6 Fertility Health Tips You Need to Know
Whether you’re hoping to get pregnant someday or actively trying now, these are the six tips I want you to know.
1. Avoid Smoking—Including Marijuana
We’ve long known that cigarette smoking harms fertility. It reduces the number of eggs you have, damages egg quality, decreases your monthly chance of pregnancy, and even causes earlier menopause. Few things actually make you run out of eggs faster, but cigarettes are one of them.
Marijuana hasn’t been studied as extensively, but the data we do have is concerning. Research consistently shows:
Impaired ovulation
Luteal phase dysfunction
Poor embryo development in IVF cycles
If pregnancy is in your future—near or far—avoid both tobacco and marijuana to protect your reproductive health.
2. Reduce Your Exposure to Plastics and Environmental Toxins
Your environment matters. Chemicals like BPA (found in many plastics) have been shown to:
Increase abnormalities inside eggs
Decrease ovarian reserve
This means it’s time to clean up your kitchen. Ditch plastic containers that go in the microwave or dishwasher. Choose stainless steel, glass, or aluminum for cooking and storage. And keep an eye on your cookware—nonstick pans can contain PFCs, which also negatively impact fertility.
Small changes in your environment add up, especially over years.
3. Protect Yourself Against STIs—Especially Chlamydia
No one plans to get a sexually transmitted infection, but they happen, and some have lifelong consequences. Chlamydia, even when mild or treated quickly, can cause permanent damage to the fallopian tubes. That damage may prevent sperm and egg from meeting, making IVF the only option for pregnancy in the future.
If you’ve had chlamydia in the past, it’s worth asking your doctor for a test to check your tube status, especially if you’re 35 or older and trying to conceive. Don’t spend a year trying if your tubes are blocked. Advocate for yourself and be proactive.
4. Limit Processed Foods—Especially Red and Processed Meat
Your diet is deeply connected to your fertility. Processed and red meat are classified as type I carcinogens, and in IVF studies, eating more of them has been associated with poorer embryo development.
This doesn’t mean you must eliminate them entirely, but you should limit intake. Once a week is my general recommendation when trying to optimize fertility.
Processed foods also come packed with refined carbs, sugars, and chemicals from packaging that can disrupt hormones and increase insulin resistance. Focus instead on:
Whole foods
Plants
Whole grains
Lean proteins
Your future self will thank you.
5. Pay Attention to Your Period—It’s a Vital Sign
Your menstrual cycle is one of the best windows into your reproductive health. A normal cycle should be:
Predictable
Regular within 1–2 days month-to-month
Anywhere from 21–35 days
Irregular cycles—big swings between cycle lengths—deserve evaluation. Causes can include thyroid disorders, brain–ovary communication issues, or ovarian dysfunction.
One of the only clinical signs of low ovarian reserve is a shortening of your cycle over time. If your cycle was always 28–29 days and now it’s 23–24 days? That’s a red flag.
If this sounds like you, ask your doctor for ovarian reserve testing, especially an AMH blood test.
And remember: if you’re on hormonal birth control, you won’t get accurate cycle information. Give your body 3–6 months off hormonal contraception before trying to conceive so you can truly understand your cycle.
6. Don’t Ignore Your Age
I say this with so much compassion and honesty: age is still the most important predictor of fertility success. Yes, many people conceive in their late 30s and early 40s—but that does not make it common or easy.
At age 30 → ~20% chance of pregnancy per month
At age 40 → ~5% chance per month
If you want multiple children, the math matters. And if you’re waiting to start your family until your mid-to-late 30s, consider early fertility testing or even egg freezing. These tools weren’t available when many of us were younger, but they’re available now—and they can change your options.
Being healthy absolutely helps, but it cannot override age-related changes in egg quantity and quality. Knowing your numbers allows you to make informed choices about your future.
Final Thoughts
Your fertility is something you can influence—maybe not completely, but meaningfully. These six tips are practical, evidence-based steps you can take now.
