Exposure to Viagra…. caused a premature acrosome reaction. Acrosomes are structures that cover the head of the sperm and contain a variety of enzymes that help the sperm penetrate the outer membrane of the egg.”

Click here to read the full story at www.timesofindia.com

This article may be of no interest to a man of advancing years who trying to keep up with his midlife crisis girlfriend that he has no intention of bearing children with. If you are a young, healthy man however, who is using Viagra to spice things up a bit consider this a warning. Sperm are very delicate and any chemical you take intentionally or via your environment has the potential to damage your fertility. Some are more damaging than others and we simply do not know the potential damage caused by others.

The diagnosis of unexplained infertility is such a frustrating diagnosis because even the specialists cannot figure out why a couple cannot conceive. One of the easiest steps to take prior to invasive medical assistance is trying to get the chemicals out of your bodies.

• Stop taking any prescriptions (if you are able) and recreational drugs,
• Eat and drink as organically as possible and thoroughly soak the non-organic produce.
• Only use organic or food grade toiletries, cosmetics, skin and hair care products
• Get a great water and air filter

The intended effect of Viagra may seem like a great fertility booster but clearly hours of sex and optimal fertility are not the same thing. If you are trying to conceive then err on the side of caution and lay off the Viagra.

Learn to make a smoothie to boost your fertility.

Author: Sheryl Lyon

So you decided that you are ready to try to have a baby. Maybe you will be one of the lucky ones who conceives within a couple of months or maybe you will find yourself among millions of fertility challenged couples. Whether you are ready to start trying tomorrow or you have been trying for a decade, you might want to improve your odds of conception with a method that is quick, painless, inexpensive, and non-invasive. Believe it or not, a visit to the chiropractor may help you conceive.

A series of research papers published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research found that chiropractic had positive results treating infertility regardless of the woman’s age, number of years infertile, previous medical intervention or health history including miscarriages, blocked fallopian tubes, amenorrhea, colitis, or trauma.

Your spine is a central highway of nerves. Just as an electrical cord has to be fully plugged in for an appliance to run, your reproductive system will not function properly if the nerves that lead to them are not functioning or are blocked in some way.

A chiropractor will identify pinched or pressed nerves and fix those spinal distortions, which are called subluxations. The distortions can be caused by many things including childhood falls, illnesses, accidents, poor posture, or even stress.

Once the subluxations are minimized or eliminated, a woman’s menstrual cycle can strengthen, the action that delivers the egg through the fallopian tubes to the uterus can improve, and some cases of endometriosis can begin to reverse.

Holistic websites, chiropractic patients, and chiropractors themselves abound with pregnancy success stories. Some women went to the chiropractor for other reasons only to find themselves pregnant, others have battled infertility for more than 10 years and then suddenly became pregnant within a couple of months or even a couple of visits to the chiropractor. These remarkable results are the same regardless of the technique used by the chiropractor.

Naturally this does not mean that everyone will get pregnant after a visit to the chiropractor only that it has worked for many women. It is certainly an option worth exploring either alone or in conjunction with other infertility treatments particularly if you have ever had an accident or illness.

You should be able to consult with a chiropractor and have an adjustment in less than an hour and the visit will probably cost $100 or less if it is not already covered by your insurance. The adjustments are totally non invasive, in fact they are done with the patient fully clothed. The procedure is painless although the sounds created by the adjustments may shock you at first.

Seeing a chiropractor is a great idea even if you are not trying to conceive because the nerves in the spine lead to more than just your reproductive organs but if you are trying to conceive, the benefits to fertility are just too compelling to ignore.

Does it really matter why or how it works? Or only that it works? Even if you do not believe in chiropractors why wouldn’t you try a proven fertility treatment that is easy, fast, gentle, non-invasive, covered by most insurance, inexpensive, painless and harmless? So do not forget to add an appointment with the chiropractor as part of your preconception plan.

This message keeps repeating itself. If you are trying to conceive please eat and drink as organic as possible, not just for successful conception but also for the health of your baby. You might just feel better too!

When it comes to a discussion of human fertility, the saying “life is not fair” seems to have extraordinary significance. Couples who don’t want to get pregnant seem to be the ones that do and the ones that do–don’t. Nobody knows this better than the couples that desperately want children but fail to conceive, month-after-month. As the biological clock keeps on ticking, is there anything more that these couples can do? Absolutely!

