Fertility is a global issue and continues to be a source of concern for many who are looking to conceive. It has been estimated that 48 million couples and 186 million individuals struggle with fertility issues.
Many factors influence fertility success and nutrition is one of them. Others include body weight, nutrient intake, inflammation, exposure to toxins in the environment, age, genetics, and more.
As a nutrition professional, you have the unique opportunity here to help your clients who are looking for support and advice on their pregnancy journey. To be able to provide this support, you’ll have to expand your business to be more inclusive of a wide range of nutrition needs.
So, it is important to arm yourself with essential knowledge by becoming specialised in fertility nutrition, this way, you can make a huge difference and help your clients.
What do you need to know as a Fertility Nutrition Advisor?
If you have made it this far, congratulations! This means you have decided to help your clients who are struggling with fertility issues and now, you are looking for guidance on what to do next.
Here are your next steps:
Bridging the knowledge gap
Unfortunately, there’s a massive knowledge gap about female and male reproductive science.
Your first step will be to gain an understanding of the female menstrual cycle, ovulation, and the steps that go into fertilisation and conception.
Secondly, you need to learn that there are many nutritional and lifestyle factors that influence a woman’s chances of conceiving and carrying to term. (In fact, in our Advanced Fertility Nutritional Advisor certification we examine six principles of fertility nutrition that can influence fertility odds including ageing, inflammation, hormonal imbalances, toxic assault, body weight, and epigenetics.)
With your knowledge of the female reproductive system and the principles of fertility nutrition, you will be able to fully answer these questions that your clients’ may ask:
- Is it possible to increase fertility odds through nutrition?
- How common is a miscarriage as a result of implantation failure?
- Which factors influence male fertility? What are some medical conditions which may reduce fertility in men and women?
- I’m 39… Did I miss my chance to have a child?”
- “My partner was told by his medical doctor that his sperm are of a lower quality, is there anything we can do to increase our chances of having a baby?”
- “I am going through IVF, but want to know what else I can do to increase my chances of getting pregnant.”
Identifying your client’s mental state
Fertility is a sensitive topic and when being discussed, it can evoke a wide range of emotions in your clients. The journey towards pregnancy success is not the same for everyone and you must be uniquely equipped to support your clients proficiently. Some of the emotions your clients who are struggling with fertility issues may be experiencing include:
- Vulnerability: They are already dealing with societal pressures and demands and feel emotionally hurt or easily susceptible to hurt or blame. Some of them even experience shame at their delay in getting pregnant as they feel they are failing in some way.
- Disappointment: Many have experienced miscarriages, failed implantation, hopes crushed every month. Some may have already lost all hope.
- Isolation: Some clients may feel disconnected from everyone as they feel no one understands what they are going through. They see other couples getting pregnant and experience the feeling of aloneness.
How can you connect with your clients on a deeper level and help them?
Use the right language and narratives
When interacting with your clients, it is important to use the right language when discussing certain sensitive fertility issues. This will put them at ease and make the journey comfortable for them.
For example, while the medical community may label couples who have been actively trying to conceive a baby for 12 months or longer as clinically infertile, our certification will teach you to use kinder terms like increased or reduced fertility odds when describing chances of fertility.
Be empathetic
Be kind. Your clients are looking for support and a personal touch and that’s why they have sought you out. Let them speak openly and freely but remember to practice active listening so you can identify any deep-rooted issues that may be experiencing but are unaware of.
Remain objective
Review the medical reports and when this hasn’t been done, strongly advise the clients to get the necessary tests so you are better informed to advise them proficiently.
Now that you know your next steps, how do you put this all together so you can begin to professionally help your clients who need you?
Our Advanced Advanced Fertility Nutritional Advisor™ is what you need! This certification will equip you with the knowledge, skills, and professionalism needed to help clients who will need the expertise we will teach you.
You’ll learn:
- The science behind ovulation, spermatogenesis, and conception, so that you can support a woman, and her partner in improving fertility odds through nutrition and lifestyle changes.
- How to custom build fertility nutrition plans based on proven scientific methods.
- How to identify where your client is in their fertility journey.
- How to perform health risk assessments to evaluate whether there may be factors under your client’s control that may be lowering their fertility odds.
- How to support a client through IVF or assisted conception.
We have also made it easy for you to decide if this certification is for you by giving you access to a 7-day free trial. This means you can start learning immediately without paying!
Start your 7-day free trial here.
