Pre-IVF Library
Every article, in one place
Evidence-based reading for couples preparing for their next IVF cycle: his part, her part, and the 3 months that shape both. 52 articles by Dr. Lejla Fazlicic, D.Ac, L.Ac, with every key claim cited to research.
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The latest articles, added here automatically when they publish.
New · Sperm DNASCSA, TUNEL, SCD or Comet: What Your Sperm DNA Test Report MeansSCSA, TUNEL, SCD (Halosperm) and Comet measure sperm DNA breaks in different ways, so their numbers aren't interchangeable. What each line on the report means and what to ask.New · TogetherWhat to Avoid Before IVF: A 3-Month Plan for Both of YouWhat to avoid before IVF and what you can keep: smoking, alcohol, heat, food, sleep and stress. A 3-month plan for both of you, without extreme rules.New · Sperm DNAWhat Causes Sperm DNA Fragmentation?Sperm DNA fragmentation usually has more than one cause. What research links to higher DFI, what wasn't clearly linked, and which parts are for his urologist.
Preparing together 11
The everyday choices you share: what to change, what to keep, and what to ask your clinic.
TogetherWhat to Avoid Before IVF: A 3-Month Plan for Both of YouWhat to avoid before IVF and what you can keep: smoking, alcohol, heat, food, sleep and stress. A 3-month plan for both of you, without extreme rules.TogetherHow Do You Prepare for IVF as a Couple Without Putting Life on Hold?What matters for both of you before IVF, from coffee and alcohol to his 74-day sperm window.TogetherHow Should You Actually Prepare for IVF? Why “Perfect” Is Not the GoalA short list worth changing, and why restriction beyond it can work against you.TogetherWhat Should You Ask Your Clinic Before Your Next IVF Cycle?A printable list of questions for your clinic before the next cycle, for both of you.TogetherWhat Do You Actually Have to Give Up Before IVF? Less Than You Have Been ToldThe honest sorting of pre-IVF restrictions: what has evidence behind it, and what you can keep.TogetherSushi, Hair Dye, Saunas: Which Pregnancy Rules Apply While You Prepare for IVF?Most pregnancy rules weren’t written for the months before IVF. Which apply now, and what to ask your clinic.TogetherSleep Before IVF: What the Evidence Actually Shows — For Both of YouWhat the research says about sleep, snoring and sleep apnea for both of you.TogetherHow Much Coffee Can I Actually Drink Before IVF?A large meta-analysis found no link between caffeine and IVF results. How much coffee is fine.TogetherIs Vaping Safer Than Smoking Before IVF? An Honest Look at the EvidenceWhat the few real studies show about vaping, and a quit timeline that fits the months before IVF.TogetherAlcohol Before IVF: How Long Should You Stop, and Does He Have To?A reasonable alcohol plan for both partners, and what is evidence versus caution.TogetherWhat Nobody Can Tell You Yet About Preparing for IVFWhat lifestyle trials before IVF found, what is still untested, and the honest case for preparing.
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His part: sperm and daily habits 13
Sperm take about 74 days to develop. Heat, food, training and the things he can keep.
For himHow to Prepare for IVF as a Man: What He Can Do in the 74 Days BeforeSperm take about 74 days to develop. The habits most linked to sperm health before IVF, when to ask about a urologist check, and why supplements are his doctor's call.For himWhat Does He Actually Have to Give Up Before IVF? The Honest ListHis graded give-up list, with a source for every row, including what he can keep.For himWhich Heat Exposures Matter Most for Sperm? The Evidence, RankedHot tubs, saunas, cycling and laptops, ranked by how much each actually raises testicular temperature.For himGym, Protein Powder and Testosterone Before IVF: What to Stop and What to KeepTestosterone and shelf supplements versus the gym, creatine and whey: what to stop and what to keep.For himBoxers, Cycling, and Cooling Gadgets: What You Can Stop Worrying AboutSeven heat claims checked against the studies, from boxers versus briefs to cycling.For himSaunas, Hot Tubs, and Fever: What Short Bursts of Heat Do to SpermWhat repeated heat did to semen measures in small studies, and how the changes reversed.For himLaptops, Long Drives, and Desk Chairs: How Much Do Everyday Heat Sources Really Matter?What studies measured for laptops, driving and long sitting, and the easy changes.For himDoes Heat Affect Sperm? What the Evidence Actually ShowsWhat raised scrotal temperature does to semen measures, and why the changes are temporary.For himAntioxidants for Male Fertility: What the Expert Recommendations Actually Say (and Don’t)Why a large trial found no gain from antioxidant supplements, and what the food-first evidence shows.For himExercise and Sperm Quality: The 74-Day Training Window Before IVFModerate training, heat and cycling: what exercise means for sperm before IVF.For himPhone Heat and Failed IVF: Is There a Connection?What research shows about phone heat and sperm, and why the habit is easy to change.For himThe Male Fertility Diet: What He Eats in the 74 Days Before His Sperm Are ReadyWhat a sperm-friendly way of eating looks like over the 74 days sperm take to develop.For himHis 50%: How Male Factors Drive Embryo Quality, Implantation, and MiscarriageWhy the sperm’s role doesn’t end at fertilization, and what that means for preparing.
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Sperm DNA fragmentation 9
What DFI is, when guidelines consider testing, what it costs, and the daily-habits part.