Having interviewed hundreds of couples who have meticulously documented the woman’s fertile days and the days on which intercourse occurred, it has become crystal clear that: (a) most couples think that they are doing a good job of having intercourse on all the right days, while (b) the vast majority are completely missing the boat!

What is so difficult about Fertility Focused Intercourse?
Let’s start with the basics of female fertility cycles. First, women of normal fertility are not fertile very often. From a biologic perspective, the most fertile woman on the planet can only conceive between 5 and 6 days per menstrual cycle. A woman with reduced fertility might have significantly fewer days that are truly fertile, perhaps 2 or 3. According to simple mathematics, if there are only 3 days per month to conceive, that is only 36 days at the end of the year. Second, not all fertile days are created equal. Intercourse that occurs on “the day” of ovulation can be assumed to be the most fertile day of the menstrual cycle, but even then the probability of achieving a pregnancy is never 100%!

When does ovulation occur?
Frequently, ovulation occurs approximately 14 after the first day of the menstrual period. In a classic study by Vollman[1] of 14,848 menstrual cycles, ovulation as detected by a shift in basal body temperature occurred on exactly day 14 in only 1,591 cycles (10.7%). Thus the exception here is far more common then the rule. The 28-day normal menstrual cycle is simply a myth. The first step in fertility focused intercourse, therefore, is to do away with any notion of a calendar and to adopt a method of detecting when ovulation actually occurs.

There are many ways to “detect” the day of ovulation such as monitoring LH and estrogen in the urine or checking for cervical mucus and changes in the basal body temperature (just to ovulation actually occurs. No matter what method you are using, the margin of error is at least plus or minus 2 to 3 days (sometimes more). This means that if you rely on your favorite indicator of the day of ovulation to tell you when to have intercourse you may be missing the most important day to conceive on a regular basis.

What is the best way to time intercourse?
So what is the best advice? Unfortunately, healthcare providers frequently offer some of the worst information. For example, “we were told to have intercourse ‘every other day’ in order to ’save sperm.’” “Have intercourse every month starting on day 6 for 12 consecutive days.” Or even worse, “because you do not know when t he most fertile day is you would have to have intercourse every day to maximize your chances.” - nonsense!

From this brief discussion, the best advice is: (a) choose a method of fertility monitoring that will give you a few days notice that ovulation is going to occur. This means monitoring estrogen levels directly or the effect of estrogen on saliva or cervical mucus. (b) When fertility begins, intercourse should occur daily until at least 2 days after ovulation is detected. Once released, the egg can only be fertilized during a narrow window of approximately 24-hours. You want to make sure that intercourse occurs on “the day” of ovulation in order to maximize your chances.

Intercourse Patterns
By now you have figured correctly that fertility focused intercourse is truly a “labor of love.” It is not easy! It might mean having intercourse as many as nine days in a row. Even among couples with the strongest convictions for attempting to achieve pregnancy a few fertile days always seem to be missed.

Here are some helpful suggestions:
1. Plan in advance. If you were going to go on a fancy date with your spouse you would give a few days notice. If you know the fertile days are coming, then you likewise will have time to prepare for them.

2. Get your priorities straight. If the doctor scheduled a procedure to test some aspect of your fertility you might take a day off work. Furthermore, you would probably follow through even if you had a headache! Should you not subject yourself to similar inconveniences when your most fertile days arrive!?

3. Get professional help. Believe it or not, there are professionals who can help you make sense of all this and give you real good advice. The American Academy of Fertility Care Professionals is an excellent place to start.

If you and your spouse have been having difficulty achieving a pregnancy, then just remember –knowledge is power. In this case, the right knowledge may even give you the power to procreate! You may as well consider the question of when to have sex to be the single most important issue. Why? Because there is no diagnostic medical procedure, test, or surgery that is going to make you pregnant. If you just had surgery to correct a fertility problem, for example, and you are not following these instructions you could very well be making out badly on your investment. Fertility focused intercourse may not be easy, but it is not mission impossible–it is mission responsible–and the responsibility falls upon both you and your spouse.

Have fun!

