Want A Boy? ICSI Might Not Be For You!

If you're hoping to conceive a boy, then the infertility treatment known as ICSI (intro cytoplastic sperm injection) may not be for you.

That's the conclusion of one group of researchers who found that the number of boys born via this procedure was proportionally lower than when conceived by Mother Nature.

The study, conducted by Barbara Lake of Michigan State University was just published in the journal Fertility and Sterility. Here she documents that just under 50% of the babies born via ICSI were boys. In nature, there are approximately 105 boys born for every 100 girls.

During the ICSI procedure doctors extract sperm from the father and inject it directly into the eggs of the mother, which are then placed in an incubator with hopes that fertilization occurs. The procedure is used primarily to treat male fertility problems such as low sperm count or slow moving sperm.

Once the eggs are fertilized, the resulting embryos are placed into the mother's uterus, where, if all goes well, they attach and begin growing.

Fewer Boys - Not Such a Mystery
Although it may seem like a bit of a mystery as to why this procedure results in fewer boys, according to at least one fertility expert, it's an easy mystery to solve.
"There are two types of sperm - one that carries the male gene and one that carries the female gene; generally speaking, the sperm that carries the female gene is heartier and lives longer, " says Dr. Niels Lauersen, director of GettingPregnantNow.org

Prior to performing the ICSI procedure, the embryologist looks into the microscope to choose the healthiest and heartiest looking sperm for the injection into the egg.

" Not surprisingly," says Lauersen, " in this study more than 50% of the time, the healthiest and heartiest sperm were apparently the female sperm -which is what accounts for the higher number of girls being born."

Because only a small number of babies are born each year by the ICSI procedure, there is not likely to cause any major shift in the male-female ratio of the general population. Still, Lake cautions that ICSI should only be used when deemed medically necessary.

For more information on the ICSI procedure visit GettingPregnantNow.org. Or read about ICSI along with many other fertility treatments for men and women in Getting Pregnant: What Couples Need To Know Now.

Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved.
In addition to US Copyright, the text of this FERTILITY BLOG is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. All Formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.

Can A Bowl Of Oatmeal Help You Get Pregnant?

By GettingPregnantNow.org

If at least one group of researches are right, starting your day with a hearty bowl of oatmeal might be the quickest route to getting pregnant!

That's the suggestion of a new study conducted at the Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was here that doctors found that when cholesterol levels were high, it often resulted in eggs that were "dysfunctional" - either they could not be fertilized, or were incapable of leading to a successful pregnancy.

But what was even more intriguing was the researchers also found that when cholesterol levels were lowered, healthy egg production and fertility was fully restored!

According to lead researcher Helena E. Miettinen, " Thus, it seems likely that abnormal lipoprotein metabolism is responsible for the reversible infertility of [ the test subjects]. "

In short, not only does this open the door to the possibility that foods which help lower cholesterol - like oatmeal - might help you get pregnant, it also suggests that in some women, cholesterol lowering medication could actually act somewhat like a fertility drug.

At the same time, you don't want to drop your cholesterol levels too low. According to the study "Adverse Birth Outcomes Among Mothers With Low Serum Cholesterol, " published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, women whose cholesterol was deemed "low" had a 21% increased risk of having a premature birth, compared to just 5% of the mother's whose cholesterol was considered to be "moderate".

Moreover, the researchers found that women with low serum cholesterol levels were also more likely to give birth to infants with smaller heads who weighed 150 grams less than the babies born to women with normal cholesterol.

Doctors say that low serum cholesterol levels is often a reflection of a poor diet - which may in fact, be the real reason behind the findings.

Still, until we know for certain, if you are having problems getting pregnant, be certain that your doctor checks your cholesterol level - before you spend a fortune on expensive fertility tests.
If your cholesterol is high, begin immediately following a fertility diet designed to lower cholesterol and be sure to discuss whether cholesterol lowering medications might be right for you.

Once cholesterol is under control, you should have an easier time getting pregnant!

For more information on foods that can help increase fertility visit FertilityDietGuide.com.
And for non-stop 24-7 fertility and pregnancy advice visit GettingPregnantNow.org - your source for doctor-approved advice for getting pregnant fast!

Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved.
In addition to US Copyright, the text of this FERTILITY BLOG is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. All Formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.

Getting Pregnant: New Hope For Women Over 40!

