Biblical Wisdom for Today’s Infertility Crisis

Jul 26

Read time: 8–10 mins

Fertility might feel like a modern crisis, but it’s one that the Bible has addressed for thousands of years. As infertility rates climb across the globe (and fertility rates fall), more couples are searching for answers that go deeper than hormones and high-tech, expensive procedures. Could it be that the ancient wisdom of Scripture still holds the key?

Let’s look at the numbers. Infertility now affects roughly 1 in 6 married women aged 15–49 in the U.S. Male fertility is plummeting just as fast, with sperm counts dropping over 50% worldwide since the 1970s. The US is experiencing a significant decline in fertility rates, with the number of births per 1000 people reaching historic lows. Fertility clinics are booming, yet solutions often come with physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual costs.

God’s design for fertility and reproductive health hasn’t changed. While our modern world has become more complex and often more toxic, Scripture still offers timeless, practical guidance for how to support the body’s ability to conceive and bear life.

Let's begin with one of the clearest blueprints for fertility, which can be found in an often-overlooked book of the Bible: Leviticus….

1. God’s Fertility Blueprint in Leviticus: Why “2 Weeks On, 2 Weeks Off” Works

In the book of Leviticus, God gave instructions to the Israelites that may sound unusual to modern ears, but are deeply wise when viewed through the lens of fertility.

Leviticus 15 outlines that a woman was considered ceremonially unclean during her menstrual cycle and for seven days afterward.

In practical terms, this meant that married couples practiced sexual abstinence for about two weeks each month, then resumed intimacy, which often coincided exactly with the woman’s fertile window (when she was ovulating).

Why did God design it this way? From a biological standpoint, this rhythm:

Respects the body’s natural cleansing process. Menstruation is considered a time of reset, not conception
Promotes semen retention in men. Abstinence (especially for more than five days) can help boost fertility by contributing to greater sperm volume, motility, and concentration, according to studies, all of which are key to conception
Increases sexual desire and emotional connection. The anticipation and mutual respect deepen intimacy
When couples resume intimacy after this 2-week period, it aligns with ovulation, when the woman is most fertile and the man’s sperm is strongest. This is not a coincidence. It’s design.

Action Steps You Can Take:

If you're a woman, track your cycles. Use ovulation calendars or apps to know when your fertile window begins, which is typically 11–14 days after menstruation starts, although it's different for every woman and can vary month to month (such as spanning from day 10 to 21).

Practice intentional abstinence. During the first half of the cycle, focus on emotional, spiritual, and non-sexual intimacy instead. For example, spend time praying together, go for walks without distractions, study Scripture as a couple, or write each other notes of encouragement. These moments build connection without pressure, allowing desire to naturally build while honoring the body’s God-designed rhythms.

Time sex during ovulation. Aim for every other day during the 3–5 day fertile window, which is mid-cycle, for the highest conception odds.

Biblical Principle: Withholding is not punishment; it’s preparation for fruitfulness.

2. Why Fertility Was Stronger in Biblical Times: A Cleaner, Simpler Life

One overlooked reason? The environments of our favorite biblical couples were radically cleaner and more biologically supportive than ours today.

Here's what biblical people didn’t have:

Microplastics in their water and food
Synthetic clothing that disrupts hormones
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (like BPA and phthalates)
EMF radiation from phones, laptops, and towers
Industrial seed oils, processed foods, and added hormones in dairy and meat

Today’s couples are trying to conceive while bathing in potentially toxic chemicals and xenobiotics, which are substances that are foreign to the body and known to negatively affect reproductive health, such as environmental toxins like BPA, phthalates, dioxins, pharmaceutical drugs, pesticides, food additives, and synthetic hormones.

These compounds are not naturally found in the human body and can interfere with normal biological processes, especially hormone function, detoxification, fertility, and immune health.

For example, tight, synthetic underwear traps heat and chemicals around male reproductive organs, harming sperm quality (as one maternal-fetal medicine puts it, "Testes were made to be out in the breeze…if the testes are too hot, they are not able to produce sufficient sperm, resulting in low sperm count.").

Plastics and polyester materials used in clothing, furniture, toys, and even feminine care products and conventionally grown, processed foods are loaded with hormone disruptors (like phthalates, bisphenol, dioxins, and pesticides) that can impair ovulation and testosterone.

Environmental toxins are increasingly linked to reproductive issues, including PCOS, low sperm counts, unexplained infertility, and even earlier menopause.

Action Steps You Can Take:

Ditch synthetic underwear. Instead, choose 100% organic cotton or natural fiber clothing, especially for undergarments and sleepwear.

Use glass or stainless steel for food storage. Avoid plastic food containers or wrap, water bottles, and BPA-lined cans. Swap out household chemicals, found in things like cleaners and candles, and go for natural with home cleaners, detergents, and skincare products instead.

Filter your water, such as by investing in a high-quality home filtration system that removes fluoride, heavy metals, and pesticides.

Biblical principle: Purity leads to promise. Remove the unclean, and life returns.

