Factors You Never Thought Can Cause Infertility!

Pregnancy and having a child is seen as one of the most important and fulfilling steps in the life of most couples. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come easily to everyone. Infertility is still a very common issue and though there are options to tackle this, not everyone can afford the treatments. As estimated by WHO, the infertility in India is between 4% to 18%. The common causes that you may know are Polycystic Ovarian Disease(PCOD), Fibroids, low sperm count, low mobility of sperms, etc. But did you know that there are a lot of uncommon and surprising factors that also lead to infertility? Yes! You hear that right, there are a lot of other causes that may be stopping you from getting pregnant and knowing these might actually help you in your journey to become parents. For the purpose of this article we will narrow down 5 different uncommon and surprising factors in both males and females that may have been affecting your fertility-

1. Diet and Exercise

• Surely, diet and exercise are the last things that come to your mind while you're trying to get pregnant. You are too busy focusing on the more serious factors that something as simple as following a proper diet and healthy exercise easily slips out of your mind.
• In the case of females, having a diet full of nutrients and maintaining good physical health will create a good and healthy environment for the baby you would be carrying once you conceive. Thereby, reducing the chances of miscarriage.
• Having a proper diet also helps a great deal in increasing male fertility. It has been proven by previous studies that sperm health is significantly improved by consuming a diet full of antioxidant rich vegetables, fruits and also a diet rich in vitamin C and vitamin E.

2. Weight and Other Health Problems

• Your weight, whether you are underweight or overweight will have effects on your fertility.
• In case of overweight or obese women, the chances of having an easy pregnancy are less due to the fact that overweight women experience irregular periods or ovulation and may also be subjected to underlying metabolic disorders.
• Pregnancy in obesity also has high chances of being complicated and the rate of miscarriages and stillbirths(death of new born child) is high.
• On the other hand, underweight women also experience the same complications of irregular periods and ovulation. Also underweight women may not be fit to carry the baby, risking both their and their baby’s lives.
• In men, being underweight may reduce the quality of sperm, leading to infertility.

3. Frequency of Coitus

• If you are trying to get pregnant, your doctor may have advised you on the time and frequency of having sex.
• However, as long as you are actually maintaining records, it’s really hard to know how many times you’ve had sex.
• It’s true that there is a certain time each month when the chance of getting pregnant is the highest, so it would be really necessary to know that time if you are trying to have a baby, but keeping too many calculations may throw off your interest in the whole thing.
• So, as important as it is to keep the time and frequency in mind, if that’s all you are thinking about then it may not be helpful at all. Keep track but also make sure to maintain the normalcy and have fun like you did before you decided to be parents.

4. Mental Health and Stress

• As much as most of you would like to question, ‘what mental health has to do with getting pregnant?’ you should know that your mental health has an effect on every aspect of your life.
• Not to mention all the effects it has on your hormonal secretions. If you are under too much stress, the hormones that help in ovulation may be affected which in turn will affect your fertility.
• To avoid stressing out, try to exercise and spend quality time with your partner. A short romantic getaway, if possible, can be very helpful.

5. Lifestyle and Environmental Factors

• Habits like too much smoking and drinking have been known to affect the fertility rate in both males and females.
• In males, too many cigarettes and alcohol can severely affect the quality and mobility of sperm while in females it affects the ability to conceive making it harder to carry a child.
• In addition to these habits, a few environmental factors like too much contact with pesticides and frequent exposure to heat has been known to affect the quality of sperms which leads to reduced fertility.

So to conclude, there are a number of uncommon and not so serious factors that are standing in the way of you and your chances of getting pregnant. The important thing is to consider all these factors, not to panic and seek proper medical advice before jumping to any conclusions.