It Starts with the Egg: How the Science of Egg Quality Can Help You Get Pregnant Naturally, Prevent Miscarriage, and Improve Your Odds in IVF

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All kinds of complex health and lifestyle factors play into your chances of conceiving and carrying a healthy baby to term. Whether you’re starting out on your fertility journey, about to embark on or in the midst of fertility treatments such as IUI and IVF, or looking into other reproductive options like donor sperm, egg freezing, or surrogacy, taking steps to improve egg quality can significantly boost your odds of conceiving. The lifestyle changes I made based on the "It Starts with the Egg" recommendations are ones that I know I’ll keep for the rest of my life. There is some evidence that it could reduce miscarriage risk by lowering insulin levels, “but further research is needed.” It's also polished and professional but not dry-academic. I now own both the kindle AND the audio, which is rare for me. For instance, the chapters on BPAs, phthalates, and supplements were incredibly enlightening. However, I will literally never give up carbs, so I appreciated that she shared the science behind it, but frames the information in a way to empower the reader to choose what works for them, and not obsess over perfection.

Before we begin, a heads-up – for the sake of clarity, over the course of this Blink, we’ll be talking directly to a hypothetical person who wants to improve their egg quality. But if you’re a partner or potential donor parents following along as well, this information is equally relevant to you – so don’t go anywhere! While it is always a good idea to maintain a healthy diet, it is especially important when you decide to become pregnant. It can be difficult to get all of the prenatal nutrients from diet alone (that's why doctors recommend taking prenatal vitamins), healthy diet is the foundation. It is important to know when and where you are more at risk for exposure to these harmful toxins from many everyday products. Being mindful of what you put in or near your body can help maintain proper reproduction health. I already didn’t consume sugar or gluten and almost never drank alcohol, so that was easy. A huge takeaway was the information on L-Arginine, which I had been taking for over a year at the recommendation of a different fertility book. I removed that and ate super clean, Mediterranean style, as she suggested. All organic, lots of salad and protein! I also lowered my caffeine significantly, which was probably the hardest part initially. We already used clean products and all glass Tupperware. One CRAZY MIND BLOWING thing I read, was that men think they're off the hook if they pass a sperm test--but she points out the tests only look at how many sperm and how they are swimming. The test doesn't look at their DNA! So what's the point of having a lot of sperm if they're defective? Fortunately, men can improve their sperm quality and she has a chapter dedicated to that as well.

Conclusion

Vitamin D also plays an important role in the growth and development of babies. Additionally, Vitamin D works with Calcium to maintain and support the growth of bones and teeth, for both the mom and the baby. It is important to ensure you get enough Vitamin D to maintain your body's functions, especially when pregnant. We love the book It Starts with the Egg by Rebecca Fett. In this article, we provide a summary of the book and some key takeaways. Egg quality is well-known in the fertility world to be a major factor in whether a woman can conceive a healthy pregnancy with her own eggs, either naturally or through IVF. As women age, egg quality declines, and the common assumption has been that there’s nothing that can be done to change this. “It Starts with the Egg” by Rebecca Fett shows that this assumption needs to be seriously reconsidered. Choline is an essential prenatal nutrient that supports the baby’s brain development. In that sense, Choline is similar to Folate. Furthermore, Choline is a part of a neurotransmitter that supports the functions of brain cells. The adequate intake for choline for women who are pregnant is 450 mg per day and 550 mg per day if breastfeeding. There are some studies that suggest an even higher amount of Choline may be beneficial. I was 35 when I read Rebecca Fett’s 'It Starts with the Egg.' I was preparing to freeze my eggs. Being a type-A optimizer, I wanted to understand everything about egg quality so I could do everything possible to maximize my chance of success.

did you manage to avoid phthalates and BPA? If so, how? (Our biggest take away was not reheating plastic/Tupperware in the microwave) CoQ10 can help boost mitochondrial functioning which helps eggs produce more energy and can result in better egg development and embryo growth. Ubiquinol is the preferred form of CoQ10 as it’s more readily absorbed and you don’t need as high a dose. take supplements (this applies more to IVF/TTC) but in general: vitamin D, C, E, dha (omega 3), even IF you have "normal" levels. If doing egg things, CoQ-10 (ubiquinol), R-alpha lipoic acid, NAC, DHEA (maybe), folate/prenatal.Zinc oxide 15%. Lightweight formula that applies easily and without leaving a white layer or heavy/waxy feeling. Preferred option for daily use under makeup. What’s wrong here? First of all, there’s an ongoing debate in the IVF community whether or not people with DOR have lower quality eggs or just fewer eggs. It probably depends on a lot on the patient’s age and her medical conditions. Rebecca Fett does have autoimmune arthritis (that’s why she used a surrogate), but she was also only 26 when she started TTC. As far as I can tell, she and her husband never tried naturally. They always knew they'd use a surrogate. I have a hard time believing that her doctors told her she was “unlikely to conceive with her own eggs” with a full stop. Perhaps they said she’d be unlikely to conceive “if you wait until you’re 35” or “your odds of needing donor eggs are higher than the average woman your age.” Or even if her initial diagnosis of DOR was a fluke. (This can happen if you’re on birth control when you get tested.)