BABY FERTILE: 10 INFERTILITY QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR DOCTOR

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

10 INFERTILITY QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR DOCTOR

Ten Infertility Questions to Ask Your Doctor

Medical Author: Melissa Stoppler, M.D.Medical Editor: William C. Shiel, Jr, MD, FACP, FACR

Be sure to take along the records of any diagnostic studies and/or fertility treatments you may have had in the past if you are visiting a new fertility specialist. If you have been keeping records of the dates of your menstrual cycles and/or basal body temperature charts, take these along too. Also, print this and take it with you to your doctor visit.

1. What is my diagnosis, and how does this condition specifically interfere with fertility? Does my partner have a condition that interferes with fertility? Will these conditions worsen over time, improve, or remain constant?

2. If the reason for my infertility is unclear, what diagnostic tests do you recommend? What is the likelihood that each of these tests will establish a diagnosis? Are there any risks associated with the testing? Does my partner need additional testing?

3. What type of treatment would you recommend trying first? Does this treatment involve surgery, medications, or both? What are the risks of treatment?

4. In your practice, how often does this treatment result in pregnancy? (Be sure to determine whether your doctor is talking about pregnancy rates or live-birth rates when discussing specific treatments so you can make adequate comparisons. For example, a treatment may have a 30% pregnancy rate per cycle but only a 25% live-birth rate due to early miscarriages.)

5. Are less-invasive or more conservative treatments available? How do these compare with your recommended treatment in terms of risks and success rates?

6. How many cycles of treatment would you recommend before trying another option? Do you recommend skipping a menstrual cycle between treatment cycles?

7. Are there any lifestyle modifications that might help my condition and increase my chances of getting pregnant?

8. (If this is an acceptable option for you) Would you recommend treatments using donor eggs and/or sperm? Does your clinic or practice offer these options?

9. What is my prognosis? In your opinion, how likely is fertility treatment to be successful for me? (While no doctor can give you an exact answer to this question, taking into account your personal medical information and age, your doctor's past experiences may allow him or her to roughly estimate whether you will have an average, below-average, or above-average chance of success).

10. What does treatment cost? Does my insurance cover any of the medications, hospital charges, or doctor's visits? If I must pay out-of-pocket, do you offer any special payment plans?

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Change in diet 'could help older women have babies'

Women in their 40s and 50s could increase their chance of having a baby by making a "drastic" change in their diet, it has been claimed.

Sarah Dobbyn, a nutritionist and author of The Fertility Diet, said the influence of diet on fertility is often overlooked.
She claims that making alterations, such as cutting out alcohol and sugar, will allow women to hit the "snooze button" on their biological clocks.
Following an improved diet could also help women to conceive even when they are entering the fifth decade of their lives, according to the book.
It could also benefit women who believe that IVF treatment is their only hope of becoming pregnant.
Miss Dobbyn said: "Huge amounts of money are being spent on assisted conception techniques by hopeful couples who do not know that alcoholic and caffeinated beverages are liquid contraceptives, sweeteners can prevent ovulation and seemingly innocent foods such as peas, rhubarb and soya all inhibit fertility."
The Fertility Diet sets out a month-by-month diet and lifestyle plan which should be followed by both partners, to maximise the chance of conception.
It recommends cutting out smoking, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, caffeine and soya in the first month. Peas and rhubarb are also banned, following studies linking them to infertility.
By month two, couples should have given up all meat and cut out sugar and dairy products.
Come the third month, consumption of eggs and fruit juices should be reduced.
Couples are also encouraged to eat unlimited quantities of beans, pulses, organic herbs, spices and nuts from day one.
Fruit and vegetables should be eaten raw wherever possible to help balance the body's hormones.
Would-be parents are also advised to lose weight if overweight, keep stress to a minimum, and try to get a good night's sleep.
Miss Dobbyn, 43, who plans to try for a child of her own soon, spent two-and-a-half years sifting through research papers and books on fertility to write The Fertility Diet.
She believes the advice will help older couples to conceive.
She said: "It is a pain to give up caffeine, it is a pain to give up wine, but won't it be worth it when you have your own baby?"
However IVF doctors questioned how effective the meat and dairy-free diet would be.
Professor Bill Ledger, a fertility expert from Sheffield University, said: "We tend to create a lot of guilt in people these days.
"The worry is that some gullible young woman will read this book and start living that life and miss out on a lot of fun and normality."

*Best time to have sex to get pregnant*

Question: When is the Best Time to Have Sex to Get Pregnant?
Answer:
To get pregnant, you need to have sex before you ovulate, with the two to three days prior to ovulation being your most fertile days. But how will you know when you’re going to ovulate? And when and how often should you have sex if you want to get pregnant?
Predicting Ovulation and the Day 14 Myth
Something else often heard, even from doctors, is that ovulation is on day 14 of the menstrual cycle (with day one being the day you get your period). Some women hear this and decide to plan to have sex on day 14. The problem is that many women don’t ovulate on day 14 of their cycle. Normal ovulation can occur as early as day 10 and as late as day 20 (or even later, especially if your cycles are irregular).
So how can you predict when you will ovulate? There are many methods available, including using ovulation predictor kits or tracking your basal body temperature. There are advantages and disadvantages to these methods.
But research says that the best day for sexual intercourse when trying to get pregnant is the day you notice the most fertile cervical mucus. Fertile cervical mucus is cervical discharge that resembles raw egg-white and typically appears on the days prior before ovulation.

Using Cervical Mucus to Time Sex for Pregnancy
A research study done at the University of North Carolina looked at which was a better predictor of sex that would lead to pregnancy: sex based on basal body temperature charting results or changes in cervical mucus.
What they discovered was that, regardless of what day ovulation actually occurred, pregnancy was more likely to happen if the couple had had sex on a day when fertile cervical mucus was present. This may be because cervical mucus helps the sperm survive and "swim along." Still, there are other reasons why waiting until your most fertile days may not be the best way to go about getting pregnant.

Why Waiting for Ovulation Isn’t the Best Idea
Sometimes we get so obsessed about having sex at the right time, we neglect sex at other times during the cycle. Sex begins to feel more like a chore, becoming less about love and connection. This can put tremendous stress on a relationship.
Beyond that, though, there are other reasons not to wait that pertain to your fertility itself.
If you try to time sex only for ovulation, you’re more likely to miss your opportunity. If you’re waiting and waiting for ovulation signs, you could miss them or they could occur when sex just isn’t possible.
Research does say that sex during the six days prior to ovulation does indeed have the possibility of resulting in pregnancy. If you plan on having sex two to three times a week, regardless of fertility signs, you’re likely to have sex at least once during this six-day time period. This is less stressful than trying to time sex for a particular few days.
In addition, research studies have shown that after 10 days of abstinence, sperm quality and quantity is greatly diminished. Sperm quality and quantity peaks, however, after one or two days of abstinence. If you’ve waited to have sex until you have signs of ovulation, and you haven’t had sex for several days before, the sperm your partner provides may not be as fertile. You may be at your most fertile time, but he won’t be at his peak fertility

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Wednesday, January 2, 2008

10 INFERTILITY QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR DOCTOR

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