How to Improve Egg Quality: A Comprehensive Guide to Boost Your Fertility

Not getting pregnant and concerned about what’s going wrong? You are not alone! Most married women like you go through the same problem. Poor egg quality can be a reason behind your infertility.

Worry not, because here is everything you want to know about why your body is producing poor-quality eggs and how to improve egg quality.

Understanding Egg Quality: Basics That You Need to Know

Egg quality is all about how healthy and vital a woman’s eggs are. Eggs are also known as ova in scientific terms. How healthy a woman will produce eggs depends on her age, lifestyle, and her health too. As women age, they begin to produce poor-quality eggs that affect their chances of getting fertilized, making it difficult for you to get pregnant.

If you are troubled and wondering how to improve egg quality, then start with improving your lifestyle and the food you eat and try taking certain medical treatments recommended here.

Why is Egg Quality so Important while Planning Your Pregnancy?

The size of the egg is very important in determining its quality. During the ovulation cycle of a female, an egg or ova is produced by the ovary and it gets mature in a follicle. When it is released and finds sperm, it gets fertilized. The size of the egg during ovulation is very important in determining whether the egg will get fertilized or not. The best egg size for pregnancy should be around 18–24 millimeters.

If the egg is this size and gets mature, there is a high chance of it getting fertilized. Larger or smaller eggs than these sizes are not suitable for fertilization. This is one of the prime causes of infertility.

What Are The Signs of Good Egg Quality?

You already know the right egg size is critical for fertility. Several other factors matter apart from the egg size for pregnancy. Here are some signs that help you understand good egg quality easily.

Healthy ova are firmer, plumper, and translucent. Besides, good-quality eggs are uniform in shape, size, and color. They are smoother on the surface and they do not have any defects.

What Are The Signs of Bad Egg Quality?

Signs of bad egg quality can be easily recognized by their uneven size and colour. Some of them have dark spots and dull surfaces and are damaged. They are smaller than size and fragile in nature. Being defective and failing to mature are also poor egg quality symptoms. Hence, fertilization of these eggs is difficult through IVF procedure too.

What Causes Poor Quality Eggs?

To increase the likelihood of getting conceived, you first need to know what causes poor-quality eggs. Several reasons can lead to a decline in the quality of the ova. Some of the major causes can be age, lack of proper diet, inclining age, hormonal imbalances, lifestyle, stress, or even exposure to toxins.

As women age, egg quality naturally declines, leading to reduced fertility. Nutrient deficiencies, such as low levels of antioxidants or essential vitamins, can also impact egg health and function. Here are some of the reasons behind poor-quality eggs.

Age:

As women begin to age both the quality and quantity of eggs that they produce decline. Females only produce a finite number of eggs. As they grow in age at around 35-40 years, they can no longer produce good quality eggs. Older eggs have a lower success rate of fertilization leading to a lower success rate of conception. Not only this, there are hormonal fluctuations with  growing age reducing the periodicity of menstrual cycles and difficulty in conceiving. Older eggs also have higher chances of chromosomal abnormalities.

Autoimmune Disorders 

Autoimmune disorders are another cause for poor egg quality. Autoimmune disorders include diseases in which the immune system of the body begins to attack its own healthy cells, tissues, and organs, including the reproductive system.  

Autoimmune disorders like Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, etc. can significantly affect egg quality and fertility in women. There are a lot of autoimmune diseases that result in chronic inflammation all over the body that includes ovaries as well. 

Genetic Disorders 

Though uncommon, this is a major cause of poor egg quality. When there are any chromosomal abnormalities in the eggs lead to abnormal egg development. These genetic disorders can affect the success rate of fertilization. Chromosomal abnormalities like defected X syndrome or Turner syndrome etc. lead to the poor quality eggs.  

Lifestyle and Environment 

Lifestyle habits like poor food choice, excessive alcohol, smoking habits etc. result in poor and damaged egg quality. Also, there are a lot of environmental toxins that lead to poorly functional ovaries and decreased egg production.

Tubal Disorders 

Some women suffer from tubal disorders which means either damaged or blocked fallopian tubes. This hampers the egg journey down to the uterus and affects fertility adversely. However, this does not reduce the egg quality but hinders the fertilization process.

Endometriosis  

It is the process where tissues are overgrown and they begin to cover the uterus from outside. This leads to impair egg quality and cause inflammation, imbalances of hormones and distorted ovarian function.

Radiation and Chemotherapy 

Chemotherapy and radiation can damage the ovarian tissues over time resulting in damaged eggs and ovarian tissues. These treatments may also lead to early menopause too and obviously affect the egg quality.

14 Natural Ways to Improve Egg Quality for Fertility

If you want to know how to improve egg quality to be able to undergo IVF or conceive naturally, here are some simple remedies that might be helpful. Right from making the right food choice to adopting a healthy lifestyle and medical treatment like IVF, we cover it all here.

