Newspapers have been writing a lot about fertility and the fact that more and more women are making a choice to start a family in their 30’s or 40’s. Girls these days are highly likely to have a high flying career and be considering town trips, shoe shopping and sports autos, and a lot less about Mothercare, changing nappies, and pushing carts.

The average age for giving birth in the United Kingdom is going up about 2 months annually. The average age in 2007 was 29.3 years compared with 28.6 years in 2001. Statistics prove the average woman under thirty will get pregnant within the first 6 months and those in their early thirty’s may take up to and longer than 9 months. From 35 onwards it might take one year.

Some girls are spending a lot of money trying to increase their possibilities of conceiving naturally, but this should be a nonessential expense. Lord Robert Winston, pioneer of IVF treatment, informed the Daily Mail that girls who freeze their eggs to delay maternity are being given fake hopes by fertility clinics. He goes on to claim that this does not in any way guarantee that a ladies will become pregnant or go on to have a healthy baby.

So without ditching the thrilling lifestyle what are you able to do to help increase your fitness for that ‘maybe baby’ stage? Being healthy is much easier than you’d think. Here are some tips

For her :

Iron

Most ladies recognize iron as a vital mineral for good health. In spite of this data, iron deficiency is regarded the commonest nutritive deficiency and the most influenced group are ladies of child bearing age. Studies have shown that even delicate inadequacies of iron are linked to reduced fertility. It would seem that a deficiency of iron may play a role in ovulatory dysfunction. Take daily Iron additions ( look for non-constipating form )

Essential trans acids

The force on women to stay slim has lead to many women adopting very fat free diets. Unfortunately, this pattern of eating is related to a decline in fertility. The necessary trans acids ( found in nuts, seeds and oily fish ) have many functions across the body, including balancing the hormones involved in fertility. Try Omega 3-6-9 capsules with a mix of high quality fish, flax and borage oil.

Multivitamin and mineral formula

A multivitamin and mineral formula has for a while been regarded as a measure for general wellness and as health insurance. Studies now suggest a multivitamin formula might also be beneficial for maintaining fertility in girls. Studies in the late 90s showed that girls who frequently took a multivitamin formula, were less certain to be infertile due to ovulatory failure than people who didn’t. Similarly, the more frequent and regular the supplements were taken, the better the result.

Try Solgar’s Female Multivitamin & Mineral complex

Vitamin D3

Vitamin D3 ( sometimes called the sunshine vitamin ) could augment the fertility of girls afflicted with ovulation Problems. One in 5 women suffer with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ( PCOS ) and can have a lesser chance of conception at a later age. Researchers at Yale school college of medication ( 2008 ) concluded ladies with ovulation problems or PCOS were much more sure to be low in vitamin D.

Try 1000iu D3 supplement

For him :

Your other half should be thinking along the same lines as you when it comes to living healthily. Sperm count and motility plays a very important part in the act of attempting to become pregnant. Why do all of the hard work when your better half plays an equal part in the act of conception? Recent figures ( from Norwich Union health-care in 2005 ) show that 2.5 million men suffer with barrenness in the United Kingdom. Male infertility may account for as much as a 3rd of Problems with conception so it is important that your man takes similar steps to you to keep himself and his sperm in tip top health.

Zinc

Zinc is obviously one of the most vital nutriments required for fertility, particularly for men. Studies show that a low zinc intake corresponds with a low sperm count and poor sperm motility.

Vitamin C

As an antioxidant, vitamin C is critical for good health. For men, this nutrient plays a specific role in enhancing fertility. Research has demonstrated that vitamin C may help to cut the clumping together of sperm and thus boosts sperm motility. In addition, vitamin C typically reinforces sperm quality and protects the DNA contained inside it from damage.

Visit www.solgar.co.uk for more information on vitamin & mineral supplements

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The first step in pregnancy is getting the right Prenatal Support. Go along to the Solgar site and find all the information you need. Keith Woolley is a Technical Director for Natural Food Stores in the UK

So, the question will arise when we are expecting, or just given birth, and that question is whether or not we choose to breast or bottle feed our new little one.

We quite often have a birth plan, and in the process of making this birth plan, we decide this. Unfortunately, we can’t see the future, and so we don’t really quite know the outcome of this. Sometimes our bodies don’t quite cooperate with our minds and what we think is right.

There are many situations that stipulate what we as women will choose. Multiple births tend to lean towards the bottle feeding, but some mom’s do both. Single births, depending on complications as well, will help with the decision whether or not the mom is going to breast feed.

Prematurity is another situation of this instance. The mother may be going through way to many things to be able to breast feed, or in some instances, may not even come, or the baby may not have his or her sucking reflex and the mother will have to pump to provide the milk for her baby. My son was born 8 weeks premature, and I had to get my milk to come in by constantly pumping. He didn’t quite have his sucking reflex yet, so he couldn’t stimulate my milk to come in normally. I wanted him to have my milk because of the antibodies in the breast milk.

Although breast milk was the best for my son because of his prematurity, and the antibodies would ward off any extra germs that he could have picked up, if I had chosen formula to feed him then he would have gotten stronger faster and gained weight faster. This is not necessarily true for all cases, but for mine it was because for some reason, my breast milk did not have enough fat in it to help him gain weight. So, I ended up having to add more calories with a substance called human milk fortifier, supplied by the hospital. And, he also had to have liquid vitamins on top of all that, producing extra work for me. But, at the time he was my only child and so I could devote all my time to him.

And devote my time I did. He had such a sensitive tummy when he was little. I would pump for him, then I would bottle feed him the breast milk (mind you, it took him an hour to drink 1 ounce) and sometimes he would throw up everything and I would have to start again. I only gave him my breast milk at the time because I believed that breast is best. Not all moms who have other children will have time and patience to do this.

My other two children were easier in a sense because they were born full term with a suck reflex. I nursed my second son for 9 months and my daughter for 11 months. In that process, I had mastitis tons of times and that is very painful. I think that if I had known all the complications involved in nursing, I may not have done it. But, like I said, every case is different.

Formula today has come a long way. Sometimes mothers choose it over breast feeding because of its convenience. Breast feeding can be convenient too, but not when you are going out and want to leave the little one with someone else.

I think that the best thing for this day and age is for the mom to be able to do both, breast feed and bottle feed the baby. That way the baby can have the breast milk, and the mom can take a break and give the baby a bottle as well. (Time for bonding with Dad!!)

Some women may not be able to breast feed and I think that it is okay. These moms need to stop being frowned upon because they choose to formula feed their baby. There are tons of medical cases and reasons why they choose to bottle feed and formula feed, and I think that it is a matter of choice. The baby is still being fed, and is happy and just as healthy as the breast fed baby.

So whatever you choose to do, take day by day. Don’t let anyone tell you that you did the wrong thing, or made the wrong decision. You as a mom know what is best for your baby, and for yourself.

Anna Snyder is a young mother to 3 beautiful children. Her birth experiences have made her who she is today. Come and visit her online store, it is filled with Beautiful Swimwear For Beautiful Women!