Lifestyle Advice

The following advice may help:

• Don’t stop seeing friends or family and maintain supportive relationships
• Reduce your tea and coffee intake and drink plenty of water, this is particularly important once you start taking fertility drugs
• Eat a healthy balanced diet without excluding any food groups or eating any in excess
• Women should take folic acid whilst trying to become pregnant until 12 weeks of pregnancy. The daily dose is 400 micrograms and this can be bought over the counter in any pharmacy. If you need a higher dose, your GP will advise so
• Stop smoking, stop recreational drugs and reduce alcohol and caffeine intake
• Exercise moderately
• Lose weight if overweight to help prevent complications such as high blood pressure, diabetes etc. Aim a BMI of less than 30
• If underweight try to eat regularly to gain weight; being underweight can make you less fertile and leave you with less energy to cope with day to day activities.