirties and into their forties see a natural decrease in egg quality and quantity until menopause. In their twenties and very early thirties, about 70 percent of a woman’s eggs are healthy (no chromosomal defects). By the age of 35, that number has decreased to about 60 percent. Between the ages of 35 and 40, chromosomally normal egg statistics have dropped to about 35 percent.³ However, age is still not the only factor, and scientific developments in assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are helping to stretch the age boundary, particularly as younger women freeze their eggs in the hopes of using them at a later age.
There are no 100% accurate ways to measure female egg quality, but there are tests that can give important clues and indications. Aside from knowing your age and the statistics associated with it, your doctor can order tests to measure levels of critical reproductive hormones to see if there are any imbalances. A transvaginal ultrasound with your OBGYN can give some indication of the condition of the ovaries and egg follicles. Your doctor can also test for other conditions that might be impeding fertility, such as diminished ovarian reserve, endometriosis, or polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Getting as much information on your overall health as possible can help you know how to proceed with other therapies such as nutritional programs, fertility acupuncture, fertility yoga, and fertility massage, all of which can reduce stresses that can impact your fertility while creating a good environment for your eggs.
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