Study Says This Super Food Gives Sperm Super Powers!

If you're  trying to get pregnant, make sure your hubby or partner chows down on plenty of salmon and tuna fish sandwiches.  Why?  A new study from the University of Illinois adds to a growing body of evidence that says DHA, a type of omega fatty acid found in fish, is essential for healthy baby-making sperm.

Writing in the journal The Biology of Reproduction, experts say it works  by helping to to turn round, immature sperm into a pointy-headed super swimmer with an extra long tail - and that means sperm that are much more likely to swim faster and penetrate an egg.

 "Normal sperm cells contain an arc-like structure called the acrosome that is critical in fertilization because it houses, organizes, and concentrates a variety of enzymes that sperm use to penetrate an egg," said Manabu Nakamura, a U of I associate professor of biochemical and molecular nutrition.  His study is among the first to show that an essential fatty acid known as DHA is critical for forming the acrosome - which in turn is critical for forming healthy spearm.

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"Without DHA, this vital structure doesn't form and sperm cells don't work," said Timothy Abbott, a doctoral student who co-authored the study.

In his new book Eat, Love, Get Pregnant; A Couples Guide To Boosting Fertility,  reproductive expert Dr. Lauersen recommends a variety of foods high in DHA and other essential fatty acids which he has long believed play a huge role in boosting not just the production of healthier sperm, but also healthier eggs.

" Fish is by far the greatest source of DHA and other essential fatty acids, but you can also find many other foods that are fortified with DHA, including eggs, some soy products, even certain yogurts," says Dr. Lauersen. 

Dr. Lauersen believes female fertility also gets a boost from these foods.
"It helps to build healthier, stronger eggs that are easier to fertilize and are generally healthier overall, with a reduced risk of miscarriage, " says Dr. Lauersen, who details a number of fertility problems that can be helped by essential fatty acids in Eat, Love, Get Pregnant.

In the new study doctors found that when a male is short on DHA, sperm can't fully form, so their cell structure becomes irregular.  Although DHA is found in many tissues of the body - including the brain and the retina, in men it has it's greatest concentration in the testicles.

Dr. Lauersen adds that many lifestyle factors can deplete our DHA reserves, including stress as well as exposure to pesticides and other environmental chemicals.  Morever, while DHA is considered an essential fatty acid, the body can't manufacture it on it's own - you have to get it from food or supplements.

Dr. Lauersen says that while whole foods remain the best source of essential fatty acids,  natural fish oil supplements can help insure that DHA levels remain high. 

For more information on a variety of foods and natural supplements that have been scientifically shown to boost both male and female fertility,  pick up a copy of Eat, Love, Get Pregnant  or  Green Fertility: Nature's Secrets to Making Babies.

For more information on the new study click here.


This story originally appeared on Examiner.com - National Edition

 Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2012 - 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.

Hidden Cause of Infertility: What You Must Know!

 January is Thyroid Awareness month - a problem most women associate with weight loss or gain. 

But did you know that a  thyroid problem can be a major but often hidden cause of infertility? Sometimes symptoms can be so subtle you might not notice them - except that you can't get pregnant!
 
Check out this link for an inexpensive  at-home test that can put your mind at ease! If you do find you have a problem, bring the test result to your doctor and discuss your treatment options.

Most of the time a short regimen of medication is all you need to get your thyroid back on your track and your fertility flourishing -  Dr Lauersen




Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2012 - 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.

FREE ! Sample chapter from Eat- Love- Get Pregnant - the hottest new breakthrough fertility plan!

TTC ? Looking to ensure the health of your baby? Seeking ways to boost your fertility - and your partner's fertility - to increase your chances for pregnancy success? Want to do it all safely, gently, naturally?  

Then Eat- Love - Get Pregnant is for you!  Click  to read a FREE SAMPLE CHAPTER and learn more about how this amazing breakthrough self-help plan ( already tested on thousands of couples at a prestigious fertility clinic) can help you and your partner boost your fertility, get pregnant faster and have a healthy baby!  By renowned fertility expert Dr Lauersen and women's wellness expert Colette Bouchez!
 Click here to read your free chapter!




Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2012 - 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. The authors of this blog may or may not benefit from the products or services advertised or reported on.