3. Fertility Starts at the Table: A Biblical Diet for Fruitfulness

The people of the Bible didn’t count macronutrients or obsess over “superfoods”. What they did do was eat in a way that naturally supported their reproductive health and fertility. Their meals were based on:

Pasture-raised meat and dairy from animals that grazed freely
Seasonal vegetables and fruits rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants
Whole grains like spelt, barley, and einkorn—easy to digest and free from modern modifications
Healthy fats from olives, seeds, and wild-caught fish

This nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory diet gave both men and women the building blocks needed for hormone production, egg health, sperm integrity, and healthy pregnancies.

Today, however, many people are nutrient-starved. Soil depletion, high intake of processed foods, and low-fat fads have robbed many couples of the vitamins and minerals needed for conception, especially key nutrients like:

Zinc: crucial for sperm production and egg maturation
Vitamin A: needed for cervical fluid and fetal development
Folate (not folic acid): vital for DNA repair and fetal formation
B12 and iron: needed to prevent early miscarriage
Omega-3s: support hormone balance and reduce inflammation

Americans now get about 60% of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods (while children get even more, about 70%). It's no wonder that about 40% of American adults are obese (and another 30% are overweight), which is a contributing factor to infertility.

Action Steps You Can Take:

Eat like a shepherd. Incorporate grass-fed lamb, raw goat milk, and fermented dairy in your meals. To the extent that's possible, buy organic food, especially those on the "Dirty Dozen" list, which are the fruits and vegetables that are most likely to be sprayed with chemicals.

Make fertility bowls by combining sprouted lentils, olive oil, eggs, and leafy greens. Choose ancient grains, such as einkorn or barley, in place of modern wheat.

Ferment everything. Sauerkraut, yogurt, and sourdough increase absorption of key fertility nutrients.

Avoid added sugar and sweetened drinks. Use raw honey in moderation for sweetness, but ultimately, train yourself to enjoy the natural flavors of local, seasonal foods without needing them to contain additives and enhancers.

Biblical principle: Life begets life. What you plant in the body grows in the womb.

4. The Role of Sunlight in Hormone Health and Conception

We often forget this, but in biblical times, people spent the majority of their days outdoors.

Shepherds, farmers, mothers, and children all typically rose with the sun and went to bed shortly after sunset. Scholars estimate that ancient people spent up to 80% of their daylight hours outside.

Modern people? We average 93% of our time indoors, often under artificial light that disrupts our body’s hormone rhythms. More specifically, Americans spend about 87% of their time indoors working or doing things at home, and another 6% in their automobiles (you can see why indoor air quality is so important).

Sunlight is not just good for mood; it’s essential for hormonal balance and fertility. Sunlight’s fertility benefits include:

Boosting vitamin D levels, which supports ovarian function, sperm motility, and uterine lining health
Regulating circadian rhythms (our "internal clocks"), and in the process, helping to improve hormone timing and sleep quality
Supporting endocrine glands, including the hypothalamus and pituitary, which control reproductive hormone release
Reducing melatonin production during the day, which allows for healthy nighttime cycles of estrogen, testosterone, and luteinizing hormone

Here's an example of the connection between sunlight exposure and hormonal health: one study found that women with higher vitamin D levels were significantly more likely to conceive naturally. Another study found that exposure to natural morning light increases testosterone production in men.

Action Steps You Can Take:

Sunbathe like David. Expose your bare arms, chest, and legs (without sunscreen) for about 15–30 minutes most days of the week, especially with direct morning sunlight each day.

Ditch the sunglasses. Let full-spectrum light hit your eyes (safely), ideally in the morning if possible, to program your circadian rhythm and trigger hormone regulation.

Take lunch breaks outside. Even 20 minutes of midday light or walking around outside can shift hormonal patterns.

Try red light therapy at night if you're unable to get daytime sun. You can also use specialized light lamps indoors during the darker winter months for sleep and mood benefits.

Biblical principle: God created light before He created life. Fertility follows illumination.

Final Thoughts: Return to the Garden

When Adam and Eve were first given their command to “be fruitful and multiply,” they lived in a perfect ecosystem, one with clean air, pure food, sun on their skin, and an intimate relationship with their Creator. Though we live in a fallen world, the invitation to fruitfulness remains.

By embracing biblical principles, such as rhythmic intimacy, natural living, ancestral eating, and sunlight as medicine, we can open the door for restoration. Fertility is not a curse or a mystery. It is a gift. One worth tending, praying over, and stewarding well.

Want to learn more? The Biblio Diet is filled with wisdom like this, including ancient truths paired with cutting-edge science to help you heal, conceive, and live abundantly.

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/infertility.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr202.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/search/research-news/17742/

https://www.bible-studys.org/content/Books/3%20Old%20Testament/3%20Leviticus/39%20Leviticus%20Chapter%2015.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5845044/

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/23439-ovulation

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2025.1472333/full

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/reproductive-health/articles/10.3389/frph.2025.1510484/full

https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/

https://www.health.com/heavy-metals-earlier-menopause-8550381

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/6/5682

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11672798/

https://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/features/boxers-vs-briefs-increasing-sperm-count

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2290997/

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-much-sunshine-you-need-daily

https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2025/07/ultra-processed-food--five-things-to-know.html

https://www.wsj.com/health/fertility-chemicals-science-bc0964a1

Jordan Rubin