Get Your Body Ready For Pregnancy (Now Or Later In Life) With This Hormone-Expert-Approved Checklist

Sure, we thankfully live in an era when assisted reproductive technology can help make motherhood a very real possibility for women who otherwise couldn’t conceive, but many of these fertility interventions are shockingly expensive and impossible to afford for the average American. Just one round of IVF costs around $12,000 (more if you want or need to pre-screen for genetic disorders), and only between 30 and 40 percent of these cycles are successful at all. Shocking statistics, right?

The major reasons modern women are struggling with fertility:

If you’re thinking of trying to conceive one day, you’ll want to immediately take these crucial steps to enhance your chances:

Most women take birth control not to prevent pregnancy but to deal with symptoms of menstrual disorders like PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis, adenomyosis, cysts, and more. The problem here is that synthetic hormones do not fix what’s wrong with your hormones, and the same hormonal imbalances that are making your period miserable also impair your fertility. The sooner you go off of this treatment and deal with your hormones, the more time you will give your endocrine system to recover. By using food and supplement therapy to address hormonal issues today, you supercharge your fertile factors for tomorrow. Taking this long-term approach is much less stressful than staying on birth control until a year before you want to have a baby, which is typically when you are older and your fertile window is smaller. Give yourself the gift of time by taking action to improve your period now, so whenever you do decide to try, it can be a much easier process. Here's how I advise my clients to quit the pill without getting their symptoms back.

Once you quit birth control, audit your cycles by using tracking apps like the one I designed, and get other information about your hormones through your period by taking the V-Sign quiz to troubleshoot your specific period problems. Keep on top of your monthly hormone report by evaluating period color and PMS symptoms. Life happens, stress happens, micronutrient depletion happens—taking action as soon as you see it is affecting your hormones is a great way to keep your hormones happy and to preserve your fertility long term. Addressing your PMS today will improve your estrogen-to-progesterone ratio and increase your ability to maintain a pregnancy.

Swap chemical-laden products for hormone-friendly replacements. You absolutely must reduce your exposure to endocrine-disruptive chemicals now, for not only your health but also your child’s future health. EWG a few years back shared a shocking statistic that babies are born with more chemicals circulating than ever before, and this is through maternal exposure. That aside, common chemicals like triclosan, found in hand sanitizer, hand wash, and toothpaste, are known to decrease fertility in men and women. Switch to brands like Seventh Generation to clean your home, and look to Credo Beauty for all your beauty and skin care product swaps.

Curious about other ways to maximize your fertility? Here's a doctor's recommendation on exactly what to eat.