When we are struggling with infertility, the main focus is often on our hormones and egg quality, which are important, but the health of our gut and immune system are also crucial. Our gut bacteria, immune system function, and vaginal microbiome can all impact our ability to conceive. These can be especially important for those going through IVG. Let’s dig into these often overlooked areas.

Gut Bacteria, Gut Lining, & Conception

How do our gut bacteria impact our ability to conceive? The bacteria in our gut have a direct impact on our immune system and inflammation in the gut. When we have more non beneficial bacteria than beneficial or have pathogens present, it can lead to our immune system being set off and if overtime this happens over and over, it will lead to inflammation. Our gut is separated from the rest of our body through one mucosal barrier. There are bacteria and immune cells in this protective barrier that will attack and neutralize anything that should not be there. If we have imbalances in our bacteria or significant inflammation, this protective barrier becomes damaged. Bacterial endotoxins can then leak out into our blood and cause a host of issues, pregnancy loss and issues with IVF being two major ones related to fertility.

Vaginal Microbiome & Conception

Our gut bacteria greatly impacts the bacteria that make up our vaginal microbiome, which can impact our ability to conceive both naturally and through methods like IVF. A healthy vaginal microbiome is primarily dominated by lactobacillus, which feeds off a form of sugar produced by the vaginal cell walls. This leads to lactic acid production, which creates a low pH environment that enables beneficial bacteria to thrive, limiting pathogenic strains. This supports a healthy balance of bacteria, which supports our ability to conceive. This is why we utilize vaginal microbiome testing with certain clients, especially those going through IVF. This is our favorite test. ​

Immune Cells & Infertility

Our immune system specifically can impact our ability to conceive. We need a balance between T helper cells, regularatory T cells, and natural killer cells. When an imbalance occurs, it can lead to a miscarriage and is a common cause of recurrent miscarriages. If we have imbalances in our lymphocytes and cytokines, this can lead to difficulty with implantation, which if what often happens for women with endometriosis.

Increases in inflammation that occur with immune dysfunction and conditions like endometriosis and autoimmune diseases are a major contributor to difficulty conceiving as well. Inflammation can also worsen insulin resistance, which can make conception and optimal progesterone production difficult. Autoimmune conditions can also increase the risk of miscarriage and prematurely reduce ovarian reserve. This doesn’t mean they have to or that it will happen to you if you have an autoimmune condition. Supporting your gut health as well as a healthy stress response can help put autoimmune conditions into remission.

Initial Steps For Gut & Immune Support

So what can you do? The best way to start supporting your gut and immune system is to support digestion. I have a podcast where you can learn all about the basics of supporting digestion and where to get started here. Why is supporting digestion so important? Two major reasons:

1. It’s our first line of defense. When we make stomach acid it kills any pathogens we may get exposed to. If we are not making enough stomach acid, pathogens can pass through to our gut and create imbalances.
2. Digestion also ensures that we breakdown our food properly. When we don’t break down our food well our immune system gets alerted and goes to work. This can lead to overactivity in the long run and many of the issues I discussed above.

If you want support on your fertility journey, you can sign up for our Nurture Your Fertility program. We would be honored to support you!