Preconception Care for Egg & Sperm Health
Did you know? An oocyte contains more mitochondria than any other cell type. The average oocyte contains 100–600,000 mitochondria, compared to about 5,000 in a heart cell. Mitochondrial support is preconception care!
Preconception care with an emphasis on both egg and sperm quality can help support fertility, improve pregnancy outcomes, and decrease risk of miscarriage.
Optimizing Egg Quality
- Emphasis on mitochondrial health and antioxidant support
- Serum lab testing can uncover clues about ovarian quality such as elevated cycle day 3 estradiol or follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)
- Environmental toxin exposure can negatively impact egg quality and increase estrogen dominance and oxidative stress burden.
The majority of follicular development occurs when primordial follicles enter a gonadotropin-independent preantral phase, during which a primordial follicle takes approximately 290–300 days to mature into a secondary or early antral follicle under the influence of local ovarian growth factors, nutrients and healthy fats. About 90% of the follicles undergo atresia, leaving only a select few healthy cells to reach antral follicle status. The surviving antral follicles then take an additional 3–4 months to mature and reach a selection stage. From there, the rapid growth phase is about 2 weeks, when a selected healthy antral follicle becomes the dominant follicle for the month and finalizes its maturation process.
It can take up to 12 months for a follicle to be ovulated, so preconception care should start early!
Optimizing Sperm Quality
- Over-aromatization can decrease testosterone and increase estrogen, which can negatively impact sperm quality.
- Increased inflammation and oxidative stress can damage sperm quality
- Blood sugar imbalance and insulin resistance can damage sperm quality
- Heavy metals readily accumulate in sperm and can significantly impact sperm quality and quantity
Sperm are on a continuous regeneration cycle, but the sperm released today began development 3 months ago! The process is continuous and ever-shifting, requiring healthy fats, nutrients and mitochondrial activity. Lifestyle interventions should begin at least 3 months before attempted conception to optimize sperm health.