• Fruit and vegetables: ideally, a rich diet of fruit and vegetable salads, particularly with green, red or yellow colours, as they are richer in antioxidants. These include, among others: kale, red pepper and blueberries.
• Unrefined, whole grain carbohydrates such as whole wheat bread, oats or rye. The refining process causes irregular periods in people with disorders, such as polycystic ovary syndrome.
• Foods rich in Iron: to avoid anaemia during pregnancy and postpartum; some recommended food are fish or shellfish, like oysters, mussels or sardines, or vegetables like asparagus, broad beans, beans and lentils.
• Omega-3 fatty acids, above all docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA). It is recommended to take two doses a week (340 g/week). You should opt for those fish that are low in mercury, like lobster, shrimp, canned light tuna, trout, haddock or salmon. Another option for vegetarians is to opt for flax seeds or supplements in capsules.
• Evening primrose oil improves circulation. Use in the event of impotence related to a lack of blood supply in a man’s reproductive organs.
• Vitamin supplements that provide folic acid, iron, calcium and vitamin B complex.

The ovarian reserve indirectly shows us the chances for pregnancy that you have when an assisted reproduction cycle is performed with your own eggs. Follow-up treatment will always depend on the results of the performed tests, age and medical history of the partner; however, there is unfortunately no proven way to improve a low ovarian reserve once it is confirmed. When the tests have unsettling results, one of the options is to opt for egg donation.

Throughout the artificial insemination cycle you can resume normal life. In the majority of cycles, a subcutaneous drug is administered every day that is very easy and convenient to administer. Performing artificial insemination means going to the clinic for 2 or 3 days to undergo an ultrasound check-up and the day of insemination itself.

The majority of women that have undergone artificial insemination tell us that “the worst part of the cycle” are the nerves and waiting for evidence of a pregnancy.

Once you are pregnant, your sex routine will slowly go back to what it was before the reproduction process started, but occasionally if the moment of pregnancy is slow in coming, difficulties can arise due to the stress caused by this new phase.  From a sharp decline in libido, to erectile dysfunction, or even vaginismus.

Although less so, sex continues to be a taboo subject and we find it hard to talk about it because it feels very intimate. If there are any questions or problems with regards to it, it is important that we can consult the Psychology Unit so that they can help us resolve it.