Is unexplained infertility really unexplained?
In the UK, 1 in 7 couples struggle to conceive, with about 1 in 5 couples given the 'diagnosis' of unexplained infertility
When you are struggling to conceive and not having any answers or solutions to what’s getting in the way can feel isolating and frustrating.
It’s an unsatisfactory diagnosis that can leave you feeling lost and often it’s that the right questions haven’t yet been asked. It’s important to understand what might be getting in the way so you can address the underlying issues and improve your chances.
Infertility is complex. It’s an interplay between genetic & environmental factors. It requires a whole-body approach. As the body is an interconnected web, things that might at first not seem connected to your fertility can impact things.
Here are a just a few things to look into:
Thyroid
Your thyroid runs the show, from regulating your metabolism, temperature, digestion, how fast you hear beats to your cholesterol, it's a big deal when it comes to your health. A healthy thyroid is needed for ovulation and also maintaining a pregnancy. In early pregnancy, your thyroid needs to work super hard as it’s responsible for making thyroid hormones for your baby as well as you! Looking deeper into active thyroid hormones and antibodies is really useful and not something that’s routinely checked by the NHS or fertility docs.
2. Sperm DNA Fragmentation
If your partner’s sperm looks normal and you’ve ruled this out as an issue, you could be overlooking something important. DNA fragmentation is the percentage of sperm that carry healthy DNA and is not routinely tested. DNA fragmentation is caused by diet, lifestyle and environmental factors so the good news is that it can also be improved by making changes in these areas. It can also point to things like infections and structural issues which should also be ruled out.
3. Nutritional deficiencies
In order to reproduce, we need good levels of certain nutrients. If we are lacking in things like iron, b12, iodine, zinc, vitamin A, selenium we may struggle to fall pregnant.
4. Insulin resistance
Our blood sugars have such a big impact on hormone health. If our cells are struggling to use insulin this can have a huge impact on the rest of our hormones as well as increasing inflammation, causing complications with fertility. This can start happening long before symptoms appear so it’s a good thing to look into and rule out.
Working with a fertility nutrition specialist can help you get to the root cause of your fertility issues and address them. As clinical nutritionists, we have access to more in-depth testing and are looking at things from a different angle. We have different tools in our tool kit than medical professionals so ask different questions.