Understand Your Body’s Natural Cycle 

Your menstrual cycle is the period when you produce ova or eggs. If you want to improve egg quality, you need to understand and keep track of your monthly cycle. Report to the doctor if it is irregular or abnormal.

Quit Smoking and Alcohol Consumption 

Both of these lifestyle habits are disastrous for healthy egg production. These habits can destroy your eggs and can lead to poor-quality egg production.  Say no to cigarettes and alcohol for better and regular egg production.

Reduce the Stress Levels 

No woman is unaffected by stress these days. If you are passing through a high-stress level, your menstrual cycle will be disturbed. To cope with stress and start producing healthy eggs, you need to manage your stress by adopting practices like yoga and meditation. This will improve your overall reproduction.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Consume egg-quality improvement foods that are nutrient-dense and can protect your ovary and eggs from oxidative damage. A healthy ovary is a doorway to achieving healthy egg production.

Some foods to improve egg quality are berries, avocados, nuts, seeds, fatty fish, etc. Your food should be protein-dense, and high in fibre and antioxidants.   

Maintain a Normal BMI 

BMI or Body Mass Index, is a measure of body fat based on a person’s height and weight. To calculate your BMI, use this simple formula: 

BMI = weight in kg/height in m2 

Refer to this table to know if you’re falling into the ideal weight category:

BMI Range (kg/m²)	Category
Below 18.5	Underweight
18.5 – 24.9	Healthy Weight
25.0 – 29.9	Overweight
30.0 – 34.9	Obesity Class I
35.0 – 39.9	Obesity Class II
40.0 and Above	Obesity Class III

A healthy weight can be achieved through a balanced diet and regular physical activity. Stay away from saturated fats and too much salt and sugar intake. Keeping a healthy BMI will automatically lead to healthy egg production.

Boost Blood Flow 

Good blood circulation reaching the ovaries can lead to better egg quality. So, you need to increase blood flow to the reproductive system. You can practice acupuncture and yoga to increase blood circulation to the ovaries.

Invest in Supplements 

It is not enough to have a good diet alone. If you think that there are issues with good-quality egg production, then start with supplements. Vitamins B12, B6, B3, B,2, and B1 are all known for reducing the risk of female infertility. Also, take myo-inositol and CoQ10.

Freeze Your Eggs 

Medical advancements allow you to break the barrier of time and preserve your healthy eggs for future use. So if you fear declining egg quality, it is better to freeze and preserve them.

Maintain a Healthy Weight 

You should not be overweight or underweight, as this affects healthy egg production. Try to keep just the right weight to produce optimal egg size for IVF if you’re planning to go for one. 

Get Exercises Regularly 

Regular exercise is extremely necessary for healthy egg production. Exercises regulate hormones, boost blood production, and leads to egg quality improvement.

Stay Active 

Staying sedentary for long hours can cause irrevocable harm. Daily physical activities, on the other hand, can boost metabolism levels and increase blood circulation to the ovary.

Get Adequate Sleep 

Hormones are produced optimally and regularly if you are giving enough sleep to your body. Get at least 7-9 hours of sleep every night. 

Optimize the Vitamin D Level 

Low vitamin D levels in your body are associated with lower levels of fertility, as it leads to poor egg quality. Make sure that you are taking your supplements and getting enough sunlight.

Consult a Fertility Specialist 

A fertility consultant can guide you through the medical treatments and lifestyle changes too. Get to know what egg quality improvement medicine you need, treatments, and more to pave your path to natural pregnancy. If you know you have been producing poor quality constantly, get poor egg quality treatment done.

What Diet and Food Can Help In Improving Egg Quality?

As mentioned, antioxidant-rich foods that are also high in vitamins and healthy fats are the best ones to improve a woman’s reproductive health. You can have foods like eggs, nuts, avocados, leafy greens, and berries. Proper nourishment, coupled with daily exercise, can go a long way in improving your reproductive health.

Treatments to Enhance Egg Quality

If you want to improve the quality of your eggs, there are certain fertility-enhancing supplements that you can take that are fertility-boosting supplements (Myo-inositol, C0Q10, etc.) You need to make lifestyle changes as well, reduce stress, and eat well. Better egg production happens when you are physically fit, active, and eat well.

If you notice poor egg quality symptoms like irregular periods and recurring miscarriages, then it is good to consult a gynecologist or a fertility specialist.

How Can the Boom IVF Centre Help You?

At Boom IVF, you can have the best treatment for getting rid of signs of bad egg quality and infertility. If you see signs of bad egg quality, visit us today. It is a trusted name that has helped several hopeless parents get blessed with children. We have a team of highly experienced and expert doctors who believe in cutting-edge technology. So, what are you waiting for? Pave your way to parenthood today.

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