No single food will make you pregnant, whatever the WhatsApp messages say. But what you eat does affect your hormones, your weight, the quality of eggs and sperm, and how well your body copes with treatment. It is also one of the few things in this journey that is fully in your hands. The good news is that a fertility-friendly diet is mostly food you already know.
The nutrients that matter most
Folic acid
Protects the baby's brain and spine in the first weeks, often before you know you are pregnant. Found in kontomire and other green leaves, beans, oranges and avocado (pear). Every woman trying to conceive should also take a daily folic acid tablet, starting before you begin trying.
Iron
Anaemia is common among Ghanaian women and can affect ovulation and pregnancy. Good sources are kontomire, beans, liver, lean meat, eggs and fish such as sardines. Eat them with something rich in vitamin C, such as orange, pawpaw or fresh pepper, to help your body absorb the iron.
Omega-3 fats
Support hormones and the quality of eggs and sperm. Oily fish such as mackerel, sardines and herrings, whether fresh, smoked or tinned, are excellent sources. Aim for two portions a week.
Antioxidants
Help protect eggs and sperm from damage. Found in colourful fruit and vegetables: tomatoes, garden eggs, carrots, pawpaw, mango, watermelon and pepper.
Zinc and selenium
Especially important for sperm. Found in seafood, beef, eggs, groundnuts, beans and pumpkin seeds.
A fertility-friendly Ghanaian plate
Think of your plate in three parts:
- Half: vegetables and leaves, such as kontomire stew, garden egg stew, okro soup with plenty of okro, or fresh salad
- A quarter: protein, such as fish, eggs, chicken, beans (red red) or lean meat
- A quarter: starch, in sensible portions, such as brown rice, oats, boiled yam, plantain, or a moderate ball of banku or fufu
Our staples are not the problem. Portion size is. A large ball of fufu or a heaped plate of jollof every day adds up. Weight matters for fertility in both directions: being well over or well under a healthy weight can affect ovulation and sperm. If you have been told you have PCOS, managing weight and sugar matters even more.
Cut down on
- Sugary drinks: minerals, sweetened malt drinks, sobolo with a lot of sugar, and packaged juices
- Fried snacks and pastries, especially those fried in oil that has been used many times
- Salt, including stock cubes and salted fish such as koobi and momoni, which are best used for flavour rather than as a portion
- Alcohol, for both partners. That includes beer, akpeteshie, palm wine and herbal bitters
- Caffeine above about 200mg a day, roughly two cups of coffee. Energy drinks count too
For men
Sperm takes about three months to develop, so changes a man makes today show up in a semen test about three months later. Keep a healthy weight, stop smoking, cut down on alcohol, avoid long hot baths, and eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, fish, beans and nuts.
Be careful with the 'manpower' mixtures and bitters sold in markets and on buses. Many contain alcohol, their contents are not always known, and they are no substitute for a proper test.
Supplements worth asking about
- Folic acid, for every woman trying to conceive
- A pregnancy multivitamin with iron, if your doctor advises it
- Vitamin D, if a test shows you are low
- Omega-3, if you rarely eat oily fish
- For men, an antioxidant supplement, which may be suggested after a semen analysis
Ask your doctor before starting anything else, including herbal remedies. More is not better, and some products interfere with fertility medication.
Make it stick
Change one thing at a time, and do it together. If only the wife changes her diet, the husband's sperm does not improve. Swap minerals for water, add one more portion of vegetables a day, and walk together in the evenings. Small changes kept up for three months do more than a big plan dropped after two weeks.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Your own situation needs a proper assessment by a qualified doctor, which we arrange at our partner hospitals in Accra.
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