Tips To Boost Your IVF Success

They say that IVF is a combination of science and luck. Though there is a lot of dependency on science and scientific reasons, the result, in the end, may not be 100 dependent on science alone.

The gynecologist and the IVF specialist can only work towards interpolating your body’s metrics to determine the chances of a successful IVF cycle. Using different techniques, they create embryos using your egg and sperm, and if successful, they then implant these embryos inside your uterus. However, the success largely depends on the quality of the egg, the sperm, and the uterus.

Here are some tips by experienced IVF specialists that can help boost your IVF success:

1. Healthy Body And Mind

The most important preparation for your IVF cycle is to go in prepared with a healthy and active body and a calm and strong mind. The IVF cycle by itself can be an emotionally and mentally challenging one. Maintain a good and balanced diet, with:

• Foods that are rich in antioxidants (like berries).
• Good fat (like avocados, nuts, olive oil, seeds.
• Healthy carbohydrates with a low GI index (like whole grains and vegetables).
• Fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Legumes like lentils, beans, chickpeas.
• Increase water intake.
• Reduce salt intake.

Additionally, keep your caffeine intake to a bare minimum and avoid red meat and processed foods. Maintain a healthy sleep cycle.

An adequate amount of exercise every day keeps your metabolism in check and your body active. You can also consider acupuncture to prepare your body, more specifically your uterus, for the pregnancy.

Keeping the above in check can help reduce your mental and physical stress levels to a large extent and make your body more ready for a successful IVF cycle and pregnancy.

2. Maintain A Healthy BMI

You must ensure that for a successful chance at IVF, your BMI is in the recommended range as well. A BMI that is either too high or too low can hamper your endometrial receptivity, the ability of your endometrium to help an embryo attach and develop inside the uterus. Consulting a good nutrition counselor can help you determine the ideal weight and work towards it to stay within your recommended BMI range.

3. Take Necessary Medication and Supplements

Before you can start with any medication or supplements, keep your gynecologist and IVF specialist informed. Inform them in advance of any allergies and medicines that you already take. These may be:

• Your allergy pills.
• Any other OTC drugs you take.
• Tylenol or Ibuprofen.
• Prescribed medicines you take due to any medical conditions.
• Anti Seizure medication
• Thyroid medication
• Chemotherapy drugs

Any of the above medicines could hamper your IVF cycle, and therefore, you must inform your doctor about any and every medication you take.

You should also take these supplements regularly to increase your chances of a successful IVF cycle:

• Prenatal vitamins, taken 30 days before you start with your IVF cycle, increase your folic acid levels. These vitamins help protect your offspring from any brain or spinal birth defects.
• Vitamin D supplements to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D in the body. The deficiency of vitamin D in the mother can pose threats of autism in the baby.
• CoQ10 helps in the healthy growth and quality of the egg.
• Inositol helps keep a check on blood sugar levels and PCOS.
• Melatonin is an antioxidant supplement that helps regulate your sleep pattern and keep your hormonal balance in check.
• Vitamins C & E to help protect from cell damage.
• DHEA, recommended for consumption during IVF cycles only, helps in improving the quality and the number of eggs.

Before you can start with any of the above supplements, get them checked with your doctor and IVF specialist first.

4. Do Not Drink or Smoke

Drinking and smoking during your IVF cycles and even during your pregnancy can be harmful. Both these activities harm your fertility, which can hamper the success of your IVF cycle. Moreover, during pregnancy, they can play with the growth and development of the fetus leading to life-altering handicaps in the future.

5. Take Care Of Your Sperm Health

It is equally important to care for your sperm health, as it is to work towards having a healthy egg for IVF. Consulting a male fertility specialist earlier on in the process of IVF can help improve your sperm health and, in turn, the chances of your IVF success. Small changes like using boxers over briefs can have a significant impact on sperm health. Doctors and IVF specials often recommend men to take supplements during the IVF cycle to enhance the quality and the mobility of their sperms. Sometimes, extracting the sperms directly from the male’s testes can help increase the chances of a successful IVF, compared to sperms retrieved through ejaculation.

6. Choose The Right Doctor & Laboratory

Choosing the right doctor, IVF specialist, IVF laboratory can be the most significant factor in your IVF success. Finding someone who is scientifically and technically sound and experienced is crucial, but you also need to feel connected to them. You should be able to share a healthy comfort level with them. The IVF procedure involves a lot of emotional and mental strength, which should only get better with having a good doctor and IVF specialist, rather than giving you more stress.

Therefore, do your research well, take opinions and reviews from friends and family that you trust, make a few first and second consultation trips with the top shortlisted clinics and hospitals, and then go ahead with the one you feel is right.

Archish IVF is an IVF center in Bangalore, offering a well-qualified and experienced team of doctors and IVF specialists along with an in-house laboratory with start-of-the-art equipment. You will find yourself at home as soon as you walk into the clinic. The team is not only highly qualified but also understanding and comforting. Apart from carrying out your IVF cycles with utmost precision and intricacy, the team is well-equipped to guide you through the preparation period as well. The doctors at Archish IVF will not only counsel you both mentally and emotionally but also help you with the right dietary advice and supplement intake. Archish IVF is one of the finest IVF centers in Bangalore.

About the Author:

Embryology came calling to Rishina Bansal suddenly and accidently while she was on a summer trip in India and visited her aunt’s IVF lab. Ever since then there has been no looking back. Today, Rishina Bansal is a clinical embryologist with more than 7 years of experience. She has worked in eminent organizations like Pulse, Bourn Hall Clinic, and Nova IVI Fertility. She has presented papers at various national and international conferences and has been invited to be a faculty member Together with her knowledge, her passion to truly understand the needs of the patients make her one of the best embryologists in India.  She is constantly thinking of solutions to make the lives of her patients better and understands that 2 + 2 is not always equal to four but there could be endless ways to solve a problem in any scenario. Currently, she is the co-founder and Scientific Director at Archish IVF – Bangalore.