Treatments

Description of available treatments

Planning your pregnancy (preconception advice)

First of all, try to maximize your own health and fitness. You will need a balanced diet, including a good balance of protein and carbohydrates. Cut back on your caffeine intake as even two cups of coffee a day can make it harder to conceive. Also cut down your alcohol intake to no more than eight units per week, spread across the week. Ideally keep your intake down to one to two units per week.

Secondly, stop smoking. Smoking can make it harder for you to conceive and it can adversely affect the sperm count. Smoking has been shown to cause underweight babies and restrict their growth. There is also an increased risk of congenital abnormalities such as cleft lip and palate, as well as premature birth.

Thirdly, take a multivitamin with 400 micrograms of folic acid every day for a month before conception, and also throughout early pregnancy, as part of your healthy diet. Folic acid has been shown to reduce the risk of neural tube defects of the brain and spinal cord (such as spina bifida) in the unborn. If there's a family history of spina bifida, increase this dose to five milligrams daily.

Fourthly, you must check all your vaccinations are up to date. The most important of these is rubella. Make sure you are rubella-immune and have received a vaccination as a child or teenager. If you catch rubella in the first four months of pregnancy it can cause serious sight and hearing defects in your baby. London Fertility Centre will check the Rubella status in all women before undergoing any fertility treatment.