Posts Tagged ‘Ovulation’
Friday, September 17th, 2010
September has officially been named PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) awareness month, and as we’ve mentioned here before, PCOS can be a huge factor for women trying to conceive.
In a nutshell, PCOS negatively affects ovulation, causing it to occur very infrequently or not at all. Consequently, women who have PCOS may experience infertility… even if they’ve already had prior children without resorting to fertility treatments. (This type of PCOS-driven secondary fertility isn’t uncommon, though it often surprises couples.)
Fortunately, PCOScan be detected and there are numerous medications available to help women “jump start” their ovulation. Though they certainly don’t work for everyone, they are worth trying if the opportunity to conceive a child without other fertility treatments is desired.
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Tags: Awareness Month, Couples, Driven, Fertility Awareness, Fertility Treatments, Infertility, Miracles, Nutshell, Ovulation, Pcos, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Surprises, Syndrome Awareness
Posted in Pcos | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
The term “hostile cervical mucus” may not be one you hear every day, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be a factor if you’ve been unable to naturally conceive a child.
All women have cervical mucus. What makes some cervical mucus “hostile” is its thickness. Typically, cervical mucus helps sperm pass through the cervix at various times during a woman’s ovulation. However, hostile cervical mucus prevents the sperm from travelling to the ovum. Thus, the chances of pregnancy reduce greatly.
Hostile cervical mucus can be caused by a number of factors, including:
- Poor nutrition
Over-the-counter and prescription medications
Use of Clomid
Abnormal sperm
Not enough estrogen
Fortunately, there are ways for physicians to help women counteract hostile cervical mucus, rendering the condition less problematic.
How do you know if hostile cervical mucus could be to blame for your infertility problems? Only a fertility specialist can tell for certain, so it’s important to make a call today.
Tags: Abnormal Sperm, Cervix, Chances Of Pregnancy, Clomid, Estrogen, fertility specialist, Hostile Cervical Mucus, Infertility, Infertility Problems, Ovulation, ovum, Physicians, Poor Nutrition, Prescription Medications
Posted in Hostile Cervical Mucus | No Comments »
Friday, February 12th, 2010
Do you know your BMI (body mass index)? If not, it might be a good idea to find out if you’re trying to have a baby.BMI is a method of determining whether you’re at a weight that is healthy for your frame (judging by height). Though it can be somewhat skewed if you are very short or excessively tall, it’s typically a decent indicator for people of average height, which is the majority of the population.
In terms of fertility, your BMI should fall in the normal weight category, which is 18.5-24.9, to give you the best chances of success. So the closer you can get to that range, the better off you’ll be. (For a quick BMI calculator, check here.)
So how does BMI affect fertility? In a nutshell, if you’re underweight, your body may not be producing enough hormones to create an internal environment that’s conducive to regular ovulation and menses.
On the other end of the scale, if your BMI shows you to be overweight or obese, additional health problems (like early onset of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc.) can make conception difficult.
Though having a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 won’t assure that you’ll be able to conceive naturally or with fertility treatments, you’ll be at a much better starting point weight-wise.
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Tags: Bmi Body Mass Index, Bmi Calculator, Bmi Index, Body Mass Index, Cholesterol, Diabetes, Fertility Treatments, Health Problems, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Hormones, Internal Environment, Menses, Ovulation, Trying To Have A Baby, Weight Category
Posted in Health and Nutrition | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
It’s been all around the Intrawebs and media sites have gobbled up the headline: Women Gets Pregnant Using iPhone!
To be sure, it’s a great “hook”. But when you actually read the report, you’ll discover that what she did was download an app that helped her chart her ovulation. It’s actually not anything new — women have been using this method of natural fertility awareness for centuries. However, it may give false hope to some individuals.
To be sure, there is nothing wrong with measuring your temperature or charting your menstrual periods to determine your most “fertile” points of the month. But there may be hidden factors to infertility that cannot be addressed or uncovered when using this method:
- The fertility issue may not be on the woman’s part. Up to 40% of couples experiencing infertility discover that the male – not the female — is the one with the fertility concerns.
