Fertility with dietitian Amanda Smith

Besides being an endo warrior, dietitian Amanda Smith also went through her own fertility journey to have her little girl. Working as a fertility dietitian at Verde Nutrition Co means she meets a lot of women who are trying to conceive.

Verde Nutrition Co is founded by my incred, personal dietitian — Chloe McLeod. We've loved working with them to share their expertise with our community.

We recently chatted to Amanda about her personal trying to conceive (TTC) experience and her top tips as a dietitian. Let's let her take the floor.

Amanda’s fertility journey, as a fellow endo warrior:

After 12 months of TTC with no success, I had a laparoscopy to diagnose and treat endometriosis.

I also had what’s called a subseptate uterus, where there was a small septum partially dividing my uterus, which my specialist removed at the same time. Because of the septum removal I had to wait 2 months for the uterine lining to heal before starting to TTC again.

We then opted to do tracked cycles and ovulation induction with the fertility specialist, as we discovered I had a short luteal phase and low progesterone levels (quite common with endo). I required progesterone prescribed for the second half of each cycle to assist with conception.

We fell pregnant with our beautiful daughter on the 5th and final round of ovulation induction in December 2023. Overall it was about an 18 month TTC journey, and I’m so grateful to have fallen pregnant with endo.

Can you tell us a bit about why you might see a dietitian when you’re trying to conceive?

If you’re trying to conceive, there are so many ways a fertility dietitian can help! Some of the key reasons you might see a dietitian during your TTC journey include:

Craft your individualised prenatal supplement regime
Correct nutritional deficiencies prior to falling pregnant
Optimise diet to help improve egg quality, sperm quality and support implantation
Manage chronic health conditions that can impact fertility/pregnancy such as endometriosis, PCOS, Hashimoto’s and IBD
Help with any weight concerns you or your medical team may have
Improve relationship with food and address any body image concerns prior to falling pregnant
Have someone you know and trust prior to falling pregnant to help you navigate the ever changing nutritional requirements of pregnancy and manage pregnancy symptoms

Ideally you'd like to start seeing a dietitian at least 3 months before TTC as it takes 3 months to improve egg quality and sperm quality. 6 months is amazing but at least 3 where possible!

Three general tips for women who are preparing for TTC — what would you recommend they incorporate into their daily lives?

Include plenty of plant foods (ideally at least 30 different types per week)

Such as: fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, legumes, nuts, seeds, extra virgin olive oil, herbs and spices.

These are incredibly rich in antioxidants which are important for fertility and key to support optimal gut health.

Enjoy a serve of quality fats at each meal.

Such as oily fish, nuts, seeds, extra virgin olive oil and avocado are wonderful for egg/sperm quality and have great anti-inflammatory benefits.

Include a good quality prenatal vitamin.

There is no one-size fits all approach when it comes to this and is very dependent on your diet, lifestyle, blood test results, medical history and age - so it’s ideal to organise a supplement consult with a fertility dietitian to take the confusion out and create a bespoke regime.

PSA: These tips are generalised and not specifically for women going through endo 🤍

Soooo many pregnant women chat to us about their skin flaring up from all the hormonal changes. Do you have any tips for people who might be experiencing this?

Ahhh yes the joys of hormonal changes! Some tips I would suggest for those dramatic skin warriors dealing with pesky pregnancy flares are:

Ensure you’re staying well hydrated with plenty of water, especially if experiencing nausea/vomiting (and consider electrolytes if vomiting).
Include plenty of prebiotic-rich foods such as legumes, whole grains, nuts (especially almonds, cashews and pistachios), onion, garlic and fruit/veg in general to support gut health.
Avoid cutting out particular foods before speaking with a dietitian, even if it’s something you previously had an intolerance to. Due to the hormonal changes of pregnancy, often cutting out foods that were previously an issue won’t touch the sides and can result in nutrient deficiencies - so best to seek individualised support to help guide through this.
Speak with your usual skin team (e.g. dermatologist) about any changes you may need to make to your skin care regime.

PSA: This is not medical advice or a paid collaboration between Yours Only and Verde Nutrition or Amanda Smith. Always consult with your doctor or healthcare team.