Trying To Conceive Without Answers? Understanding Your Fertility Before IVF
IVF can help overcome some of the barriers to conception, but your underlying fertility health still matters. Your hormones, egg and sperm health, thyroid function, nutrition, lifestyle and overall wellbeing can all form part of the picture.
If you're trying to conceive without answers, or IVF has been suggested as your next step, this page will help you understand some of the areas worth exploring so you can feel more informed about your fertility and what comes next.
Scroll down to understand more about your fertility ↓
Verity Paz. Fertility coach and reflexologist
“Unexplained infertility” doesn't mean there are no answers.
Fertility journeys are rarely straightforward. We understand you want answers and the 'fix' for what will work for you. You might be spending a lot of money of products that promise they can improve your fertility. But the truth is it's complex, bespoke, and to improve it we need to consider all areas of your health.
Often we're told we have "unexplained infertility", which is so frustrating when you want answers and just want a baby in your arms. It doesn't mean there isn't a reason. It often just means a clear explanation hasn't been found yet.
We are here to help you fill in the gaps, find some answers, and help you make some changes to improve your chances of having a baby. This page takes you through a number of factors that affect your chances of conceiving both with and without IVF.
Why prepare before IVF?
IVF can be an incredible option for many people, but it's also one of the biggest emotional, physical and financial investments you may ever make. It's completely understandable to want to feel confident that you've explored every opportunity to understand your fertility before starting treatment.
Preparing for IVF isn't about delaying treatment or searching for a perfect answer. It's about building a clearer picture of your fertility so you can make informed decisions and feel more confident about the path ahead. Sometimes that means identifying areas that may not have been fully investigated yet. Other times, it's about understanding your test results, improving lifestyle factors, or making sure both partners have been fully assessed.
Below we'll take you through a number of factors that you may not have looked into yet on your journey, plus some tips on how to improve your fertility before IVF. Many of our clients fall pregnant naturally just before their IVF cycle has started with our support.
Before starting IVF, it's important to understand that fertility isn't determined by one test or one factor. Egg quality, sperm health, hormones, thyroid function, lifestyle, cycle health and emotional wellbeing can all influence your fertility picture. Exploring these areas may help you make more informed decisions before beginning treatment.
Cycle Health & Tracking
Your menstrual cycle can reveal valuable clues about your fertility. Yet many women are never shown how to understand what those clues might be telling them.
Things like cycle length, ovulation timing, cervical mucus, PMS symptoms, spotting and the luteal phase can all provide pieces of a much bigger picture.
Fertility coaching isn't about analysing every symptom or aiming for a "perfect" cycle. It's about recognising patterns, understanding your body and identifying areas that may be worth exploring further before IVF.
Sperm Health
Fertility conversations often focus heavily on women, yet sperm health is an equally important part of the picture and often overlooked.
In many couples experiencing unexplained infertility, male fertility factors may not have been fully explored beyond a basic semen analysis. Things like sperm motility, morphology, DNA fragmentation, lifestyle habits, stress, sleep and nutrition can all play a role in reproductive health.
If you've only had a basic sperm analysis done, it may be worth a more detailed look into the sperm as these tests are only surface level.
If your lifestyle involves heat around the area from activities such as cycling, or using a laptop, or your drink or smoke or perhaps don't have the best diet, it may be worth further investigation.
Lifestyle & Stress
Stress doesn't cause infertility on its own. But living with fertility challenges can place enormous strain on your body and mind. Sleep, nutrition, movement, workload, emotional wellbeing and everyday habits all influence your overall health, which in turn supports reproductive health.
Fertility coaching helps you identify realistic changes that fit around your life, rather than expecting perfection. Small, sustainable improvements often feel much more achievable than trying to change everything at once.
You may be interested in reading our blog about how lifestyle changes could affect your fertility
If you are local to Wokingham, Berkshire, you may want to learn more about our reflexology and acupuncture treatments which can really help if you're feeling stressed during your fertility journey.
Egg Quality
Egg quality is one of the most common concerns for women preparing for IVF. While age is an important factor, it isn't the whole story.
Nutrition, sleep, smoking, alcohol, certain medical conditions and overall health can all play a role in supporting healthy egg development. Because eggs develop over several months, making changes before treatment may help you feel more prepared going into an IVF cycle.
Fertility coaching can help you understand which factors are worth focusing on and which online advice is simply adding to the confusion.
Many couples are told everything looks “normal” while still feeling confused, unsupported and unsure what to do next. Often after a few tests, couples will be told they need IVF. Depending on your personal situation, you may only get one chance at it with NHS funding.
We offer fertility coaching where we can guide you through all these areas to improve your chances of fertility, before IVF or during a cycle.
You may benefit from this if:
✓ you've been trying for over a year
✓ you've been told you have unexplained infertility
✓ you're preparing for IVF
✓ you've experienced failed IVF
✓ you feel overwhelmed by conflicting advice
✓ you want someone to help make sense of your fertility journey
Fertility tests to consider before IVF
Hormone tests can provide valuable clues about your fertility, but they don't always tell the whole story on their own. Tests such as AMH, FSH, LH, oestrogen and progesterone can help build a clearer picture when interpreted together and at the right time in your cycle. Understanding what these results mean for you is often just as important as having the tests themselves.
Feeling overwhelmed by all the information?
You don't have to work through it alone. During your free introductory call we'll talk about your fertility journey, where you are now and whether fertility coaching could help you feel more informed and confident about your next steps.
✔ Do we fully understand our results?
✔ Have both partners been investigated?
✔ Have hormone patterns been reviewed?
✔ Are there lifestyle factors worth exploring?
✔ Do we feel emotionally prepared?
When you invest so much into your IVF treatment, emotionally, physically and financially, we want to help you prepare your body and mind in the best way possible.
FAQs
Absolutely. Many clients work with me alongside their fertility clinic to help them understand their results, prepare for treatment and feel more supported throughout the process. We recommend starting a conversation with us at least 3 months prior to starting your IVF treatment, to give your body time to benefit from any changes.
