Wessex Fertility - Consultation Booklet

Pre-Conceptual Diet and Lifestyle Tips

Nutritional Therapist

Wessex Fertility work with a Nutritional Therapist to help our patients get the correct nutritional advice both before and during treatment. Rebecca Prendergast is qualified nutritional therapist who sees clients for one-to-one sessions to create a bespoke plan to suit their particular needs. The introduction below is from her website.

• Medication. It is important that your GP is aware you are trying to conceive if you are taking regular medication, as some should be avoided in pregnancy as they can cause harm to the developing fetus. Common medications needing to be reviewed are those controlling: high blood pressure, epilepsy, diabetes, depression, fungal infection and thyroid disease. DOES DRINKING ALCOHOL AFFECT FERTILITY? Yes, excessive drinking affects fertility in men and women. It is sensible to cut out or only occasionally drink alcohol when trying for a baby. Current Department of Health advice suggests there is no safe limit. Any effect on fertility and the developing fetus increases the more alcohol is drank, so we advise stopping completely, or limiting drinking to no more than one or two units of alcohol per week. A unit is half a pint of standard strength beer, lager or cider, or a pub measure of spirit. A glass of wine is about two units and alcopops are about 1.5 units. Heavy or binge drinking can harm the developing fetus. You should stop/reduce drinking as soon as you stop contraception. WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I FIND OUT I AM PREGNANT? Maintain the lifestyle changes you have already made and continue to protect your growing baby by doing the following: • Folic Acid – continue to take this until the end of week 12. This reduces the risk of your baby having a neural tube defect. After 12 weeks, the neural tube has closed so the supplements are no longer required but not harmful if you choose to continue to take them as part of a pre-conception vitamin. • Alcohol – This should be avoided in pregnancy • Diet – as in the pre-conceptual advice above but also: o Avoid unpasteurised milk, soft or blue cheeses and pâté (Including vegetable pâté). These can be a source of Listeria and should be avoided. Listeria is an infection which can cross the placenta and cause a serious infection in your baby. o Avoid raw eggs and undercooked meat (especially poultry) which may cause Salmonella infection. o Pregnancy hormones tend to slow down bowel activity and may lead to constipation. Ensure that you have plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and adequate fibre – you should also try to drink two litres of water per day. • Exercise - It is fine to continue with your regular exercise, but in early pregnancy avoid very strenuous exercise that will raise your core temperature. • Medicines - Any prescription medicines should be discussed with your doctor. Avoid over the counter medicines as far as possible. Always check with the pharmacist if you do need to take something. Paracetamol based products are fine, but you should avoid products containing Ibuprofen. • Complementary therapies- There is little data on the safety of complementary therapies, hence they are best avoided.

Hello! My name is Rebecca, and I am a certified Advanced Fertility Nutritional Advisor, Nutritional Therapist and Master Herbalist.

I decided to retrain in these areas having faced my own fertility challenges and feeling a strong calling to support women in the same situation, teaching them how to optimise their own personal fertility. It can be so easy to compare ourselves to others, particularly in the emotive area of fertility - however no two women, no two couples and no two fertility journeys are the same. I work with clients in person and online all over the world and my absolute passion is supporting them, and their partners if applicable, on their individual journey. I believe every single woman has the right to be able to take control of her fertility at what can be a time full of excitement, joy, anxiety, uncertainty, frustration and fear, depending on your experiences and associations. My clients are a wide range of women (and partners), from those who haven’t yet actively begun trying, to single women on their 4th IVF cycle, to couples in their 40s, to those in the first stage of pregnancy - and every scenario in between.

I am fully insured, accredited with the globally recognised IICT and I am wholly committed to ongoing certified personal development.

If you would like more information on Rebecca’s services please go to her website: www.neomafertility.com.

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