By Colette Bouchez

If you're over 40 and hoping to get pregnant, new hope has arrived! According to New York City fertility expert Dr. John Zhang, a 49 year old patient recently gave birth to a bouncing baby girl –via an IVF procedure that used her own eggs - and not donor eggs!

The birth sets a new record and expands the scientific boundaries of assisted reproductive technology by a considerable margin. Prior to this, the old oldest woman to get pregnant using her own eggs was aged 45.

“For any loving couple, it's one of the greatest gift ….both the doctor and the patient should not give up easily just because of a woman's age,” Zhang recently told The New York Post, who first reported the story.

Now, if you're thinking this new birth might be an exceptional case, and not likely to be repeated, well, guess again! A second patient at Zhang's New Hope Fertility Clinic - also age 48 – is now pregnant with her own eggs as well. They were retrieved and frozen when she was 47.

How The Pregnancy Occurred

Treatment of the 49 year old patient – who right now wishes to remain anonymous – took about two years, with procedures taking place almost every month. Zhang says egg production was not regular, and many of the eggs that were produced were either not viable – meaning they could not be fertilized – or once fertilized were too unhealthy to survive in the womb.

But with doctor and patient refusing to give up, eventually, they stroke “baby gold” ! An embryo that had been fertilized , then frozen, in September of 2008, was placed in the mother's uterus the following March. Nine months later, the fruits of their labors paid off with the birth of a strong, healthy baby girl!

The NY Post reports that following the birth the new mom emailed friends and family with the message : "She's beautiful and healthy....she's definitely the love of our lives!"

Zhang, who specializes in helping older women realize their parenting dreams , says that ironically, the key to his success is not to use more fertility drugs, but actually, to use less.

In fact, he reports that many of his most successful protocols use little to none of the stimulation drugs commonly used by other fertility centers to help women manufacture multiple eggs. This may be particularly important for older women since there has been some evidence that large doses of egg stimulating medications, along with increased estrogen, may be linked to an increased risk of breast cancer – particularly at a time when a woman's risk are naturally rising due to her age.

Although Zhang is definitely a pioneer in this respect, he is clearly not alone by taking the "natural " approach. Indeed, many doctors are now using various nutrition protocols, including special diets, as well as vitamin and other nutrient combinations to naturally increase not only egg production and ovulation, but also increase the success rate of IVF procedures. There are currently a number of key studies showing the positive impact that the right dietary and nutritional protocol can have.

Additionally, Dr. David Barad and Dr. Norbert Gleicher of the Center for Human Reproduction, located in New York and Chicago, have been using the natural supplement DHEA - short for Dehydroepiandrosterone - to help women over 40 get pregnant faster and easier and have reported increased fertility in this group. DHEA is a precursor compound that the body uses to make steroid hormones, including some that are directly involved in egg production.

To date, however, Dr. Zhang appears to have the only fertility expert with IVF success at age 49.

To read more about the various ways in which diet and nutrition has been clinically shown to increase pregnancy rates, as well as improve IFV outcomes, and learn more about DHEA visit FertilityDietGuide.com .

To learn more about minimal stimulation IVF and other new advances in getting pregnant faster at any age, visit www.GettingPregnantNow.org .

Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved.
In addition to US Copyright, the text of this FERTILITY BLOG is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. All Formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.

To Get Pregnant Fast ...Try a Little Romance!

By GettingPregnantNow.org

It seems kind of obvious ....romance leads to pregnancy! But the truth is, when trying to conceive many couples seem to put
"romance" on the back burner and instead put all of their energies into the "mechanics" of getting pregnant! But research shows that doing so may actually be counter productive! Why?

Because romance reduces stress - and without it, stress levels can build to a point where conception may be adversely affected. How?

Doctors aren't exactly sure, but research continues to point to the destructive effect that stress hormones like cortisol can have on reproductive hormones, particularly those involved with regulating egg production and ovulation. In fact, when stress levels rise high enough, ovulation may stop completely.

But the good news is, the opposite is also true - reducing stress levels may help protect hormone function and get your ovulation back on track! In one encouraging study conducted by Alice Domar, PhD, at Harvard's Mind-Body Institute, women who underwent stress reduction therapy saw dramatic increases in their ability to get pregnant. In fact, even women who were already undergoing fertility treatments had more successful outcomes when stress was kept under control.

