Fertility
Making decisions about your diet and fertility can be overwhelming. With so much information available, it's hard to know where to start. What's more, our bodies are constantly changing, so what works for one woman may not work for another.
Nutrition, lifestyle and our environment play a huge role in fertility, starting from the impact on the quality of eggs, to female hormones and ovulation, which is an essential part of a menstrual cycle for fertility. Additionally, nutrition affects the health of the baby, from the embryo stage right through to birth. By making healthy choices and being aware of these potential impacts, couples can give themselves the best possible chance for a successful pregnancy.
Difficulties conceiving is a growing and incredibly painful issue for many. While there are many possible causes, the most common cause of infertility is problems with the ovulation process. In order to conceive, a woman must release a mature egg from her ovary, and that egg must then be fertilised by a sperm cell. If any part of this process is disrupted, it can lead to difficulty conceiving. Ovulation disorders are responsible for 30-40% of all cases of infertility, making it the most common cause of difficulty conceiving. High body weight, PCOS, irregular periods and functional hypothalamic amenorrhoea are all associated with ovulation disorders.
Nutrition and lifestyle choices play a key role in improving egg quality, ovulation and supporting a healthy pregnancy. Getting the right balance in terms of caloric intake and diet composition, which includes vitamins, protein, fats, carbohydrates, as well as the mineral content are especially vital in this context. In addition to dietary considerations, lifestyle factors such as stress levels, exercise and sleep habits also play a role in female fertility. Consideration of environmental toxins and minimising the exposure to the ones that have been linked with infertility and increased risk of miscarriage is key. Managing all of these factors can help to improve fertility and increase the chances of conception. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to fertility treatment, but a holistic approach that takes into account all of these factors is likely to be most successful.
What we can achieve working together:
- Increase your chances of getting pregnant
- Increase the chances of successful IVF
- Improve the quality of your eggs (& your partner’s sperm!)
- Improve your health and have a healthy pregnancy
- Reduce the risks of miscarriage
Navigating your fertility path is a personal journey, and I'm here to tailor our consultations to your distinct strengths and challenges. Here's a glimpse into some of the common themes we often explore:
- The key vitamins and minerals in fertility: a combination of food first and supplement recommendations
- Carbohydrates, proteins and fats: are you getting the right balance for regular periods, ovulation and fertility?
- Optimising your metabolism, energy availability and fertility hormones.
- Important environmental and lifestyle considerations for fertility and healthy pregnancy, including environmental toxins
- Assessing your individual ideal weight range for fertility
- Blood glucose level management
Additional options:
- Blood test to rule out deficiencies that increase the risk of difficulties conceiving (£90)
- Flash blood glucose monitoring if pre-diabetes/ insulin resistance (£100)
Monika is sharp, attentive, and uniquely supportive. I worked with her for six solid months and have seen real breakthroughs in my body image perception and relationship with food. I feel capable of trusting myself and less driven by shame or anxiety. There IS freedom and joy when it comes to eating and nourishing our bodies, and Monika is an excellent guide to getting there. I truly could not recommend her more.
Working with Monika has been the best decision I made this year! I have PCOS and an underactive thyroid and had been struggling to lose weight for nearly a decade. I had two early miscarriages in late 2021 and early 2022 and had not been able to fall pregnant since. Since working with Monika, I now have a deeper understanding of how to support my body, my cycles are getting more regular and I'm losing weight more consistently. I am so much confident in my body too and I know what to focus on going forwards! The support and accountability Monika provides is incredible and I highly recommend her services.
Working with Monika is one of the best investments I could made in myself. I contacted her because I was experiencing stomach pains and was feeling low and desperate. After years of yo-yo dieting and binge eating Monika has helped me to understand how to nourish my body and eat healthily. I feel so much happier and in control now and have the knowledge I need to maintain a healthy way of eating. Thank you so much Monika!
I decided to go ahead with Monikas PCOS programme after lots of consideration and I'm glad I did! Monika has been great to work with and has approached everything with the sensitivity I haven't been able to get from GPs, whose only solution for me was to "lose weight". With the onslaught of info found online, it's hard to stay motivated to do anything, especially when it all seems like it's unachievable unless I flip my whole life around, but right from the beginning, Monika set achievable goals and took things step by step, so I didn't feel overwhelmed. Towards the end of the programme, I noticed that my period had come 10 days early than usual which it hasn't done for many years, and I even managed to lose 2 kgs and stay there! Monika really helped me take a closer look at my eating habits and how my stress was also affecting things, but I know that even though I may momentarily have a couple bad weeks, I know exactly what I need to do to get back on track and since I've already done it once, I know I can do it again!
