Fertility Problems: 3 lifestyle choices killing your infertility.

There are many infertile couples who fall into the area of "unknown" Infertility. With unknown infertility there is no obvious medical reason that pregnancy does not occur. For this group of people as well as many others who suffer known medical reasons for infertility it is important to make lifestyle choices and changes that may assist to increase fertility levels naturally.

So what lifestyle choices can affect fertility?

ALCOHOL
-- While alcohol is common in most areas of society, if you are trying to concieve it is important to remember that any consumption of alcohol by the male or female can reduce fertility by up to half.

If you would like to consume some alcohol, keeping it to 5 units or less per week (e.g- 5 glasses of wine) is recommended. Women who drink more than that have 50% less chance of falling pregnant than those women who keep within that guideline. Men who consume more than that have increased risk of less motile sperm, abnormal sperm or a lower sperm count.

CAFFEINE
-- Another accepted lifestyle choice by many people worldwide, caffeine is another fertility assassin. Just one cup of coffee per day can decrease a couples fertility rate by half. Having similar effects to alcohol on male sperm, lower sperm count and abnormal or less motile sperm can all be caused by caffeine. For men especially it is important to cease intake 3 months before trying to conceive.

SMOKING
-- Smoking, other than its other obvious harmful affects, also affects fertility. Smoking is also known to speed up menopause in women, so for the older woman trying to conceive, it is essential that smoking is ceased. For men, problems again with abnormal sperm and less motile sperm can be caused by smoking. The negative effects of smoking on fertility increase with the number of cigarettes smoked, so for heavy smokers who feel they are unable to give up, decreasing the number of smokes is a help, although in the case of fertility, going without smoking should surely be considered a small sacrifice.

While this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as lifestyle choices which have a negative impact on a couples ability to conceive, these three issues are extremely common place. Undertaking in any of these activities should ideally be ceased months before attempts at conception are made, as it takes our bodies at least 3 months to recover from the issues these practices cause.

If you are trying to conceive and can name even one of the three practices on your list as a daily or even weekly part of your life, while it may seem trivial, it is worth the small sacrifice to give up alcohol, coffee and smoking. If there is a chance that one of these things is standing in your way of having a baby, now is the time to make the healthier choice!