WHAT CAN WE DO TO IMPROVE THE CHANCE OF PREGNANCY?!

Our team suggests that every couple should take part in improving their odds of pregnancy after treatment. As the most important for partners, we regard educating and preparing them for stressful in vitro fertilization treatment, which lies ahead. Mental preparation of the treated couple, even before starting ovarian stimulation, considerably increases their chance of pregnancy. On the other hand, there are certain habits and types of behaviour demonstrated by particular couples, which considerably decrease their fertility, even though they are not regarded detrimental. This is the reason why we recommend you to use our suggestions to increase your odds of pregnancy after infertility treatment:

Recommendations for both partners:

• If you chronically use any drugs other than those prescribed by your gynaecologist, you should make sure that they do not affect your fertility and taking them is not dangerous for a potential pregnancy.
• Research shows that couples treated for infertility are more likely to succeed if partners support each other and receive additional support from their friends, family and other infertile couples. This is why our team includes psychiatrists and psychologists, who can always talk to you and advise you how to cope with your situation.
• Try to relax and keep your stress level possibly low during the whole IVF procedure. Live a healthy life (regular meals, limited effort, active rest) and use a healthy diet (reduce animal fat consumption, eat dairy produce and eggs, fish, varied bread, vegetables, and fruit). You both should take multivitamin preparations to meet your daily requirements. Women should also take preparations containing folic acid in a daily dose of 0,4mg.
• Avoid exposure to potentially toxic substances. They include mainly pesticides, herbicides, dye or varnish products, organic solvents, glue and heavy metals (e.g. lead, quicksilver). What's interesting, using very strong perfume and eau de cologne is not advisable either. Hence, we appeal to women for coming to puncture and transfer unperfumed.

Recommendations for men:

• Remember to abstain from sexual intercourse for 2-5 days before collecting your semen for analysis and taking oocytes for IVF. Too short or too long period of sexual abstinence may be the reason for false examination results or decreased fertilizing potential of semen.
• High temperature has a detrimental effect on sperm cells. Therefore, you should avoid hot baths, dry and steam sauna, and Jacuzzi. If you are deskbound or exposed to elevated temperature at your work, you should wear slacks and cotton underwear (boxer shorts).
• Smoking cigarettes significantly reduces male fertility and can contribute to the smaller number of oocytes fertilized in vitro. If it is possible - try to give up smoking. If you cannot - try at least to cut down on cigarettes that you smoke a day.
• You must not drink more alcohol than one low-alcohol drink a day. Greater alcohol intake considerably reduces male fertility
• In sperm of men with diagnosed infertility factors (low sperm count, poor motility or abnormal sperm morphology), the process of lipid peroxidation occurs more often than usually. It is recommended that these men take 500 mg of vitamin C and 200 units of vitamin E twice a day. It helps to reduce detrimental effects of the above mentioned process on gametes.

Recommendations for women:

• Smoking considerably decreases the chance of pregnancy and increases the risk of complications in pregnancy, such as miscarriage and premature labour. We recommend giving up smoking before starting infertility treatment. Smoking in pregnancy is absolutely unacceptable.
• Drinking alcohol is forbidden during infertility treatment, especially the IVF procedure. We recommend a total ban on drinking alcohol in pregnancy up to the 12th week at least.