1. Vollman, R.F., The Menstrual Cycle. 1977, Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.

Article:
Copyright 2006 Majella.us

Author: David Picella
About the author: David Picella helps couples who are trying to conceive naturally without the use of expensive artificial reproductive techniques. You can read more articles by him and by other experts in Natural Procreative Techniques (NPT) and NaProTechnology or NaProSurgery at: http://www.majella.us

Image Source: http://flickr.com/photos/71502646@N00/1309409634/

How can women over 35 reduce the time to conceive or identify fertility problems early? Using Ovusoft Fertility Planning software, which will assist you in fully understanding your body and its natural cycles.

Had I known or cared at 20 or even 30 that one day my hormones would one day rage and I would actually want a child in my 40’s, would I have done anything differently?

Actually no. I never wanted children, so I planned my life and my career without them, even now with a loud ticking clock and 41 years old I am still not rushing to get pregnant. Despite the all of the recent news about age related infertility, I will do this on my terms or not all.

Recent books (i.e. Creating a Life by Sylvia Hewlett) have created a huge controversy about this “career vs. family” issue and the latest studies note this alarming trend but paradoxically don’t offer any suggestions for increasing the chances of those of us who are already “older”. They simply suggested that women start earlier.

I know that with advancing age my fertility is declining, you only have to look in the mirror to see that you are not as lovely as you were in your 20’s or 30’s, so it stands to reason that in your 40’s our eggs will be equally as old. Unlike men who reproduce fresh sperm approximately every 3 months, my eggs were with me at birth, and have lived my life. Additionally fertile cervical fluid declines with age and sperm survival will depend upon the state of the cervical fluid and how close a woman is to ovulation.

Should I look to the past to gain an idea of my fertile future? My mother and her mother both had children in their early 20’s with no difficulty and went through the menopause in their 50’s. On my fathers side going back 7 generations, nearly all of them had their first child during their 20’s, and with the exception of one, all went on to have children into their 40’s.

Despite the trend for women to have children later, figures published by the ONS for 2000 shows that of the 766,000 conceptions, the highest percentage was 25-29 age group (27%) followed by the 30-34 age group (25%). The data shows that women were still most likely to conceive in their twenties, with 748.8 conceptions for every 1,000 women, compared to 421.4 for women in their 30’s.

The statistics published by the ONS are equally interesting. The number of live births per 1000 women, from 1981 to 1998 for women:-

Under 20 rose by 11%
20-24 dropped by 31%
25 – 29 dropped by 22%
30-34 rose by 29%
35-39 rose by 82%
40 + rose by 60%

Like me, everyone knows someone who has had a baby in her 40s. There is the constant stream of celebrities who have had babies later on, Madonna had Lourdes at 38 and Rocco at 42, Emma Thompson was 40 with Gaia, Kim Basinger 42 with Ireland and Geena Davis 46 with her first child. Is it that we are simply so much healthier than our grandmothers’ generation, or that, we have forgotten that our reproductive life is just the same as it was all those years ago.

Many infertile couples are prepared to undergo enormous sacrifices, to produce a child, when nature has made it almost impossible. For me, should I be unable to get pregnant ‘normally’ I will not even consider Assisted Reproductive Technologies. This is because as women grow older, the success rates of IVF procedures drop with each ensuing month along with the high cost and stress.

Luckily, there is something for couples like me, which can cut the time to conceive in half and identify possible fertility problems early in the process of trying to get pregnant. We can practice the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) – a scientifically validated, natural form of pregnancy achievement and/or contraception.

Fertility Awareness is the charting and interpretation (either manually, or using an FDA-approved software application) of body signs, like waking temperature and cervical fluid. Toni Weschler, M.P.H., a nationally recognized women’s health educator, popularizes this method in her best-selling book, Taking Charge of Your Fertility and in Ovusoft Fertility Planning Software the first FDA-approved software to automate the Fertility Awareness Method, which was developed by Weschler in conjunction with Ovusoft, LLC.

