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Posts Tagged ‘sexual intercourse’

Is Irregular Ovulation the Culprit behind Your Infertility?

Monday, September 12th, 2011

Many times, women who have trouble conceiving immediately assume the worst; but often, something as simple as getting them ovulating regularly can solve their fertility issues.

Ovulation occurs when the ovum is released from one of the ovaries. Typically, this happens mid-cycle; however, there are some women for whom it happens infrequently or at a different time of the month. Thus, they try to have a child, but at the inappropriate moment.

Making it even tougher to diagnose this as the heart of your fertility issues, the signs of ovulation may or may not be present. Commonly, those include any or all of the following symptoms:

  • Change in vaginal fluids making them take on an “egg white”, stringy appearance. (This should not be confused with a yeast infection or STD, which can cause thick, foul-smelling discharge.)
  • Change in basal body temperature. This is the temperature of your body, typically taken by women in the morning before they get out of bed. Those females who use the “rhythm method” of birth control often keep a chart of their basal body temperatures so they recognize when they need to abstain from sexual intercourse.
  • Light spotting or cramping. As a woman’s hormones shift, she may experience bleeding or muscle contractions. Bloating and breast tenderness can also accompany ovulation.

So what happens if you can’t be certain you’re ovulating? First, it’s a good idea to go to a fertility specialist or your gynecologist. He or she will help you figure out if you’re ovulating regularly.

Next, if you discover that you are not ovulating, a fertility specialist can prescribe medications to help your body “reset” itself. Drugs such as Clomid are used for this purpose and have had excellent results for females with fertility issues across the world.

Finally, if testing uncovers that you do not ovulate at all and you are unresponsive to medications like Clomid, other fertility options will be presented for your consideration.

If you’d like to discuss this topic further and you live in or within driving distance of Wyomissing or Chesterbrook, we invite you to make an appointment with the Reproductive Science Institute (RSI).

 

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What to Do When Infertility Is Hurting Your Sex Life

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

For many couples, dealing with infertility can put so much of an emotional strain on their partnership that sex becomes difficult. Not only does this make getting pregnant naturally even more of a challenge, but it begins to erode some of the bond that they have every right to share.

Some of the more common feelings men and women sometimes have toward their sex lives during infertility include:

Fear – One or both may wonder “what happens if this doesn’t produce a baby… again?”

Anger – It’s not unusual for partners to be angry; after all, they didn’t “choose” infertility.

Frustration – This can lead to problems in the bedroom, especially with performance.

Depression – This culprit can make “getting in the mood” – or staying in a lovemaking mood – thorny.

Sadness – It’s tough to have sexual intercourse when you’re upset.

The good news, though, is that many couples going through sex worries during infertility get through this phase. Some of the best ways to overcome the negative emotions associated with conception woes can be:

  1. Talking about your feelings openly. It’s easier to deal with facts when they are out in the open.
  2. Making sex special and not just robotic. There’s no reason intercourse shouldn’t be romantic, even if it’s “scheduled” to take advantage of fertile times.
  3. Touching one another intimately even when you don’t plan on having sex soon. This can operate as mental foreplay so when you are in the bedroom, you feel more into the moment.

Remember that, above all else, infertility is no one’s “fault”. Talk to your infertility specialist, like the experts at the Reproductive Science Institute (RSI) outside of Philadelphia, for more ideas on how to keep your partnership strong during fertility treatments and fertility-related issues.

 

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Could You Have an STD?

Monday, August 29th, 2011

Sexually transmitted diseases may not be discussed much among adults, but they’ve slowly crept into medical charts of the over 25-year-old population. Though gonorrhea diagnoses have lowered over the past several years, cases of chlamydia are on the rise. And that’s a cause for alarm among women and men who want to have children.

STDs like chlamydia have been known to cause infertility in both males and females. Whether complete or partial infertility, they are “hidden” causes. That’s because, surprisingly, many STDs have no (or very few) warning signs or symptoms.

So what can you do to protect yourself? There are several options:

  1. Don’t have sex with any partners who have not been screened for STDs.
  2. Always wear protection during any sexual intercourse and either abstain from oral sex or use protection during those acts as well.
  3. If you have had unprotected sex, get tested.

