Getting pregnant can be harder than it looks and multiple factors come into play in increasing your chances of conceiving. This is why it is best to avoid doing certain things in order to boost your odds of getting pregnant. Let’s take a look at 10 such things that you would have to avoid when you are trying to conceive.

1. Excessive caffeine

Consuming excessive caffeine can dramatically decrease your chances of getting pregnant. That’s because large amount of caffeine could affect overall fertility and you may take longer time to get pregnant. It’s better if you can stick to your morning cup of coffee and limit your overall caffeine intake.

2. Smoking

Smoking affects both your hormonal production and makes it more difficult for the fertilized egg to reach the uterus. It is also said to cause a negative impact on every stage of the reproduction process and accelerates aging of the ovaries, which reduces overall fertility. According to the saying – parenthood begins before conception, it is recommended to quit smoking to protect yourself and your unborn child.

3. Excessive alcohol

What many might be unaware of is that even moderate drinking of alcohol (about 3-6 drinks per week) may reduce your chances of getting pregnant. For women, excessive intake of alcohol may affect their hormonal sequence, suppress their ovulation and thus, making it harder for them to conceive. Similarly for men, it reduces their serum testosterone and decreased sperm counts.

4. Junk food

Do you know that regular consumption of junk food can could hurt your fertility? Studies have shown that your diet before pregnancy had an impact on your chances of conceiving. Hence, there is an emphasis on preconception health and it is encouraged to consume more fresh fruits and vegetables for a healthier lifestyle.

5. Extreme exercise

Even though regular workouts are generally good for your health, too much of a good thing may also be detrimental to your health.  Intense workouts are proven to contribute to ovulation problems, reduce IVF success rates and reduce fertility in women with normal weight. Hence, you are recommended to do moderate exercises such as adding a brisk walk to your daily routine to raise your heart rate and try to hold off that marathon for the time being.

6. High-mercury fish

We all know that fish is a great source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Unaware to many of us, certain fish types actually contain dangerously high levels of mercury, which is known to reduce fertility and damage the nervous system. Hence, it is best to avoid consumption of fish types such as shark, king mackerel, tilefish, and swordfish meat as they are known to contain higher levels of mercury.

7. Chronic stress

Being under prolonged high-level stress does interfere with your ability to get pregnant and reduces your fertility. Some experts suggested that stress may led to less frequent sex due to lower libido, lower sperm count and also affects our immune system, such that it creates a bad environment for implantation to occur.  Stress could be caused by many lifestyle factors and hence, you might want to consider speaking to your therapists for help.

8. Sugary beverages

Sugary beverages may affect the couple’s chances of conceiving as is linked to early menstruation and can cause semen quality to be poor. Such drinks high in sugar content may result in high blood sugar and insulin levels, which in turn, negatively impact our reproductive health. Hence, couple planning for pregnancy should limit their consumption of these beverages.

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