How Ovusoft software works:

Ovusoft puts couples in charge by providing the tools for pregnancy achievement without the use of drugs or hormones. By simply taking her daily waking temperature (basal body temperature) and checking her cervical fluid, a woman can use Ovusoft software to determine her short window of fertility during which she can conceive. In addition, the results of other fertility products, such as BabyStart Home Fertility Test kit for couples, (comprising a ovulation test kit for her and a home sperm count test for him) can be incorporated into the Ovusoft analysis. The program’s “Fertility Advisor” feature tells a woman, in plain language, exactly what is happening in her body each day of her cycle and advises her on what she should be doing to monitor her fertility. And in this way you can let nature takes its course or try to select the sex of your baby.

Purchase Ovusoft

Learn more at: Pr-Inside.com http://www.pr-inside.com/ano and IrishHealth.com

Source: www.PRWeb.com

Seattle, WA (PRWEB) — Over the past few years, a number of innovative “trying-to-conceive” products have hit the shelves of pharmacies and online fertility shops. Just to name a few, the ovulation microscope, fertility supplements like FertilAid, and even ovulation-predicting software have enriched the fertility landscape, making trying to conceive a baby much, much easier.

This week’s release of a new fertility product, the Fairhaven Health Non-Mercury Basal Thermometer, marks an exciting milestone in preconception products: A safe, ultra-accurate, and healthy alternative to standard mercury thermometers. Call it a “green product” or just call
it smart science, the Fairhaven Health glass basal is a non-mercury basal thermometer that offers all the accuracy and ease-of-use of traditional thermometers, but without the environmental danger and health hazards that mercury poses to families, pregnant mothers, and developing babies.

Millions of women use basal thermometers daily to “fertility chart”, or predict when they are most fertile. Now, couples dreaming of having children no longer need to worry about their glass thermometers breaking - or the hazards of mercury in the home. This is especially true during pregnancy when you very much need to avoid toxins or household hazardous waste.

As the EPA states, “For fetuses, infants, and children, the primary health effect of methylmercury is impaired neurological development. Methylmercury exposure in the womb can adversely affect a baby’s growing brain and nervous system.” Home exposures can occur, according to the EPA, when products that contain elemental mercury break and release mercury to the air, particularly in warm or poorly-ventilated indoor spaces. Now, many states are pulling standard mercury thermometers from the shelves due to these concerns regarding toxicity, fetal health, and family safely.

Mercury exposure is not safe in any amount. There is simply no safe level for any human being but it is especially true for a developing fetus and small children. Mercury exposure during pregnancy can cause a multitude of problems for the fetus, most notably neurological development. Simply put, mercury has no place in the home of anyone trying to conceive, pregnant or with small children especially if mercury free alternatives exist.

The Solution: A Mercury-Free Glass Basal Thermometer

As an alternative to mercury thermometers, the Fairhaven Health Glass Basal Thermometer is just as accurate and family-friendly. Containing an environmentally-safe liquid alloy, the Fairhaven Health thermometer is completely non-toxic; in the event it breaks, it can simply be cleaned up with warm water. Better yet, the non-mercury glass basal thermometer is ultra-accurate, exceeding standards for pinpoint accuracy. Using a non-toxic alloy instead of mercury, the Fairhaven Health glass basal thermometer is capable of measuring the slightest temperature increases, particularly important when you are fertility charting.

As a quick introduction for the uninitiated, a basal thermometer is a highly accurate thermometer designed to measure your resting temperature (after several hours of sleep). Women who are “TTC” (or trying-to-conceive) use a basal thermometer the first thing in the morning, before getting up or moving around in bed. To chart fertility, simply record your basal temperature daily in your ovulation calendar or fertility chart.

Sometime around the middle of your cycle, you will notice that your basal body temperature has suddenly increased. This increase of temperature is caused by hormonal changes that “heat the body up” to make a more “fertile home” for a baby. By monitoring when your basal temperature increases, you will know the exact date of ovulation, or peak fertility. Over time, you will see patterns in this temperature increase that allow you to predict ovulation and increase your odds of conceiving.

Using the new Fairhaven Health glass basal thermometer, you have all the accuracy of a mercury thermometer, but without the dangers to health and family (especially if you are pregnant or trying to conceive a baby). Also convenient, it even comes with a handy no-break carrying case that serves to magnify the result. Just slip the thermometer into the carrying case and get a precise close up view of the exact basal temperature. Retailing for around just $15, this mercury-free thermometer is just a better basal, plain and simple.

