You always assumed it would be easy to get pregnant. It certainly seems that everyone around you has no trouble at all. But here you are — six months or a year after actively trying — and month after month you face the disappointment of another period. No baby.
Infertility is a more common issue than the population of over eight billion people on this planet suggests. In fact, if you’ve had trouble conceiving, you’re among 13% of women who have the same struggle. And that doesn’t account for male infertility.
Infertility can have many causes, which is why our nurse practitioners, Kelly Burrows, APRN FNP-C, and Lee Ann Garza, FNP, always recommend a thorough workup to determine the factors behind your struggle to conceive. One factor we consider at Enrich Family Practice, in Odessa, Texas, is your weight.
How does your weight affect fertility? It’s all about your hormones.
Not surprisingly, your fertility is directly related to your hormone levels. After all, one of the easiest ways to prevent a pregnancy is to take hormonal birth control.
Hormonal birth control works because it provides your body with excess estrogen. High levels of estrogen are normal during pregnancy. So, when estrogen rises, your body thinks it’s pregnant, and it stops ovulating.
Your fat cells produce estrogen. When you’re overweight or obese, your fat cells expand. Those larger fat cells produce an excessive amount of estrogen. So much estrogen, in fact, that your body may think it’s pregnant. You may stop ovulating, or you may ovulate irregularly.
When you’re overweight, you might also have a common condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is associated with high levels of estrogen, but also high levels of the “male” hormone, testosterone. This can also dampen your fertility.
If you have PCOS or high estrogen due to excess weight, we help you lose weight by adopting healthy habits, including new ways of eating and moving. We may also prescribe hormonal therapies — including clomiphene, gonadotropin, and metformin— to stimulate ovulation.
On the other end of the “scale” is being underweight. Again, hormones are at the root of why too little weight also affects your fertility.
If your body doesn’t get the nourishment it needs, it goes into survival mode. All resources are saved for essential functions, such as powering your heart and brain. Pregnancy is a luxury state that a starving body can’t afford.
So, if you deprive your body of nutrients due to an eating disorder or because you work out excessively, your estrogen levels drop. That’s why female athletes — and women who suffer from anorexia — often stop menstruating.
Your body can’t afford to share its nourishment if it’s not already well nourished. It stops producing estrogen and therefore stops ovulating.
If you have an eating disorder, we refer you to a specialist so that you can learn to nourish your body again. If you’re simply overworking yourself, or are undernourished due to other reasons, we help you modify your diet and workout routine so that you attain a healthy weight
It’s not just women who bear the burden of infertility. If your partner is underweight or overweight, his sperm quality may be affected by a lack of the hormone testosterone. We can refer you to a urologist to determine his role in your inability to conceive thus far.
When you’ve attained a healthy weight by nourishing your body with whole foods and exercising regularly, Mother Nature relaxes. Your body starts producing normal levels of estrogen and other hormones. You ovulate more regularly. Your chances of pregnancy go up.
The main point is that you need to eat well and stay healthy to get pregnant, stay pregnant, and increase your chances of a happy, event-free delivery. We’re with you every step of the way. Whether you need to gain weight, lose weight, or maintain a stable weight, we offer support and guidance.
Do you suspect that PCOS or being underweight or overweight has impaired your fertility? Phone our team today at 432-200-9052 for weight management help or an infertility evaluation and treatment. You can also use our online form.
