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75% of failed pregnancies are considered to be due to implantation failure (according to Cha). In other words, the egg is fertilized, but it does not implant.
So what can you do about it during the TWW?
I’m going to give you the honest truth, because you will see a lot of bloggers posting “Tips to Boost Implantation During the TWW” and “Natural Ways to Increase Implantation Odds During the TWW” and “What to Eat to Increase Implantation Odds During the TWW.”
The truth is: By the time you get to the TWW, there’s not a whole lot you can do. (Not even eating pineapple core, sorry.)
(I mean, think about this logically: Wouldn’t your doctor have told you if there was something you should be doing during the TWW?!)
HOWEVER, according to the research, there are actually longer-term changes you can make that will improve your odds of implantation. Read on!
**AND an UPDATE: See below how I eventually got pregnant after 2 1/2 years (although it ended in miscarriage)…I think it was an implantation issue that I corrected!
First, why can’t I do anything during the TWW?
According to Simon, there are various reasons for implantation failure: abnormal blood clotting (not randomly, but as a disease that would need to have been treated), immunological factors (that are out of your control), thin endometrium (the endometrium needs to start developing before ovulation, not after, so it’s too late during the TWW to correct this issue if that’s your problem), and embryonic factors (again, out of your control after ovulation).
So…if you’re in the midst of your TWW…realize that you’ve probably already done all you can do (which is a blessing and a curse!).
So what are the two things I can do?
That being said, there are some studies that have revealed things to do to improve implantation, but these things need to be ongoing changes to your lifestyle — not something that can be done in two weeks! Can’t hurt to start trying them during the TWW though. 🙂
1. Eat more monounsaturated fats.
This is where people get the idea that avocados are like a fertility superfood. Well, they kind of are! According to Chavarro quoted here, “The odds of a live birth after embryo transfer in women with the highest intake of monounsaturated fat were 3.45 times higher than those of women with the lowest intake.” (He specifically mentioned avocados in the study!)
So, all embryonic-related implantation failure factors aside (since this is an IVF study, it can be assumed that the embryos are good), monounsaturated fats can aid in implantation.
What are sources of monounsaturated fats?
–Avocados!
–Olive, peanut, and canola oil
–Nuts — for example, almonds (9g), peanuts + pistachios (7g)
–Seeds
**For more research-based fertility diet tips, make sure to check out my post on the best fertility diet here or my fertility meal plan + recipes here!
2. I hate to even include this, but try to reduce your stress levels.
No, it’s not that you’re not getting pregnant because you’re worried about it too much, and I’m not telling you to “just relax.” (A vacation will not make you fall pregnant, although unfortunately I’m sure you’ve heard that suggestion too!) But it may be that you live a stressful lifestyle overall. In Austria, offering counseling is required before IVF, and in one study of 1156 women, the pregnancy rate was 56.4% for women who did the counseling, and 41.9% for those who had not.
Another study concluded that prolonged conditions of stress led to reduced implantation rate when undergoing IVF. Again, this is not something that can be cured during the TWW per se, but overall stress does seem to contribute to failed implantation. Here are some things that have been proven to reduce stress:
–Yoga
–Acupuncture (see more research-based tips on that here)
–Meditation/prayer/relaxation techniques (download my TWW (Two Week Wait) devotional here or my Infertility Bible study ebook here!)
–And check out my post on more ways to reduce stress here….and my tips on staying positive when TTC here!
**UPDATE: Maybe you’re like me: I did the research-based things above…and I still wasn’t getting pregnant. However, for some reason I’m still convinced my infertility is an implantation issue (ovulation is fine and husband’s results are fine, too…and the more I read about implantation, the more I realize how important blood flow and circulation are — and mine are poor). In a case like mine, a supplement called L-Arginine may be worth considering. Read my experience with that here.
**A SECOND UPDATE: Besides beginning to take the L-Arginine that I mentioned above, I did get pregnant after doing this one thing…fixing something that I believe had previously hindered implantation for me.
Want to find out more natural ways to improve your fertility? Check out these five not-so-obvious things to do to improve your fertility naturally.
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