- The woman may not be ovulating or ovulating regularly despite the occurrence of menses. This means that although she is having a period, she’s not really fertile or may be only fertile a small percentage of the time.
- The woman may have other medical problems of which she’s unaware. Without a complete examination including tests, the source of the couple’s fertility problems may not be apparent if they only use a natural form of charting fertility.
Our recommendation? If, after using a non-medical method to chart fertility (like the i-Phone app) you are unable to get pregnant within 6 months, it’s time to see a reproductive science specialist. That way, you’ll be wasting no time.
By the same token, we congratulate the couple for achieving their goal!
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Tags: cell phone, Centuries, Complete Examination, False Hope, Fertility Issue, Fertility Problems, Hidden Factors, Hook, Infertility, Iphone, Medical Method, Medical Problems, Menstrual Periods, Miracles, Natural Fertility Awareness, Occurrence, Ovulation, Pregnant, Reproductive Science, Science Specialist, Token
Posted in In the News | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Home fertility tests. What could be simpler? Like over-the-counter pregnancy tests, they can give you all the information you need to know how to maximize your fertility, right? Unfortunately, the reality isn’t so cut and dry for most couples. And those who rely solely on home fertility tests to help them navigate their issues with infertility may simply be wasting their dollars.
As physicians who specialize in reproductive health will tell you, infertility isn’t a one-size-fits-all concern. What helps one woman conceive might do nothing for another. And therein lies the problem with at-home fertility kits.
Because these fertility kits measure only one area involved in fertility — ovulation — they cannot provide the necessary personalization you deserve. After all, they’ve been designed with an “average” consumer who simply needs to understand when she’s ovulating in order to conceive in mind… and that might not describe your case.
This isn’t to say that you can’t try a home fertility test; in fact, you can do whatever you desire. But know that if you haven’t been able to naturally conceive within 6-12 months after ceasing all birth control, it’s a good idea to shift gears and head to a fertility specialist for a one-on-one examination.
(There’s a good article on the About.com site regarding at-home fertility tests, in case you’d like to further educate yourself. Otherwise, consider these kits as potential tools but don’t waste time and money on them if you haven’t been able to get pregnant. It’s much better — and financially prudent – to head to a physician instead.)
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Tags: 12 Months, Birth Control, Couples, Fall Newsletter, fertility specialist, Fertility Tests, Gears, home fertility kit, Home Fertility Test, Infertility, Miracles, Ovulation, Peace Of Mind, Personalization, Physicians, Potential Tools, Pregnancy Tests, Reproductive Health, Time And Money, Waste Time
Posted in female infertility | No Comments »
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
Scientists believe that smoking may impair fertility by as much as 30%.
According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, nicotine and other toxic chemicals in cigarettes impede fertility by interfering with the body’s ability to make estrogen, a hormone integral to regular ovulation, and can make women’s eggs more vulnerable to genetic abnormalities.
Fertility.com lists some of the ways smoking can undermine female fertility:
- Restricted blood flow to the genitals, contributing to vaginal dryness and other sexual problems.
- Decreased egg counts due to destruction of eggs in the ovaries before the eggs reach maturity.
- Alterations in the release of hormones.
- Decreased fallopian tube motility and tubal disease.
- Decreased ability of an embryo to implant.
Women who want to be as healthy as possible while trying to conceive should stop smoking immediately. Support Groups, Hypnotherapy, Acupuncture, Nicotine Patches and Chewing Gum are all popular methods for kicking the smoking habit.
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Tags: American Society For Reproductive Medicine, Blood Flow, Chemicals In Cigarettes, Chewing Gum, Estrogen, Fall Newsletter, Fallopian Tube, Female Fertility, female infertility, Genetic Abnormalities, Genitals, Motility, Nicotine, Nicotine Gum, Nicotine Patches, Ovaries, Ovulation, Sexual Problems, Smoking Habit, Toxic Chemicals In Cigarettes, Vaginal Dryness
Posted in female infertility | 1 Comment »
