Change your lifestyle to stay fertile

Healthwise

Lifestyle issues like stress, sudden weight gain or loss, smoking, drinking and even drugs – are common problems among young women today. Recent studies, however, prove that they could be doing your health more harm than you think.

Doctors say that these disorders are wreaking havoc with women’s reproductive systems, rendering them infertile and at the mercy of assisted reproductive treatments.

A study by the Bangalore-based Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) confirmed some time back that, in India, 25 per cent women are suffering from irregular periods or associated problems. Nearly four  per cent of Indian women are already menopausal between the ages of 29-34 years and many are reaching menopause before the age of 40. This is when the mean age of menopause worldwide lies at 51 years.

Doctors say that these incidences of reproductive disorders are on the rise thanks to our erratic lifestyles. Dr Shivani Sachdev, fertility expert at Isis clinic, says, “I get at least 15 to 20 cases of childbirth related problems among women every day; and whatever the disorder may be, a lot of them turn out to be stemming from lifestyle problems.”

“For example, erratic menstruation and polycystic ovaries often arise out of excessive stress, high-fat diet or poor nutrition, very strenuous exercise etc. Recently, an air-hostess visited me with irregular periods. I could see that she was weak and tired. It turned out that her airline had asked her to lose weight, resulting in her not having food, deranging her hormones completely.”

Dr Vimal Grover, gynaecologist at Fortis La Femme hospital, explains the relationship between mental stress and infertility problems thus: “The hypothalamus – a portion of the brain – is responsible for producing something called the Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). This, in turn, produces the Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing hormone (LH). These two are crucial to make the ovaries function properly.”

“However, when you are stressed, or suffering from other medical conditions, the hypothalamus does not produce enough GnRH, leading to over or under production of FSH and LH. In both the scenarios, your ovaries stop functioning normally.”

Dr Anubha Singh, gynaecologist at Ridge IVF Bensups Hospital, adds, “At times, these problems reach advanced stages where one has to go for hormone therapy, or, IVF. Sometime back, I received a patient who had a history of alcohol abuse as a teenager. By 30 years of age, she was suffering from pre-mature ovarian failure and had to ultimately go for egg donation.” 

She says further, “If you are going through any menstruation related problem, you must visit a doctor at the earliest. To prevent these problems, try and avoid heavy smoking and drinking, if not stress. Try to have a lot of soy, multivitamin supplements, calcium rich food items like cheese, almonds, green leafy vegetables and milk, and fortified cereals like corn flakes. It will go a long way in protecting you from infertility.”