How to Prepare Your Mind, Body, and Spirit for IVF

One in seven couples in the UK are battling the TTC (Trying to Conceive) journey, unreal right? It makes you wonder how many of our loved ones suffer in silence. Since Jennifer Aniston shared her IVF story this week, the topic of In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) has been a hot topic on the Mama circuit for me. It can take a couple at least three rounds of IVF before falling pregnant, that’s a lot on the body and even more taxing for one's mental health. Remember, in many cases, couples do this in private and still put on a brave face for their friends and family, let’s not forget the game face at work too.

Before I delve into the summary of tips, check these books out if you are about to start your IVF journey. Preparing your mind, body and spirit is important but aligning with your partner is vital!

• Get A Life: His & Hers Survival Guide to IVF

• It Starts with the Egg: How the Science of Egg Quality Can Help You Get Pregnant Naturally, Prevent Miscarriage, and Improve Your Odds in IVF

So, you had your appointments and ran through what’s to come. Are you ready Mama? It’s okay if you’re scared or nervous, you might have shut down emotionally from the TTC story you have so far and only see the end goal, your dream baby! Let’s take you through some pointers to reconnect with yourself and the life changing steps you are about to take. The end goal is beautiful, but so are you.

• Support system, you don’t have to tell everyone around you, but it would be emotionally supportive for you to share your journey with a close friend or loved one outside of your partner. Your partner should try to do the same.

• Write letters to each other, something quick and keep it to the essence of your relationship. On the harder days you’ll find your way back to your centre with these notes to self and each other.

• Consider acupuncture, reflexology, or massages for stress management.

• Do your daily breathing exercises for mindfulness, (Yoga, Pilates, or deep breathing with essential oils).

• Don’t travel to countries that increase risk to infections and diseases that could delay your treatment. Check destinations here.

• Maintain a healthy weight as best as you can. Balance is key here, try not to exercise excessively, lose, or gain weight rapidly or overindulge in junk food.

• Give yourself a good detox from smoking and drinking before starting treatment, it will be great discipline during treatment and pregnancy.

• Cut back on caffeine (coffee, tea & energy drinks), again this is great practice for pregnancy.

• Start taking your prenatal vitamins! You’ll need your dose of Folic acid, Vitamin C & D etc.

• Look into counselling or therapy to work through your story so far and to safely navigate through the next steps. I recommend this for both of you!

• Educate yourself on IVF, it is daunting, but it will be helpful for you both. Go through the risks with your doctor and make sure you are aware of the physiological changes that you might experience. It is important to know what is not normal and when to seek help.

• Don’t be scared to ask questions, it’s your body and you need to keep your mind right.

Lots of luck, love and baby dust to you my lovelies - xo