How loudly is your biological clock ticking?

I've been banging the preconception healthcare drum for nearly thirty years, so it never ceases to amaze me when somebody turns around and says “hey, I didn’t know it was going to be hard to get pregnant in my 30s - nobody ever talks about these things!” Hello, where have you been baby? The media is awash with articles, blogs and online forums are full of the TTC (trying to conceive), IVF specialists tout their wares, their ever-more-sophisticated techniques and their dubious successes at every opportunity.

Talk about blinkers on - but then I ask, who else is wearing blinkers? Whenever we’re bombarded with the plummeting fertility statistics and the drastic decline of fertility with age (and surprise, surprise men have a biological clock that ticks too!) where is the common sense? Am I the lone voice in the wilderness that says, hang on a minute, is age the only factor here? 

So do you want to know how you can preserve your fertility and ensure the healthiest baby possible? The answer’s simple - pay very close attention to your own health before conception. The reason for the rise in reproductive problems with age can be simply summarized as longer exposure to 21st century diets and lifestyles. Nutrition, lifestyle, environment and mental and emotional factors all need very careful attention by both partners if you plan to delay your baby-making (or if after attending to all the preconception issues, you consider that IVF is the only option). The four months immediately preceding conception are the most critical!

Comprehensive preconception health care has clearly been shown to give significant protection against age-related sub-fertility, miscarriage and foetal defect. The University of New England has conducted an independent study of 67 couples on the Natural Fertility Management conception program at The Jocelyn Centre. Developed by my co-author Francesca Naish, results of the program are more than merely encouraging. 52% of previously infertile couples can conceive within the first 4 months following completion of preconception care. Over the last 30 years, working with many thousands of couples, The Jocelyn Centre, despite a high proportion of patients being in their late 30s, early to mid 40s and beyond, has achieved successful pregnancies when all else has failed and an insignificant number of age-related defects.

The studies from Foresight - Association for Promotion of Preconceptual Care (UK) and the emerging research in the fields of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, (DOHaD), foetal origins and epigenetics also provide incontrovertible evidence...optimisation of nutritional status and complete avoidance of any potential toxicity by both partners for at least 4 months prior to conception is the only certain way to ensure the health of the next generation and to reduce the toll of compromised reproductive health (and that includes reducing the infertility rates across all age groups)!

DNA testing - what can you really learn?

So now you can order your DNA test online and if you’re happy with the fact that the different tests vary widely in their assessment of your risk to disease, your response to drugs or whether your kids are likely to inherit something unspeakable, you can compare yourself to other family members - all for $199 but at this bargain basement price, there’s a  limit of 10 tests per person!

Yikes - who orders these things? 

Notwithstanding the recent advances in science and in genetic testing in particular, research in 'foetal origins' and epigenetics confirms that DNA is far from being the holy grail. Sure, your DNA can indicate a tendency towards a particular condition or a particular metabolic attribute, but we also know that the die is far from cast. For example, a recent study, showed that 18 genetic variants that individually increase risk of type 2 diabetes could not be used to identify which people had the condition and which did not.

It’s complicated - but there’s one thing we do know. Attention to all of the health-promoting measures that include fresh whole foods, regular exercise, no smoking, modest alcohol intake, reducing stress and avoiding environmental toxicity give an individual the very best chance that a particular genetic polymorphism or variation won’t rear it’s ugly head! At no time is this more important than before conception. Then, two prospective parents have the chance to ensure that by cleaning up their diets and lifestyles and ensuring their own physical and mental health in that critical 4-month period leading up to conception, their child will have the chance to experience his full genetic potential in the positive rather than the negative sense of the word!