The Importance of a Preconception Multivitamin

By Dr. Jodie Peacock ND

Optimizing your health before trying to conceive can help improve the overall health of your future baby. The development of both egg and sperm takes approximately three months, so this is a particularly critical time to focus on the health of both partners.

In general, your diet should be rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats and minimally processed carbohydrates. You should strive to limit or eliminate refined sugars, alcohol and processed foods.

Both men and women should consider starting a prenatal or preconception multivitamin about three months before trying to conceive. There are several nutrients that when not at optimal levels can have a negative impact on both overall health, conception and health pregnancy. When choosing a prenatal you should be aware that there are more and less desirable forms of several vitamins. You want to ensure that the dose is between 2-4 capsules per day. A one-a-day will not be able to provide the essential nutrients that you require.

Here are some key things to look for:

Folate

Taking either folate or 5-methyltetrahydofolate (5-MTHFR) will be better utilized then folic acid which is synthetic and not as easily converted to its active form. Approximately 50% of the population has a reduced ability to convert synthetic folic acid to its active form 5-MTHFR. If you are one of these individuals and are not consuming the active 5-MTHFR form, this can contribute to higher rates of infertility, miscarriage and neural tube defects. For this reason, if I don’t know the genetic status of my patient, I recommend a supplement with the active form of folate 5-MTHFR.

Iron

Making sure your iron is at an optimal level before trying to conceive is very important. If iron is low this can impact the ability for your body to circulate both nutrients and oxygen necessary to sustain a healthy pregnancy. Heme iron or iron glycinate forms are both well absorbed and are generally well tolerated causing very little constipation, while seeing good improvements in iron levels.

B12

B12 comes in different forms with methylcobalamin being one of the active forms that is more easily absorbed. B12 is a nutrient that is important for neurological development and for DNA replication. Ensuring optimal levels is both important for development of sperm and egg as well as overall health for the baby.

Vitamin D

Low vitamin D can contribute to bone loss, depression, sleep disorders, immune deficiencies, and hormonal imbalances. There are also multiple studies that have shown deficient vitamin D can impair the body’s ability to achieve, as well as maintain, a pregnancy.

A simple blood test can be run to assess your status of each of these nutrients. This is something you can discuss with your health provider.

There are several other supplements such as CoQ10, carnitine, NAC, ALA, inositol, chastetree, maca and others that may be helpful depending on your individual situation. For example, there are some important nutrients that can help to optimize hormonal regulation, egg and sperm quality and can be added to a supplement regime based on your individual requirement.

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While the world is healing we wanted to share this story of how the pandemic has temporarily divided one new family.

It is brought to you by Gaia Fertility, one of the partners of the International Fertility Company.

Intended parents A and C approached Gaia in 2018 with a burning desire to start their own family. As a married same sex couple they had previously considered a number of options which all turned out to be fruitless. Determined, the couple contacted Gaia and chose our same sex surrogacy programme which offered a pregnancy guarantee using sperm from both men and a single egg donor.

They were delighted to welcome their first born, a son in 2019 and the new parents returned home after four short weeks to begin family life. Keen on having a sibling for their son, the couple immediately began their second journey and received the fantastic news that baby number two, another boy was expected in April 2020!

It became evident some time ago that Covid-19 was making steady progress towards Cyprus where Gaia are based so the parents were advised to return to the island before any travel restrictions were put in place. As one dad is a key worker the decision was made that he would remain in the UK with their son whilst his partner travelled to Cyprus.

Gaia’s advice was well timed. The dad managed to get a seat on the last plane to the island before travel was halted but had to be quarantined for 2 weeks in order to secure the safety of those around him.

At Gaia we are always prepared to walk an extra mile to ensure we provide a service for our intended parents and surrogate mothers which is second to none. We had no hesitation therefore in opening up our own home to the dad to ensure that his quarantine period was as comfortable and stress free as possible.

During this period baby number two was born healthy at 37 weeks but due to the obvious restrictions he has not been able to receive a cuddle from either dad!

We arranged for a full-time nanny, who is also a paramedic, to care for the little one at her own home until he is able to join his parents and brother. We celebrated his arrival with a cake and online greetings from his dad’s and grandma which have subsequently become a daily occurrence!

We recognise the situation is not ideal and is perhaps one which is being experienced by intended parents across the world. We do have the technology and commitment however to ensure families remain together, albeit virtually in some cases and we look forward to a time when this particular family can be reunited at home!

Get more information about Gaia and the services it offers here, quoting IFC.