Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is an incredibly common health problem. It encompasses all manner of symptoms that affect the gastrointestinal tract, from heartburn and reflux to excessive wind or irregular bowel habits. These symptoms indicate that your gut isn’t doing very well.
While IBS is considered to be a fairly benign problem, it has the potential to impact other areas of your health, including fertility.
Here's how...
Cramping: One of the hallmarks of IBS is cramping. The bowels are very closely positioned to the ovaries and uterus, so sudden spasms and cramps could potentially affect the fallopian tubes and cause problems during ovulation or the implantation stage. If your symptoms are quite severe, with chronic diarrhoea, it would be important to speak with your GP to rule out coeliac disease, as in these cases, strict avoidance of all gluten containing products is required if you want to improve your symptoms.
Malnutrition: The other likely outcome of IBS is malabsorption of nutrients due to poor digestion and irregular bowel function. If you are trying to conceive and have suffered with chronic gut issues it would be worth having a blood panel, which should check your white and red blood cells, as well as levels of B12, Ferritin (reflects iron storage) and Vitamin D.
Medication: If you are taking medication to address your IBS symptoms or you have a more serious bowel condition such as Crohn’s disease, you should talk with your GP because certain medications would not be considered safe to use during pregnancy.
Weight loss: When trying to conceive it is important that you have sufficient fat stores as otherwise you may see changes to your menstrual cycle, which could affect conception. If you are a low BMI for your height it would be worth addressing your IBS symptoms for a couple of months and improving your BMI before trying to conceive so that you have a better chance of a successful pregnancy.
Hormonal imbalance: Without an adequate supply of essential nutrients, hormone production is likely to be affected. This in turn could impact the quality of your eggs or endometrial lining and equally, the sperm quality of your partner if he happens to suffer with IBS.
Tips for managing IBS symptoms
Do
- Increase your Magnesium intake, it's a natural anti-spasmodic. Eat more leafy green veg., nuts and seeds or try a Magnesium Citrate supplement, which has a good absorption rate and should help to reduce cramping.
- Have warm baths to help your body relax and soothe the muscles, not just of the legs and arms, but of the abdomen as well.
- Take a broad spectrum probiotic. Provide your gut with the good bacteria so there is less room for the bad bacteria to colonise and aggravate IBS symptoms.
- Keep a food diary so you can track which foods are most likely to aggravate your symptoms. Common culprits would be wheat, dairy, coffee, alcohol and sugar but everyone is different so figure out what works best for you.
Don’t
- Drink too much coffee. You may need to cut it out completely for a while and see how your gut responds. Caffeine has a powerful effect on the enteric nervous system in the gut, which may exacerbate your symptoms.
- Same goes for alcohol. Many people experience disturbance to bowel function after drinking alcohol, not to mention it is toxic to egg and sperm health.
- Don’t wait until symptoms become impossible to ignore before getting checked out. If you have diarrhoea every day, this isn’t because your body is ‘clearing out’. Passing every three or four days is not normal either, that’s constipation. Make sure to see your doctor if you have any concerns about your bowel function.
Jessica Bourke is a Natural Fertility Specialist who deals with all aspects of reproductive health. Her clinical approach is based on evidence-based nutrition protocols, acupuncture treatment, and she also offers functional lab tests to support you on your journey to parenthood. She's a regular contributor to Irish media and co-author of the 'Guilt Free Gourmet' cook-book. As a Mum of two, Jessica understands the challenges of pregnancy and parenting. For more, visit jessicabourke.com. 