Holidays & Infertility: How To Get Through The Emotional Ups and Downs

 “When you’re infertile and struggling to get pregnant,  even the sight of  a sidewalk Santa Claus can bring tears to your eyes. “  -  Sarah S, fertility patient.

 by Colette Bouchez

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care - and everywhere you look it seems the world is decorated just for children.  Indeed, it's the holiday season - and there's almost no other time of the year when the concept of family is more prominent.     
And for most folks, a warm and loving family celebration - complete with the "kids" table - is the picture perfect postcard of what the holidays should be.
But if you're trying to conceive - and especially if you're having a difficult time getting pregnant  – this time of year, and the emphasis on family and children,  might not make you feel much like celebrating.
"Normally the holidays bring out all kinds of emotions in everyone - happy memories, sad remembrances - and all kinds of feelings rise to the surface," says fertility expert Dr. Niels Lauersen, author of the brand new book "Eat, Love, Get Pregnant: A Couple's Guide To Boosting Fertility and Having A Healthy Baby " ( Ivy League Press - December 2011).

But when you are trying to conceive, " says Dr.Lauersen, "emotions are in especially high gear, and with so much emphasis on family and children, it's easy to see how couples trying to conceive can really feel  the sting of being childless this time of year more than ever, " he says. 
Other experts in the field agree.
"The nature of infertility is isolating. Holidays that are centered on family and the celebration of children tend to amplify the feelings of beingon the outside,  " says Eugenia L. Gullick, Ph.D, a psychologist with Reproductive Endocrinology Associates of Charlotte, North Carolina, an Attain Fertility Center.
"We have over 13,000 Fans in our Facebook community and ... one of the most common [holiday] threads of conversation was about the desire to isolate and avoid family gatherings altogether," says Stephanie Himmel-Nelson, Community Manager for Attain Fertility. 
Jealousy, Anger, and Infertility
But in addition to feelings of isolation,  Dr. Lauersen says many couples may also feel an almost uncontrollable sense of jealousy and even anger towards friends and family members who either have children or who are pregnant - emotions they then feel guilty about experiencing.
If that is how you feel, Dr. Lauersen says it’s okay -  and ....

To continue reading this article click here.




Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2011 - 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.

Dr Lauersen Offers Couples New Advice For Getting Pregnant

 By Victoria Winston

Guest Blogger

Whether you’ve been trying to get pregnant for a while – without much luck – or you’re just starting your journey to parenthood,  you may be overlooking one of the most important ways to boost your fertility – and all you have to do is roll over in bed to catch a glimpse of what you need!

That’s because one of the newest concepts in boosting fertility involves your relationship with your partner .

Indeed, according to fertility expert Dr Niels Lauersen,  many couples do not realize the power that each of them has on the other’s fertility – and what each of you can do to help optimize your goals as a couple, to get pregnant fast. 

 “It’s a brand new science, but  the medical evidence is mounting that the ways in which we interact with our partner  can have not just  psychological effect on how we feel, but also a powerful physical effect on our body and on getting pregnant,” says Dr. Lauersen.

In fact the physical effects, he says, often involves the functioning of reproductive hormones necessary to get pregnant. 

“One of the first indications we had that this is true was a study done a number of years ago that that showed that women who have not ovulated for years can spontaneously begin doing so the as soon as they fall in love,” says Dr. Lauersen.  

Other studies , he says have shown that the way partner’s relate to one another both in and out of the bedroom can also have quite an impact on everything from sperm count and motility in men to health egg production and hormonal stimulation in women. 

“We now know, for example, that if a woman is in a stressful relationship, certain biochemical events occur that can keep her from ovulating  - or even stop her menstrual altogether,” says Dr. Lauersen. 

In men, he says, stress and unhappieness in a relationship can cause everything from temporary impotence to a reduce sperm count. 

“This is not to say in any way that every couple who has a fertility problem secretly has a relationship problem.  That is not true.  But what I am saying is that sometimes relationship stresses -  particularly when a couple is having problems conceiving – can get out of hand to the  point where they increase the fertility problems even more, “ says Dr. Lauersen. 

On the positive side, Lauersen says research also shows that couples who have a fantastic – even a little bit wild – sex life may have an easier time getting pregnant.

“It’s not just because they have sex more frequently – it’s because studies show that sexual excitement can help a man ejaculate a greater concentration of sperm , while orgasm in women helps to pull more sperm into the uterus, and helps keep it there longer. And both these things can increase the chance for conception,” says Dr. Lauersen. 

 To address these and many more “couples”  issues leading to infertility Dr. Lauersen recently published his 14^th book -  Eat, Love, Get Pregnant: A Couples Guide ToBoost Fertility and Having a Healthy Baby ( Ivy League Press, NY – December 2011).  Here he and co-author Colette Bouchez detail not only how relationships affect fertility, but also detail  dozens of everyday things couples can do together to simultaneously boost their chances for conception. This includes diet and exercise,  vitamins and nutrients, herbal remedies, sleep, relaxation – and of course how to have sex to make a baby! 

