What you need to know about Easter, eggs and your fertility

Happy Easter! Apart from a few chocolate ones, this is my most recent eggy purchase – the Eco-Egg. At the start of 2018, I made a pledge to try and reduce my family’s impact on the environment so I’m enjoying discovering new products all the time. I’ve been using the Eco-Egg since January and haven’t used any laundry detergent at all since then which is definitely a win for the environment! It contains special pellets which do all the cleaning, so there are no harsh chemicals, therefore no hormone disrupters. Having balanced hormones is so important for women’s health, especially if you are trying to conceive or have a hormonal condition such as PCOS or endometriosis.

 The Eco-Egg is also great for sensitive skin or those with allergies, for instance children with eczema. It is the only product endorsed by both Allergy UK and the National Eczema Society. It’s been clinically proven to wash clothes as well as regular detergents, and can be used on all fabrics at temperatures up to and including 60 degrees. I’ve got the large pack size which can do 720 washes. Although the initial cost might seem quite a lot, it should last me around 3 years and cost me just 3p per wash! More importantly, nobody has come forward to tell me my clothes smell a bit off, but please don’t be shy if you think that’s the case!!

​Easter is always associated with eggs so I thought I’d share this interesting article about the origins of Easter and the links with fertility. As the writer says

​“Since the earliest times, the egg has been humanity’s obvious and essential symbol for … birth, fertility, growth. … It is such a natural correlation. The spring, when birds lay their eggs, when plants and animals are born, when all of nature is refreshed, replenished, renewed, is a perfect time to begin a new year.”

​It is no coincidence that the ancient Mediterranean spring goddess Eostre not only gives us our words Oestrogen and Oestres (basically the fertile window in female mammals when ovulation occurs and conception is likely to happen), but also Easter.

This is a great time of year to review where you are with your fertility plans. Ultimately, you know that you want to achieve having a family, but are there different ways to achieve this? If you’ve been having fertility reflexology, you might want to try fertility massage instead, or vice versa. You might want to consult a nutritionist to give your diet a complete detox and overhaul. You could try acupuncture and/or Chinese herbs. Or maybe take a break for a couple of months from tracking your cycle, charting your temperature, and just be spontaneous for a while. You may want to start the referral process for IVF, or start the conversation as to whether you would consider egg/sperm donation, surrogacy or adoption. Or do you want to get back to basics and start again naturally? Spring is definitely a time of new beginnings and fresh opportunities, so maybe take a bit of time over the Easter weekend to think about this, and do get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss options for enhancing your fertility naturally. We can work with you ourselves, or put you in touch with other trusted and recommended practitioners.

Talking of eggs, if you are trying to improve or maintain the quality of your own eggs, this book by Rebecca Fett is worth a read – It Starts with the Egg: How the Science of Egg Quality Can Help You Get Pregnant and Prevent Miscarriage. It is well-researched and has some good tips on how to improve egg quality by minimising environmental toxins, good nutrition and taking the right supplements.

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​There is another meaning for Easter eggs –  an intentional inside joke, a hidden message, or secret feature of an interactive work (for instance a computer programme, video game or film). The name is used to evoke the idea of a traditional Easter egg hunt. Pixar are famous for Easter eggs in their films. They are really subtle and hard to spot! Click here to see the best of them… Fun huh?! Have a lovely Easter weekend...