About Fairhaven Health, LLC Fairhaven Health (http://www.fairhavenhealth.com) is a provider of preconception and fertility products like FertilAid for Women and Men, Fertile Focus, FertiliTea, and the Mercury-Free Glass Basal Thermometer. Contact us at 360.671.0859.

Sheryl’s comment:
While charting has clearly been proven useful for many couples it is certainly not the ideal situation. Charting and ovulation predictors can sometimes leave the male partner feeling like a tool. If you have lost sight of your ideal to conceive your child in love then continue with your charting and ovulation predictors but do not lose sight of making love. If you make love three times a week then you should always have living sperm ready and willing to fertilize that egg when it decides to make its appearance.

FertilityBlend For Women
A variety of nutritional deficiencies can impair human fertility so many couples who are trying to conceive often wonder if a simple multivitamin will suffice to boost their odds, or if there is a specific benefit from supplements designed to enhance fertility. FertilityBlend has two formulations, one for women and one for men and they are quite different.

FertilityBlend for women has eleven ingredients on the label. The primary ingredient that can improve fertility is Vitex or Chasteberry. Chasteberry is an exceptionally useful herb for women who experience any sort of ovulatory dysfunction such as amenorrhea, excessive menstrual bleeding, painful or irregular bleeding, PMS symptoms, fibroids or endometriosis. It can help to regulate your hormones and menstrual cycle but must be taken for at least 6-18 months depending on the severity of your condition.

L-arginine, another primary component of Fertility Blend for women, is an amino acid that stimulates the reproductive organs by improving circulation to these areas and helps to maintain a healthy uterine lining. Some studies have shown both improved IVF and natural conception rates with L-arginine use.

The other ingredients in the women’s version of FertilityBlend, are green tea, Vitamin E, selenium, folic acid, B6 and B12 and the minerals iron, zinc and magnesium. All of these are in fact crucial to reproductive health but you can find them in virtually any multi-vitamin.

This is an excellent fertility supplement for women who are suffering from cycle and ovulation problems. In fact, every woman who is trying to conceive and has irregular, painful or absent periods should run out and buy some of this immediately and don’t stop taking it until you give up or become pregnant. For cases of unexplained infertility or simply taking a long time to conceive, FertilityBlend may help but you probably will not see the same wonderful results as someone who suffers from an ovulatory disorder and you can probably stick with an excellent multivitamin that contains the same essential ingredients in FertilityBlend minus the Vitex/Chasteberry.

FertilityBlend for Men
FertilityBlend for Men is a totally different formulation than the women’s. The two unique ingredients are Dong Quai, which has been shown to increase sperm quality and l-carnitine is essential for normal sperm function.

Researchers have found that L-carnitine is found in much greater amounts in sperm tissues than other cells. Preliminary studies suggest that L-carnitine and acetyl-L-carnitine may be able to stimulate sperm motility in certain situations. The role of L-carnitine on sperm maturation and sperm quality however, is still unclear.

Several clinical studies have evaluated the effect of L-carnitine on men with a low sperm count, a reduction/loss in sperm movement, or men with both conditions. These studies have evaluated only small numbers of men who took oral carnitine supplements for varying lengths of time. Some patients enrolled in these studies experienced increased sperm counts and/or increased sperm motility, however it is still too early to determine the benefit of L-carnitine supplementation. Fertilnet.comThe other ingredients in FertilityBlend for men are Vitamin C, E, B6, B12, Folate, Zinc, Selenium and Green Tea. Most of these are excellent sperm enhancers. For example, Vitamin E increases motility and helps the sperm penetrate the egg while Vitamin C increases count and prevents the sperm from clumping. Selenium and Zinc are great for motility, sperm production and a healthy male reproductive system.

There are other useful herbs for male fertility that are not included in FertilityBlend such as Maca and COQ10 but overall this is a great choice for all men who are currently trying to conceive. This blend would be an excellent part of preconception planning and a man should start taking it 3-6 months before conception efforts start. This blend is imperative for men who suffer from low sperm count or motility. This may give you the extra boost you need to achieve your pregnancy.

Buy FertilityBlend for women (also comes in 3 month size)
Buy FertilityBlend for Men (also comes in 3 month size)