For women hoping to conceive, experts advise watching your weight and following a Mediterranean-style diet to boost your odds of having a baby.
As fertility experts shared their research at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Boston this week, Loyola University dietitian Brooke Schantz offered essential diet tips to increase your chances of having a baby.
"Establishing a healthy eating pattern and weight is a good first step for women who are looking to conceive," she said. "Not only will a healthy diet and lifestyle potentially help with fertility, but it also may influence fetal well-being and reduce the risk of complications during pregnancy."
Thirty per cent of infertility is due to being either overweight or underweight, according to the National Infertility Association in the US. Reducing extra weight by even five per cent can enhance fertility, experts say.
For women looking to conceive, Schantz recommends the following:
6 Ways To Boost Fertility
But men aren't left out of the equation. "Men who are looking to have a baby also have a responsibility to maintain a healthy body weight and consume a balanced diet, because male obesity may affect fertility by altering testosterone and other hormone levels," Schantz said.
Approximately 40 per cent of infertility issues are attributed to men, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.