 Moreover, every suggestion in the book is backed by proven medical studies – as well as having been tested on thousands of couples in Dr. Lauersen’s  New York City fertility center.

Indeed, the book reads like a virtual blueprint for Getting Pregnant – as it uncovers many little known factors about the everyday things that can influence fertility. 

 To learn more about this fascinating new approach to getting pregnant visit www.EatLoveGetPregnant.”   The book is available in paperback at Amazon.com and fine bookstores nationwide, as well as in Ebook formats including Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Sony E-reader and more.  Find it at Smashwords.com .

 

Birthing A Mother: New Book Sheds Light On Surrogacy

Are you infertile? Are you having problems getting pregnant? Find out if the surrogacy option is right for you?
(Pictured: Sarah Jessica Parker & Matthew Broderick, son, and new twins delivered by a surrogate.)

By Dr. Niels H. Lauersen

Medical Director, GettingPregnantNow.org

Are you having problems getting pregnant? Have you been told that you cannot carry a baby to term? Have you thought about the possibility of another woman carrying your child.

If so, you’re among a growing number of women who may benefit from the power of surrogacy, the fertility treatment that allows one woman to carry the baby for another. And for many it can be a life-changing experience.

Indeed, most recently the concept of surrogacy made worldwide headlines when actress Sarah Jessica Parker and husband actor Matthew Broderick conceived twins using a surrogate mother (pictured above).

And, in fact, for those women who, for any variety of reasons cannot or chose not to carry a baby in their own womb, it offers the chance for genetic parenting that otherwise might not be possible. For the surrogate it can be an opportunity to give life – and more importantly give a child – to a woman or man who might otherwise never know the experience of genetic parenthood.

And now, a brand new book explores that very relationship with groundbreaking new research on the surrogacy experience. Titled Birthing a Mother: The Surrogate Body and the Pregnant Self the book is based on a study conducted by cultural anthropologist Elly Teman, a Research Fellow at the Penn Center for the Integration of Genetic Healthcare Technologies at the University of Pennsylvania. Offering up a unique perspective on the surrogacy experience, it is a book that I believe is likely to help every woman considering this option to know and understand the emotional and even the physical process, better.

What Does Surrogacy Involve?

There are many different types of surrogate pregnancies – some which involve the use of the intended mother’s eggs and some with donor eggs or the eggs of the surrogate. Sperm can come from the baby’s intended father or from a donor. Surrogates can become pregnancy using traditional fertility treatments such as IVF, or via artificial insemination.

In terms of choosing a surrogate, it can be someone the couple knows – such as the intended mother’s sister, cousin, or even her own mother. Other times it’s may be a complete stranger – someone they meet through their doctor or through one of a growing number of surrogate agencies.

But irregardless of how the two women meet, the relationship between birth mother and intended mother is a complex one, filled with emotions on every level.

And in fact, the new book Birthing a Mother probes the intimate experience of being a surrogate while also exploring how surrogates – and their intended mothers – walk a fine line of emotional negotiation that can be difficult, and yet rewarding, for both.

The book also dispels many common myths about the surrogacy experience, including the one I have heard most often from my patients – the fear that the surrogate will not relinquish the baby when the time comes. While certainly this has been known to happen, by and large, surrogates are well adjusted women who enter into the experience with the mindset that they doing this for someone else’s benefit – and rarely is it a problem when birthing day arrives.

In fact, I have seen some of the most incredible, lasting bonds develop between birth mother and biological mother – which is something Teman’s study also found.

Her research, which looked at Jewish Israeli women, traced the process by which surrogates psychologically and emotionally disengage from the fetus they carry. In that work she too found that most of these women develop a profound and often lasting emotional bond with each one – and one that in the end, I believe can be beneficial to both women as well as to the child.

Early reviews of Birthing a Mother touch on Dr. Teman’s skill as a writer and on the groundbreaking nature of her work , while the book itself offers a glimpse of a world that most will never see or experience.

If You Are Considering Surrogacy

If you are considering surrogacy to make your own dreams of motherhood come true, I urge you to read this book; if you are woman who has considered being a surrogate, this book will guide you to make the right choice. If you are a woman grappling with infertility – particularly if you are over age 40 – then this book can open your eyes to another option you may have never considered.

Do be aware, however, that surrogacy is not sanctioned in every state. In some states in the US surrogacy is outlawed, in other states it is allowed only among women who are blood relatives. For more information and a state-by-state law guide visit: AllAboutSurrogacy.com

To learn more about the surrogacy experience, including costs and medical information, visiting GettingPregnantNow.org

Copyright by ElleMedia2010 - 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.
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