Sperm DNASCSA, TUNEL, SCD or Comet: What Your Sperm DNA Test Report MeansSCSA, TUNEL, SCD (Halosperm) and Comet measure sperm DNA breaks in different ways, so their numbers aren't interchangeable. What each line on the report means and what to ask.Sperm DNAWhat Causes Sperm DNA Fragmentation?Sperm DNA fragmentation usually has more than one cause. What research links to higher DFI, what wasn't clearly linked, and which parts are for his urologist.Sperm DNAWhat Is a Normal DFI? Sperm DNA Fragmentation Ranges, and What to Ask Your ClinicThere isn't one normal DFI number that applies to every lab. Many fertility centers treat a result under about 20% as reassuring…Sperm DNAOxidative Stress and Sperm DNA Fragmentation ExplainedHow heat, smoking, weight and infection connect to oxidative stress and sperm DNA damage.Sperm DNAThe 2025 Sperm DNA Fragmentation Guidelines, Translated for CouplesWhat the 2025 expert consensus and NICE 2026 say about DFI testing, and what to ask your clinic.Sperm DNASperm DNA Fragmentation Testing: Cost, How to Get It, and What Your DFI Number MeansUS DFI test prices from our October 2026 survey of 14 providers, and what a result means.Sperm DNAWhen IVF Keeps Failing: Why It’s Time to Look Beyond the “Female Factor” and Consider His Sperm DNAWhat sperm DNA fragmentation is, when guidelines consider testing, and the daily-habits part.Sperm DNADaily Habits Linked to Sperm DNA Health in the 74 Days Before IVFThere’s no approved medicine for high DFI. The daily habits linked to sperm DNA health over 74 days.Sperm DNANormal Semen Analysis, Failed Cycle: The One Test Nobody OrderedWhy a normal semen analysis doesn’t check sperm DNA, and when to ask about a DFI test.
His part is daily. Try Pocket Coach for him free for 7 days →
Her part: eggs, food and movement 7
The final growth of the egg for your next cycle takes about 3 months. What daily life can support.
For herBMI and IVF: What Weight Loss Has and Has Not Been Shown to ChangeWhat BMI and weight-loss trials show before IVF, and how age shapes the choice to wait.For herHow Much Exercise Is Too Much Before IVF? Cortisol, Energy Availability, and the Intensity QuestionWhere research draws the line on training load before IVF.For herExercise in the 90 Days Before IVF: What Movement Actually Triggers in Your BiologyWhat regular movement changes before IVF, from sleep to blood sugar, for both partners.For herThe Mediterranean Diet and Fertility: What the Research Actually ShowsWhat IVF, conception and sperm studies on the Mediterranean diet found, and what they can’t prove.For herWhat to Eat in the 90 Days Before Your Next IVF Cycle: A Mediterranean-Style Guide for Both PartnersA Mediterranean-style guide to eating in the 90 days before your cycle, for both of you.For herIt’s Not Just Your Age: How the Inputs You Control Each Day Build Egg QualityWhat age sets, what it doesn’t, and the daily inputs in the final 90 days.For herEgg Quality in the 90 Days Before IVF: What Everyday Habits Can SupportThe everyday habits linked to egg health in the 90 days before IVF, and what to skip.
Her part is daily too. Try Pocket Coach for her free for 7 days →
PCOS before IVF 3
The everyday habits with the most research behind them, and what belongs with your clinician.
PCOSSleep, Daily Rhythm and Blood Sugar Before IVF With PCOSSleep, daily rhythm and Mediterranean-style eating with PCOS: what they can and can’t do.PCOSPCOS Before IVF: Different Patterns, the Same Everyday HabitsWhat the PCOS types mean, why your clinician sorts that out, and habits that support you.PCOSPCOS After a Failed IVF Cycle: Everyday Habits Before You Try AgainMany eggs and no pregnancy with PCOS: questions for your clinic and habits for the next cycle.
Her part is daily too. Try Pocket Coach for her free for 7 days →
Stress and each other 5
Stress before IVF shows up as sleepless nights and tension at home. What helps, without blame.
StressCan Researching IVF Make Things Worse?Researching IVF doesn’t harm your cycle, but endless searching costs sleep. How to search and stop.StressCan Stress Cause IVF to Fail? What the Biology Actually ShowsYour worry didn’t fail your cycle. What research shows, and the part of stress you can train.StressStress and IVF: What the Evidence Clears You Of — and What Is Actually TrainableWhich parts of the stress response you can train before IVF, and what to let go of.StressStress Before IVF: What Actually Lowers the LoadWhat helps with the sleepless nights and tension before IVF: sleep, alcohol, connection.StressHow Stress Affects Fertility: One Alarm, Many InputsHow the body’s stress response works, and why stress didn’t cause a failed cycle.
After a failed cycle 4
What “unexplained” means, what to ask before the next cycle, and how to start again.
Failed cycleWhy Do Embryos Arrest Between Day 3 and Day 5?Why many embryos stop between Day 3 and Day 5, and what arrest does and doesn’t mean.Failed cycleAfter a Failed IVF Cycle: What to Do in the 90 Days Before You Try AgainA 90-day, two-partner plan after a failed cycle: grieve, debrief, ask, and rebuild.Failed cycleWhy Did My IVF Fail If Everything Looked Normal?When every test looked normal: what standard testing doesn’t measure, and questions for next time.Failed cycleWas the Failed Cycle My Fault? What “Unexplained” IVF Failure Actually MeansA failed unexplained cycle isn’t a verdict on you. What “unexplained” actually means.
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Articles are educational and support the lifestyle side of preparing for IVF. Testing, medicines and treatment decisions belong with your clinic.