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Reproductive and Fertility Health

Finding out about your fertility will increase your chances of becoming pregnant.

Your general health will make a huge difference to your chances of conception. Everything that you have control over and can do to assist you, you should do. Falling pregnant is the most natural thing, but we don't always follow a natural, healthy lifestyle.

Advice from The Family Planning Association 

The expectation is that just as you plan not to have a family, so you can plan to start a family. For some couples that expectation comes true. After six months of trying, six out of ten couples will have conceived a baby. For the other four, it takes longer. 

The process can be frustrating and stressful but many GP's prefer you to try for a year before they consider referring you for fertility tests and treatment. 

To make the most of your chances, be aware of your body changes month by month.

Finding your fertile time - Getting to know your menstrual cycle

Most women ovulate (release an egg from the ovary) about two weeks before their period. If your cycle is regular,
count back 12-16 days from the day your period normally starts and this will give you a rough idea of when you are
fertile.

Cervical mucus changes

During the menstrual cycle a woman’s vaginal secretions change. At the beginning and end of your cycle the fluid is
white or yellowy, sticky and thick. As your body prepares for ovulation the amount of mucus increases and becomes thinner and clearer. Immediately before ovulation it becomes very thin, slippery and stretchy, like raw egg white. 

Temperature

The temperature of your body at rest (basal body temperature) drops slightly immediately before ovulation. It rises to a higher level when ovulation has taken place. You need to take your temperature around the same time every day ideally after at least five hours’ sleep, before getting out of bed or having anything to eat or drink. Find out more about taking your BBT

Ovulation predictor kit

These test kits identify LH (Lutenising Hormone) when it's present in your urine. This hormone increases as ovulation
approaches and the test will tell you that ovulation is likely to happen in the next 24-36 hours. They don't predict the precise moment of ovulation. 

If you go to the iVillage Pregnancy Calendar you can enter the date of your last menstrual period and find out when ovulation is likely to take place. 

Even if you keep track of your body’s changes it may still take a while to get pregnant. If you have just stopped taking the Pill, ovulation may be delayed or irregular for a while. Air travel, a change of job, illness, sudden weight loss or strenuous exercise can also affect the time you ovulate. Even if you have sex when you ovulate you may not become pregnant immediately. Sometimes fertilisation takes place but the egg does not implant. 

There is a short time each month when you are likely to conceive. An egg lives for about a day and sperm survive for up to seven days. Having sex two or three times a week would include ‘the fertile time’.
If you don’t get pregnant at once you are not unusual and it doesn’t mean that you have a problem. However, after several months of trying you may feel you want to see your GP.

Natural Family Planning methods will help you understand your fertility better.

from the book How to Have a Baby: Overcoming Infertility

Most infertility specialists define an older woman as one who is more than 35 years, but this is an arbitrary number. A woman's fertility does not fall off at a particular age, but starts declining gradually after the age of 30. After 35, the drop is fairly dramatic; and after 38, it's even more so. However, there is no magic number at which fertility disappears and this decline is a progressive irreversible process.

In the past, it was assumed that as the woman got older, her entire reproductive system started failing. However, today we know that the uterus and the fallopian tubes remain relatively unaffected by age; and that the reason for the decline in fertility is the diminished number of eggs left in the ovary. Every girl is born with a finite number of eggs, and their number progressively declines with age. A measure of the remaining number of eggs in the ovary is called the "ovarian reserve"; and as the woman ages, her ovarian reserve gets depleted. The infertility specialist is really not interested in the woman's calendar ( or chronological age) , but rather her biological age - or how many eggs are left in her ovaries.

Various tests have been described , to measure the ovarian reserve, so that we can determine which patients are good candidates for treatment. These tests are based on measuring the level of the FSH level in the blood; and include a basal ( day 3) FSH level. A high level suggests poor ovarian reserve; and a very high level is diagnostic of ovarian failure. A test that can provide earlier evidence of declining ovarian function is the clomiphene citrate challenge test ( CCCT). This is similar to a " stress test " of the ovary; and involves measuring a basal Day 3 FSH level; and a Day 10 FSH level , after administering 100 mg of clomiphene citrate from Day 5 to Day 9. If the sum of the FSH levels is more than 25, then this suggests poor ovarian function, and predicts that the woman is likely to have a poor ovarian response ( she will most probably grow few eggs, of poor quality) when superovulated. Another test which has been recently developed is the measurement of the level of the hormone, inhibin B , in the blood. Low levels of inhibin B ( which are produced by " good " follicles) suggests a poor ovarian reserve. However, just because a test result is normal does not mean that the quality or number of the eggs will be good - the final proof of the pudding is always in the eating ! I

Infertility and the Midlife Crisis
Many women in their late 30s early 40s have postponed marriage or childbearing to obtain their education, establish themselves in careers, and become financially secure. These aspirations frequently have worked against the decision to have children. The passage of time, however, alters the way many women feel about motherhood by changing their perceptions about themselves as well as about the world around them. Additionally these changes may also have to do with having a new sense of maturity as well as a feeling of accomplishment. Thus, as women—and men—feel more secure about themselves, their feelings and ideas about children and parenthood may also change.

As a couple moves into midlife, they must also begin recognizing and coming to terms with their own mortality. For many, parenthood is a part of successfully completing an important stage in life. As couples begin to see and understand the passage of their own lives, the need to pass along life experiences to new generations enhances the meaning of life.

Men and women in midlife, who have made the decision to have children , may find to their dismay that they are frequently thwarted by the inability to conceive or by recurrent miscarriages. For women, the realities of the biologic clock cannot be overlooked. At this point, many couples are faced with dual crises which can compound their problems —infertility , as well as a midlife crisis - the developmental life changes that normally occur in the middle years.

As women reach menopause, they begin to realize that the option of conceiving and bearing a child is closed to them. Just as the array of other life choices begins to narrow, the loss of this ability to choose to have a child can result in sadness and deep disappointment. The realization of this "missed opportunity" can also lead to self-recrimination and depression.

Don't give up !!!

If I can help you bring a baby into the world, Please email me and I will tell you anything that you may wish to know about me.

Email: peter001@hotmail.com

Where do you search on the net for information with Assisted Reproduction?

We have several links on these pages for Sperm Banks, Private Sperm Donors, Free Sperm Donations, Assisted Reproduction, Fertility and Infertility problems, Donor Insemination and Semen Banks and Clinics.

It doesn't matter if the problem is female or male factor infertility, or you are lesbian mothers or you want to be a single mother by choice, there should be something here for you.

If you can't find your answer to insemination by donor here, try searching the net with search phrases such as artificial insemination, sperm donors, semen donors, semen clinics, single motherhood, alternative fertilisation, diet and reproductive health,  pregnancy.

Please don't give up easily. The end does justify the means.

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