We often talk about infertility in closed rooms as if it’s a personal failure, a private grief, and just blame women for it. But what if we pause for a moment and ask a deeper question: Is it really the women who is failing or is it the lifestyle we are forcing women to live?
In today’s fast-paced world, infertility isn’t just a medical diagnosis anymore. It’s a reflection of modern pressure, expectations and invisible burden women carry. And not to miss that male infertility is equally important factor.
There was a time when infertility was mostly linked to genetics or structural and physiological issues. But in today’s world, lifestyle factors account for up to 40-50% of infertility cases. The good part is that many of them are preventable, but the sad part is that we are not mindful enough at recognising & questioning them.
The few lifestyle factors that are influencing fertility at a deeper level are:
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The chronic stress which can be considered as the unseen hormone disruptor & cause of inflammation in the body
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The irregular sleep which disturbs the biological clock and impacts overall health
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Nutrition Gaps: Eating but not nourishing-We are eating to fill our tummies and to satisfy our taste buds but missing out on the nutritional value of what we are feeding our body.
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Sedentary lifestyle: Our bodies are meant to move, but our lives are mostly chairs and screens these days. This leads to hormonal imbalance, indigestion, obesity, diabetes, hypertension and related health issues.
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Environmental toxins from plastic containers to polluted air, everything acts like a carcinogen these days. Nothing is in its pure form, and all we are consuming is the BHAs, phthalates, pesticides, and microplastics. This interrupts the endocrine system.
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Late Marriages: A social shift with biological consequences. Ambition, education, and career growth have taken the front seat in today’s era, which is not wrong but is definitely impacting the biological clock. Egg reserves and sperm quality naturally declines after the age of 30 and sharply after 35.
All these factors equally impact male and female fertility. A single factor or the gender is not to be blamed, but a collaborative effort needs to come from everybody. We as an individual are supposed to be more educated and informed about these impacts & solutions to deal with them. So that we take the charge of our health in our hands and give the healthy future to the next generation.
It’s often said that modern problems require modern solutions. Let’s leave the modern solution parts to the advances happening in the medical science where the in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, and all the new infertility treatments are coming up. But let’s not forget our roots. Let’s bring back the culture of living a simple and healthy lifestyle. Maintaining a routine in our day-to-day life which includes balanced organic meals, daily physical activity, and fixing sleep schedules.
These tiny yet mindful changes with consistent efforts, will help us restore the hormonal balance and normal functioning of body systems. Infertility rates will drop down, if we take charge of our health and make conscious efforts for our well-being at an individual and society level.
What are the changes that we can make to improve our lifestyle & related health issues?
MBH/AB