27 June 2008

Our dearest male issues

Mmm, the last couple of days were focussing basically on females, and yes I suppose that some of us wouldn’t even consider that there might also be issues with our loved one. I know that sometimes we might also have a huge struggle to either get hubby there or the get him to be tested for some of the stuff. I know, because I had a huge struggle. Not to sure whether it was the fact of the testing or is it because he didn’t want to be told that the issue could be his… anyway… here are a couple of things to think about.. Although some people still think that fertility problems is only a woman’s problem. So it is crucial that men get tested for fertility as well as women. Some men may want to put off being tested out of embarrassment, but early testing can spare the partner a great deal of discomfort. Like you would have read by now the first thing to do is to go to the doctor. After a physical examination, your doctor will probably order a semen analysis, which will check the qMmm, the last couple of days were focussing basically on females, and yes I suppose that some of us wouldn’t even consider that there might also be issues with our loved one. I know that sometimes we might also have a huge struggle to either get hubby there or the get him to be tested for some of the stuff. I know, because I had a huge struggle. Not to sure whether it was the fact of the testing or is it because he didn’t want to be told that the issue could be his… anyway… here are a couple of things to think about.. Although some people still think that fertility problems is only a woman’s problem. So it is crucial that men get tested for fertility as well as women. Some men may want to put off being tested out of embarrassment, but early testing can spare the partner a great deal of discomfort. Like you would have read by now the first thing to do is to go to the doctor. After a physical examination, your doctor will probably order a semen analysis, which will check the quality and quantity of the sperm in the semen. If the first analysis is normal, your doctor may order a second to confirm the results. If the results look irregular, your doctor might order further test to pinpoint the problem There are a number of potential problems that this analysis detects. These include: Azoospermia - No sperm are produced, or the sperm aren't appearing in the semen. Oligiospermia. Few sperm are produced. Motility – sperm aren’t moving normally Morphology – problems with the form and structure While these conditions may be the direct reason why we can’t conceive they themselves may be caused by an underlying medical condition which could be investigated further by blood and urine tests or other procedures Other Factors that may cause male infertility is things such as: Excessive exercise Stress Too many Steroid hormones Drugs, alcohol or tobacco Heat Hormonal problems No many of us don’t really want to seek any advice and would rather want to try and help you, they say by doing the following it is perceived to promote fertility Eat healthy Regular exercise Maintain weight in your ideal range Do not smoke Keep alcohol consumption within limits Do no use any recreational drugs Well I think that sums it up for now…

19 June 2008

Estrogen and Progesterone

Now a bit more about estrogen and progesterone, this is mentioned on each and every page about fertility. To start off with estrogen, estrogen is a group of steroid compounds, named for their importance in the menstruation cycle and functioning as the primary female hormone… Progesterone is a C-21 Steroid hormone involved in the female menstrual cycle, pregnancy and embryogenesis. Progesterone belongs to a class of hormones called progestogens and is the major naturally occurring human progestogens.

11 June 2008

More about the swimmers

Now I have mentioned in my previous post a bit about our little swimmers… and wanted to provide a bit more information on this topic. To enhance sperm health it is believed that a diet rich in antioxidants is vital. Our little swimmers, swim through the cervix and move into the uterus. Now they swim from one end of the womb to the other to finally reach the fallopian tubes, and of cause by now most of our little swimmer have likely not made it this far, and there a various reasons why this happens. If our little swimmer is lucky, the woman has just ovulated and the egg is on the way, if not, they wait around for our ovulation, or for the egg to drop. When the egg appears it takes one single swimmer to fertilize the egg. As you will see, when it comes to getting pregnant the health of our little swimmers cannot be neglected. In 2006, a 90-day independent clinical study on fertility supplement, FertilAid for men, was conducted with significant results. The results of the placebo-controlled clinical study revealed that FertilAid for men supported a significant increase in total normal motility. Sperm motility is the capacity to move in a forward- moving manner. Normal motility is one of the key benchmarks in determining overall male fertility health. Now with that, I end the information for today. Happy reading

05 June 2008

Fertilization and a bit more

Well like you would know by now, a sperm must meet and fertilize an egg, and you also know that there are so many factors that affect this, and which also affect your fertility, these of cause include the timing of ovulation, how long the egg lasts and if you had a strong swimmer present. Now for ladies with a regular cycle it is easy to calculate when ovulation occurs, because ovulation almost always happens 14 days before you expect your period to start. For those ladies with a 30 day cycle, you can expect to ovulate 16 days after the last period, which is 14 days before the next one… Now some of us aren’t that fortunate, and have an irregular cycle, which means we cannot predict when we will ovulate, in retrospect, we can calculate that ovulation occurred 16 days before a period, which really doesn’t help in planning a pregnancy. At least there are ovulation predictor kits to determine when we will ovulate; these kits detect the rise in hormones that occurs before the egg is released. It is said that a egg last approximately 24 hours after we have ovulated and if sperm are available during this 24 hours window, we can still get pregnant, we can still get pregnant by planning anywhere from several days before ovulation to the day after ovulation. It is believed that if you ovulate on day 14 you can get pregnant anytime between day 9-15 and maybe day 8-16 as well. Another question a lot of women have is of cause the one old question, how long till I’m pregnant. Now many women are surprised when they don’t fall pregnant the first month they try, and they say it normally takes about several months to become pregnant. Studies shows that 50% of women will be pregnant in the first 4 months, 75% will be pregnant in 8 Months and 90% will be pregnant within a year. Should you have been trying for longer that 1 year it is believed that you should make an appointment with a gynaecologist or an infertility specialist for complete examination and testing.