You’re more likely to get pregnant if you and your partner are both in good health. Making some changes to your lifestyle may improve your chances of getting pregnant and having a healthy pregnancy. Medical conditions such as diabetes, asthma, obesity and other problems can affect your pregnancy. Lifestyle modification to tackle obesity, tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption, have been proposed as crucial in influencing the outcome of both natural and assisted conceptions.

About 84% of couples in the general population will conceive within one year if they do not use contraception and have sex regularly. Of those who don’t conceive in the first year, about half will do so in the second year. For some couples, getting pregnant happens easily. For others it can take time and may even require medical help. If you've been trying to get pregnant for a while and are starting to worry that nothing has happened, don't panic. One in six couples experiences fertility problems so yours is a very common problem.

Following are the points to be kept in mind while you are trying to conceive and should implement as lifetime changes.

1.) It takes two to make a baby, so be honest with your partner about your frustrations and anxiety, and work together. Get it out in the open, get on the same page. Find a way to de-stress (preferably together). Exercise, yoga, acupuncture and counseling all help decrease the stress hormones. Take care of your body, no radical diets or drastic weight loss. Also, gain a little weight, if you're too skinny. It will help.

2.) Balanced Healthy Diet: Diet plays an important role in setting the stage for successful conception. Being overweight or underweight can affect your chances of conceiving. Too much or too little body fat can make your periods irregular or stop them completely, which can affect your ability to conceive. Women whose BMI is more than 30 or under 19 may have problems conceiving. Take multivitamins, including iron, calcium and folic acid for women, and zinc and selenium for men. Foods high in antioxidants are great, like brightly colored fruit, strawberries, cherries, and plums.

3.) Obesity: Obesity is becoming an increasingly common cause for infertility. It is a known fact that infertility and PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) are believed to be directly associated with obesity. The reduced ovulation frequency and chances of conception observed in obese women could be attributed to the negative influence of obesity on hormonal and metabolic mechanisms. Such patients undergoing IVF possessed reduced chances of pregnancy (around 30%) as they required increased doses of gonadotropins for ovarian stimulation compared to women with recommended body mass index (BMI). Obesity contributes to anovulation and menstrual irregularities, reduced conception rate and a reduced response to fertility treatment. It also increases miscarriage and contributes to maternal and perinatal complications. Much more attention should be paid to the impact of obesity on fertility in both women and men.

In other words, not only does obesity make it much more difficult to conceive, but it also exposes both the mother and the infant to all manner of risks before and after birth. So if you are longing to fall pregnant or struggle with PCOS, give lifestyle modification a chance and take the first step by consulting a registered dietician.

4.) Smoking: It's a fact that smoking and infertility go hand in hand. Women who are smokers are at a higher risk of infertility complications. Exposure to cigarette smoke for even a few days can cause changes in the health of your eggs and embryos. If you smoke for many years, or smoke many cigarettes per day, your risk for fertility problems is increased. This can lead to fertility problems, including Ovulation problems, Genetic issues, Damage to your reproductive organs, Damage to your eggs or premature menopause and Increased risk of cancer and increased risk of miscarriage. For men, cigarette smoking increases problems such as lower sperm counts and motility, as well as hormonal problems and erectile dysfunction.

The study also reported an increased risk for the following in offspring born through spontaneous and assisted conception to smoker mothers:
• Preterm birth, growth restriction, stillbirth, and early neonatal death
• Low birth weight, oral facial clefts, and sudden infant death syndrome
• Adverse impact on the seminal parameters of male offspring

Smoking and infertility are linked even for women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART). Studies show smokers have a reduced chance of success with ART. If you smoke and are able to get pregnant with ART, it may take twice as long as usual. when you stop smoking, your chances of being fertile returns. So quit smoking immediately to conceive faster.

5.) Alcohol:Alcohol will affect both you and your partner. In fact, drinking any alcohol at all can reduce your fertility by half and the more you drink, the less likely you are to conceive. One study showed that women who drank less than 5 units of alcohol a week (equal to 2 standard 175ml glasses of wine) were twice as likely to get pregnant within six-months compared with those who drank more. Research has also shown that drinking alcohol causes a decrease in sperm count, an increase in abnormal sperm and a lower proportion of motile sperm. Alcohol also inhibits the body’s absorption of nutrients such as zinc, which is one of the most important minerals for male fertility.

The study linked prenatal alcohol consumption with enhanced risk for the following adverse effects:
• Reduced chances of conception, low pregnancy rates, and increased miscarriages
• Physical anomalies to behavioral and cognitive deficits in offspring, which can be included under the broad term, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)
• Fetal death, fetal growth restriction and preterm birth

As difficult as it may seem, you should eliminate alcohol from your diets for at least three months in order to give yourself the best possible chance of conceiving.

6.) Caffeine

There is plenty of evidence to show that caffeine, particularly in the form of coffee, decreases fertility. Drinking as little as one cup of coffee a day can halve your chances of conceiving and just two cups a day increases the risk of a miscarriage. One study showed that problems with sperm: sperm count, motility and abnormalities, increase with the number of cups of coffee consumed each day. Once again, it’s important to eliminate all caffeine-containing food and drinks for at least three months before trying to conceive. That includes colas, chocolate, black teas and coffee, among other things.

Considering the negative impact of these lifestyle factors it is recommended that the the infertility specialists practicing in the ART field must make aware the complications arising out of it to the patients. Fertility treatment should not be provided to womens who consume alcohol more then moderate levels or are unwilling or unable to control consumption of alcohol. For the womens who are obese, Weight loss is reported to exert a positive effect on the reproductive potential. If the ART treatment is made conditional upon lifestyle changes, the physicians should assist the patients in achieving the required results.Scientific research are mandatory to substantiate the reproductive effects of alcohol consumption, obesity, smoking, and other lifestyle-related factors.

Lifestyle modification should be the preferred as initial treatment of infertility. A healthy lifestyle in general is key to making sure your fertility is in tip top shape. That includes eating well and exercising to make sure you’re a healthy weight. And of course, drinking within the limit or stopping altogether is part of this. The importance of a healthy lifestyle can’t be overstated.

Author of the article is an IVF Fertility infertility specialist and runs fertility centre and provides the best affordable quality infertility,fertility treatments with advanced reproductive technologies like IVF,ART, GIFT, ZIFT, TET, ICSI,donor egg,surrogate and surrogacy services for all nationalities.

With advancement in today’s assisted reproductive technology, it has become possible for the infertile couples to attain parenthood with the help of IVF, ICSI, IUI, IMSI, Surrogacy and other available fertility treatments.For starting a successful ivf treatment you can contact IVF Doctors or Fertility specialist at Rotunda Fertility Clinic at http://rotunda.co.in or http://www.testtubebabyclinic.com