3 natural ways you can greatly improve your chance of getting pregnant

While advanced maternal age is taking a lot of the blame for infertility being on the rise all over the western world, many natural fertility experts claim women are now being pushed into expensive IVF treatments too soon and not enough focus is being put how we can help women conceive naturally. The truth is that our fertility and our reproductive system is a highy complex matter, sensitive to many external factors, such as bad diet, weight, hormonal disturbances, stress, medications, chemicals and what we eat. What this means, is that according to experts, many women can actually find themselves able to conceive naturally is they just make some adjustments to their lives and diets – often without having to spend a vast amount of money on fertility treatments, which, statistically are not always successful. A vibrant, healthy body is a great start when trying to make a baby, of course. Aim for a diet rich in greens, make sure you get your exercise, spend time in the sun (vitamin D has in studies been proven to have a big impact on fertility) and do things that make you happy, positivity is important. What more? Here are nutritional expert Laurentine ten Bosch top three changes for naturally boosting your fertility:

1. Limit your chemical intake

Unfortunately, we are surrounded by health-compromizing chemicals these days, from the air we breathe to what we eat, things we put on our skin and products we clean our houses with. Many of these are also known to play havoc with our hormones and endocrine system at large – something which can have a huge impact on our reproductive health.

Reducing your exposure to many of these chemicals will no doubt improve your overall health – and therefore also increase your chances of falling pregnant. Going organic is a great start, as consuming food full of pesticides, antibiotics and growth hormones, as well as other heavily processed foods will not provide you with optimal health, that's for sure.

Invest in a water filter for your tap and avoid drinking water from plastic bottles. Swap conventional cleaning products for 'greener' solutions (you won't believe all the things you can clean with baking soda, salt and lemon juice!) and clean up your beauty routine by opting for more natural products.

2. Reduce Stress

Most of us today lead increasingly stressful lives and there is no denying that stress has a serious negative effect on your body – and your reproductive health.

In fact, if you are stressed, the part of your brain that regulates ovulation might not send all the right signals to your ovaries, meaning ovulation might be delayed or, sometimes, not happen at all that month – or next. What this means, of course, is that if you are trying to plan your intimate moments to happen when you are at your most fertile, you might keep missing your moments if your ovulation is irregular due to stress.

3. Eat more good fats

If you have yet to get the memo; fat is not the enemy. In fact, good, healthy fats are crucial to our hormonal system and our reproductive health and often considered the backbone of a wholesome, natural fertility diet.

Interestingly, a Harvard University Nurses’ Health study found that the more low-fat products a woman consumed, the less likely she was to fall pregnant; while women who consumed full-fat foods increased their chances noticeably. Similarly, a Dutch study from a few years back showed that women who consume a Mediterranean-style diet (naturally high in good quality fats) increase their chances of falling pregnant by up to 40%.