Even more encouraging: Research published in the journal Psychological Science found that putting a little romance in your life - such as the simple act of holding hands with your spouse or dancing slow to romantic music - can be a super stress-buster!

So, if you want to get pregnant faster and easier, don't forget to keep a little romance in your baby-making life! This can be especially important if you are undergoing fertility treatments and working towards an IVF pregnancy. While it's important to concentrate on the medical aspects of these procedures, it's also important that you and partner continue to connect to each other in an intimate, close, and yes, romantic way.

For more tips on how to get pregnant faster visit GettingPregnantNow.org - your source for fertility and pregnancy news and advice.

And to help encourage a natural conception don't miss FertilityDietGuide.com - for fun easy ways to get pregnant fast!

Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved.
In addition to US Copyright, the text of this FERTILITY BLOG is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. All Formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.

Do You Need A Fertility Specialist? How To Tell!

For some couples, getting pregnant is quick and easy. For others, things may not go exactly as planned.

Sometimes, problems are linked to specific physiological issues such as blocked fallopian tubes in the woman or low or no sperm count in the man -- problems that can be helped by fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) or insemination.
For many others, however, reasons are much harder to define.

"Often, problems are subclinical -- meaning we know something is wrong, it's just not showing up on the radar," says Staci Pollack, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist at the Montefiore Medical Center's Institute of Reproductive Medicine and Health.

Many times experts say these couples are diagnosed as having "Unexplained Infertility " - meaning, there likely is a constellation of small factors that come together to create big barriers to conception.

Pollack says standard fertility treatments can usually help, but that in some cases, so can a host of natural ways of getting pregnant -- which couples can try on their own.

The key to success: Knowing when to it's okay to keep trying on your own to get pregnant - and when it's time for more serious medical treatment.

So, how do you know? The American Society for Reproductive Medicine says if you don't get pregnant after 12 months of regular unprotected intercourse -- or six months if you are a woman over 35 -- it's time to seek help from a fertility specialist

Do keep in mind, however, that very often the same tips that can help you get pregnant naturally can also help increase the success the any fertility treatments you may ultimately need, so it's never too early or too late to try them.

For a complete list of the top rated fertility centers in all 50 states - including their success rates and specialties - visit the Fertility Experts Directory at GettingPregnantNow.org

To discover a variety of tips and tricks to help you get pregnant faster visit www.GettingPregnantNow.org - Your Source for Fertility and Pregnancy Advice and Information.

For information how diet can help increase your fertility and help safeguard your health during flu season visit FertilityDietGuide.com

Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved.
In addition to US Copyright, the text of this FERTILITY BLOG is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. All Formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.

Can the H1N1 Vaccine Cause Infertility?

Rumors are spreading fast that the H1N1 virus may cause infertility. Before you panic, here are the facts you need to know...

While undergoing fertility treatments may not increase your risk for getting the flu, there is a growing amount of electronic chatter concerning whether or not the flu vaccine can increase your risk of infertility now or in the future.

That chatter recently grew quite loud when a Middle Eastern television network aired a stunning interview with Harvard-trained medical investigator and best selling American author Dr. Leonard Horowitz. Here, Horowitz asserted that vaccines in general, but specifically H1N1 is not only dangerous but , in fact, part of a global conspiracy involving drug companies, governments and even top business moguls, to reduce world population - in part by causing infertility.

As compelling as the interview was, so far, Horowitz has failed to back up his claims with any solid medical research – and that's a fact that Saudi health officials are desperately trying to make known as the vaccine becomes available to its citizens. Dr. Salman, Assistant, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and supervisor of the university hospitals in King Saud University, said recently in an interview with Arab television networks that the vaccine is “not new and dates back to many years been tested a lot of people for years”

Indicating confidence in the vaccine to protect rather than harm, he added that health officials have become accustomed to this kind of doubt whenever a new drug hits the market. He is reported to have stressed that studies show the vaccine is safe – an opinion that is echoed by world health leaders, including those in the United States.

To read more about the safety of the H1N1 vaccine in pregnancy, click here.

For more information visit the Pregnancy Swine Flu Resource Center at GettingPregnantNow.org.

For information how diet can help increase your fertility and help safeguard your health during flu season visit FertilityDietGuide.com

Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved.
In addition to US Copyright, the text of this FERTILITY BLOG is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. All Formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.

