Once you have decided to start a family, you have probably engaged in a slew of activities to get ready. You have prepared yourself physically. You have charted and tracked temperatures to predict your fertile days. You have made sure that there has been just enough sex on just the right days. And now, you have to wait. But how long do you have to wait before you can take a test? What kind of test should you take? How accurate are...more
When a couple decides it is time to start a family, they generally don't assume they are going to have a problem. But when the months start passing with no sign of pregnancy, discouragement arrives instead of a baby. Seeing a fertility specialist should not be a first resort, as the medical profession collectively agrees that couples should try to conceive for a year before going to the fertility clinic. For most couples, a year...more
Most people know that drinking and smoking during a pregnancy can be seriously harmful to a baby. We watch television shows that depict pregnant women in the 1960's smoking cigarettes and drinking scotch, and we are nothing short of horrified. Did you know, though, that alcohol and tobacco could have detrimental effects on female fertility? Did you also know that sperm produced by men who drink and smoke could affect rates of conception? If this is news to you, keep reading. Alcohol and tobacco consumption could be the reason why you are having difficulty getting pregnant. Reason You Should Quit #1 - Alcohol decreases sex drive in both men and women. While alcohol can decrease inhibitions, it ultimately does not help things out in the bedroom. Alcohol, even consumed at moderate levels, will lower sex drive in both men and women. Not having intercourse will not lead to pregnancy; so both of you need to stay away from the bottle when trying to get pregnant. Reason You Should Quit #2 - Alcohol causes hormonal imbalances in both men and women. For women, alcohol can alter hormones so that ovulation does not occur when it should. If you've predicted an ovulation date and...more
Deciding to start a family or expand on the one you already have is exciting. Most likely, once you've made the decision to get pregnant, you'd like it to happen right away. When the months pass with repeated negative pregnancy tests, it is easy to get discouraged. Before you go drown your sorrows in a quart of ice cream, it might be...more
Many couples seem to be facing infertility problems. It seems that everywhere you turn, this friend is taking hormone supplements and that couple is paying for another IVF treatment. If you are just starting the process of trying to get pregnant, these discouraging situations can be daunting. Before you assume that you are going to...more
Ovulation is the time during a woman's menstrual cycle when an egg is released from an ovary and travels down the fallopian tube. Once the egg is released, there is a 24-hour period during which the egg is viable for fertilization. If sperm does not fertilize the egg during that time, conception will not occur. Therefore, the most important task in timing a planned pregnancy is to predict the dates you are going to ovulate. Because you do not have a window into your uterus, you can't see when that egg has been released. However, there are some pretty accurate methods to figuring out when you will be ovulating. Ovulation Predictor #1 - Count the Days Women with regular periods can predict their dates of ovulation fairly accurately. Usually, ovulation occurs 10 to 14 days after a woman begins the first day of her period. Marking down day one of the start of your period and then counting 10 to 14 days after that is the simplest way to predict when you are going to ovulate. Ovulation Predictor #2 - Take a Home Test Your local pharmacies now carry ovulation predictor tests. They work in much the same way as a pregnancy test does. You hold a stick in your urine stream and...more
You probably know many women who have gotten pregnant the first month they tried. Chances are, they made sure they had intercourse on the day they knew they were ovulating and two weeks later they announced their good news. If you are a...more
If you are having trouble conceiving, you may be starting to do some research as to what you can do to help the process along. Your doctor has probably told you that she will not see you until you have tried conceiving for a year, but...more
Pregnancy is a wonderful time in a woman's life. She has successfully conceived and is now on the road to creating a beautiful human being that will be a wonderful addition to the family. One of the best ways of ensuring that everything goes...more
Tiffany Taylor, an award winning female author, writes an e-book called “Guy Gets Girl”. It is about how a man gets successfully into a woman’s heart and attracts the woman although he is neither wealthy nor handsome. It is...more
You will be in the situation of giving birth in the future. Identify alternativesWhat type of birth suits you? Hospital classes cater to a broad range of needs so are quite general. You can expect to learn about different labour positions, pain...more
It's agonizing to worry endlessly about whether or not you are pregnant. Traditionally it was told that one must wait well over a month and wait some more until certain symptoms show up. However, in the last few years no one really wants to wait that...more