What You Can Do When Waiting on Fertility

Waiting to hear those words, “you’re pregnant” can be a long road.

And experiencing while in quarantine from a pandemic can make it feel even longer.

To make sure I am healthy for all my fertility treatments and procedures I was declining virtually any other appointments or commitments. I didn’t want to chance a potential exposure to the virus or any other illness that would prevent me from going to my next fertility appointment – they were top priority.

Then I heard a news segment on the importance of dental health during pregnancy.

Apparently, a mother’s oral health is a strong indicator of her child’s oral health.

Even more so, once pregnant, your cavities and gums disease can increase.

And once you do conceive a baby, the options of tests, treatments and medications that can be used are quite limited.

I immediately thought of the annual dental exam I postponed because of the pandemic.

Time to get that back on the schedule.

I needed to start viewing my fertility journey as one that was getting my whole body ready to carry a healthy baby, not just focus on my follicle size, mature egg count or days until my next pregnancy test.

I decided to schedule my appointment now so I could make use of time when it feels rather heavy and when I’m able to fully address any possible work that needs to be done.

Exercise can be another activity to start while in waiting. Of course, you don’t want to exercise on or around IVF treatment days so always check with your doctor first about what’s most appropriate for you, but generally speaking, getting your body used to a form of exercise that you’d like to do throughout pregnancy is important to do now.

Exercise is also incredibly helpful for managing stress and anxiety – two things that can increase during fertility treatments. I also find it helpful to keeping my weight in check while being on all the fertility hormones.

The other benefit to exercising now, is once you’re pregnant you don’t want to introduce new things to the body. This gives you an opportunity to get fully adjusted to exercise and find a form that you actually enjoy.

My fertility doctor also reminded me that starting on a prenatal vitamin before I’m pregnant is helpful. It can give my body time to address any nutritional deficiencies, but it also helps my body have the nutrients ready for my future pregnancy.

So, visualize what you imagine a healthy pregnancy to look like for you and start putting those habits into place.

This practice in and of itself has become especially helpful for me because it shifts my focus to the outcome I’m working towards, not just waiting game that I often feel like I’m in.

It’s never too early to start because you never know when your day will come. And who knows what healthy habit you start implementing now could also improve your fertility too.

A healthy body supports all aspects of your journey.