While it’s understandable that you may feel embarrassed to talk about STDs with your primary physician or fertility specialist, it’s necessary to remove the possibility that your infertility may be exacerbated by an undiagnosed condition such as chlamydia.

And be assured that reputable fertility clinics, like the Reproductive Science Institute (RSI) on the outskirts of Philadelphia, are staffed with trained professionals who pass no judgment and only want to help you achieve your health goals.

 

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Focus on Male Infertility – Lifestyle Changes for Higher Success Rates

Friday, July 29th, 2011

If you’re a man who has been told (or who believes) he has male infertility, it may be wise to make some lifestyle changes. Though such changes may not alter the infertility enough to enable you to conceive without reproductive technology assistance, they have been shown to make your body produce better quality sperm to be used during such procedures as in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Working with your fertility specialist, you may be asked to make some or all of the following daily habit modifications. Be open to them; they are meant to combat the effects of male infertility, not to make your day-to-day experiences difficult!

1. Smoking cessation – Smoking has been known to reduce the quality of sperm, so if you’ve been looking for a reason to quit, now is the perfect time.

2. Reduction or elimination of alcohol consumption – Alcohol may contribute to male infertility, so opt for another drink while you’re working with a fertility specialist.

3. Elimination of drugs – Obviously, illegal drugs are not to be taken under any circumstances, but some over-the-counter medications may also be counterproductive to dealing with fertility issues. Make sure you let your fertility specialist know everything you’re taking so he or she can make recommendations.

4. Reduction of intercourse or ejaculation – Though it might seem counterintuitive, it’s not necessarily a good idea to ejaculate every day. Depending upon what your physician suggests, you may be asked to have sexual intercourse on a very strict schedule, thus increasing the chances that your sperm will be more viable.

5. Reduction of stressors – This can be easier said than done, of course. But it’s important for men and women struggling with infertility to reduce the stressors in their lives as much as they realistically can.

6. Modification of exercise habits – It’s been shown that excessive exercising can be harmful to sperm quality, and some exercises, such as cycling, have been linked to male infertility (due to pressures on the testes.)

7. Reduction of weight – Though weight plays more of a role in female infertility than it does in male infertility, it’s still a good idea to lose extra pounds, especially if your BMI has reached a rating that would qualify you as extremely overweight or obese.

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Keeping Sex Enjoyable during Fertility Treatments

Friday, January 7th, 2011

One of the common complaints of couples undergoing fertility treatments is that the sexual intercourse becomes dulled and perfunctory.  But it doesn’t have to begin to feel like a chore or become too routine.

 

Here are several ways to keep your sex life enjoyable during fertility treatments:

 

-          Be creative in the bedroom. 

-          Be as spontaneous as possible.  Even if you have to make love at a certain time or day, try to keep the spark alive.

-          Don’t stop doing romantic activities together.

-          Talk to one another if you feel like the sex is becoming lackluster.  Communication is a key to a happier sex life.

-          Don’t argue about sex; it will make it difficult to have a good experience.

-          Don’t have sex when you’re exhausted; it will feel like a responsibility.

-          Try not to use the terms “we HAVE to have sex today”.

 

In the end, if you begin to focus more on the fertility treatments and less on honing your relationship, it may be time to discuss the situation with your fertility specialist.

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Is It Time to See a Fertility Specialist?

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

running-childHow long is too long? 

It’s a question that’s on many couples’ minds when discussing the issue of conception.  If a woman hasn’t become pregnant in three months, is that a sign there’s a fertility issue?  Or should she wait six months?  A year?  Two?

Generally speaking, most fertility specialists recommend that if a couple hasn’t conceived naturally after trying for a year, there may be an underlying fertility issue.  (Again, the word is “may” — some couples take longer to conceive than others, especially if they aren’t having regular sexual intercourse.)

Of course, in the case of couples dealing with secondary infertility, they might be inclined to see a fertility specialist sooner rather than later.  (For instance, this could make sense for a couple who conceived their first child within two months but have been unsuccessful at conceiving a second child after nine months of regular sex.) 

While it’s not recommended that couples overly stress about being unable to quickly conceive naturally, it may be a good idea to talk to a fertility specialist if a good deal of time has passed and no pregnancy has resulted.  After all, a check-up could only help.

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