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 .

 

Getting Pregnant In The Cloud: New Study Solves A Fertility Mystery

By Colette Bouchez

Two  new studies  published this week in the journal Nature shed new light on causes of male infertility- and offer new evidence of how certain vitamins and minerals could make all the difference!


Indeed, the research shows that just before fertilization,  cells surrounding an egg release a "cloud" of the hormone progesterone, which in turn not only helps bring sperm to it's side, but also creates a chemical reaction allowing  the tail of the sperm to beat wildly,  helping it to penetrate the eggs outer shell and allow fertilizaiton to occur.
What's more some  experts say that  in light of the new research,  certain  vitamins  linked to progesterone production could  play a vital new role in making sure an egg sends out the signal to sperm -and that it's strong enough to bring about the chemical reaction necessary for pregnancy to occur.
To read more on this fascinating new discovery, including the vitamins that can help,  and discover some brand new causes of male infertility and how to fix them,  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.