Pregnancy, Fertility & H1N1: Vaccine Safety ?

As the H1N1 -Swine Flu Virus continues to spread, and questions about vaccine safety arise, women who are pregnant or seeking to become pregnant are among the most concerned. Here's what you need to know ...

When you're struggling to get pregnant, every headline with the word “infertility” raises a red flag you just can't ignore. The same is true when you're already pregnant and hoping for that healthy baby.Which is why experts say the recent headlines linking both an increased rate of infertility and pregnancy complications to the new H1N1 “swine flu” vaccine can be so devastating to so many.

“Myths and rumors can be harmful – and when they are aimed at a particularly vulnerable group they can be exceptionally harmful ; in this situation, it is vital that we stop, take a breath and look at the facts before we make any decisions, ,” says Niels Lauersen, MD, medical director of GettingPregnantNow.org

In doing so, says Lauersen, we find there is little evidence to link the vaccine to specific problems in either group. That said, he also cautions that “ A lack of evidence is not necessarily evidence of safety” and that more testing is probably needed to feel totally secure.

To this end, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the US Centers for Disease Control says that more extensive testing of the vaccine on pregnant women is underway. That's the good news. The bad news: Results are not expected anytime soon.

Still, Schuchat says she's confidant that what we know thus far satisfies her safety concerns.

"The trials are being done to provide additional information on dose and so forth, but I think that if I were pregnant I would not wait for the results of those trials, if there was an injectable vaccine available to me,” she recently a press briefing on the H1N1 vaccine.

One reason for the concern, say experts is that pregnant women who do contract the flu – any type of flu – are six times more likely to develop complications and their death rate is greater as well. Still when making your decision whether or not to vaccine, Lauersen says it's important to note that the risk of getting the flu is no higher during pregnancy.

“If you get it, you are more likely to develop complications such as pneumonia – but being pregnant does not, in and of itself, put you in a high risk group,” he says. The same rule, he says, applies to those currently using fertility treatments or trying to get pregnant naturally.

" There is currently no evidence that fertility medications or treatments can reduce your immunity or make you more susceptible to the flu – so I don't think this is something fertility patients have to be concerned about,” he says.

For more information visit the Pregnancy Swine Flu Resource Center at GettingPregnantNow.org.

For information how diet can help increase your fertility and help safeguard your health during flu season visit FertilityDietGuide.com

Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved.
In addition to US Copyright, the text of this FERTILITY BLOG is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. All Formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.

Men, Canned Ravioli and Infertility

 Ladies: If a group of Chinese researchers are right, you may want to keep your partner from snacking on canned ravioli and beer. The reason: You just might see the after-effects in the bedroom - and not in a good way.

Indeed, new research published this week in the journal Human Reproduction found that bisphenol A or BPA - a chemical found in thousands of consumer products including the linings of food and beverage cans – may, in fact, be responsible for a wide range of sexual dysfunction problems in men, including erectile dysfunction and possibly infertility.

Head researcher De-Kun Li recently told the Washington Post “ Critics dismissed all the animal studies saying 'Show us the human studies'; now we have a human study and this just can't be dismissed,” he said.

The five year study followed 634 male works from four Chinese factories where exposure to BPA was significant. Researchers then compared the incidence of sexual dysfunction among these men with a control group who did not have workplace exposure to BPA.

The result: The men who were exposed to the BPA were four times more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction and seven times as likely to have difficulty with ejaculation.

Moreover, it didn't take long periods of exposure for the sexual problems to kick in. Indeed, men who worked in the factories only a matter of months appeared to be as affected as those who spent years being exposed to the chemical.

In other research it has been shown that men who have either erectile dysfunction or ejaculation problems also experience a higher rate of infertility – and now some researchers are wondering if the two problems aren't “chemically” connected.

"At this point we don't know if the infertility is simply a result of not being able to transport sperm into their partner's body, or if the BPA is playing an additional role in the infertility as well, because certainly we have animal studies showing that BPA can cause infertility,” says Dr. Niels Lauersen, a fertility expert and director of GettingPregnantNow.org.

To learn more about this study - and how BPA can affect female fertility click here.
T0 discover 12 easy ways every couple can reduce their exposure to BPA - and help safeguard their fertility - click here..