“Women who are seriously obese almost halve their chances of having a baby,” the Daily Express warned on December 12 2007. The BBC also covered the story and said a study has found that being overweight can reduce a woman’s chances of getting pregnant, and that women with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 35 are 26% to 49% less likely to get pregnant than women who have a BMI of 21 to 29.

These stories are based on a study of more than 3,000 couples who had trouble conceiving, which looked at whether the woman’s BMI affected her chances of getting pregnant naturally over the coming year.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

The PCOS Diet Plan: A Natural Approach to Health for Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
-- Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is the most common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age, and if left unchecked, is linked to serious health issues like infertility, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and endometrial cancer. In this groundbreaking book, registered dietitian Hillary Wright explains this increasingly diagnosed disorder and introduces the holistic symptom-management program she developed by working with hundreds of patients.
With Wright’s proven diet and lifestyle-based program, you can influence your reproductive hormones and take charge of your health. Featuring a carbohydrate distribution approach at its core, The PCOS Diet Plan also zeroes in on exactly what exercise, supplements, and self-care choices you can make to feel better every day.

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Forty-year-old Deborah Fischer is finally pregnant after years of trying, and she said it's because of a new type of genetic test called Array Competitive Genomic Hybridization, or Array CGH.

"I don't think that we would be pregnant without it," said Fischer.

"One of the biggest frustrations as a fertility specialist is our inability to determine which embryos that we have that are capable of becoming healthy babies," said Dr. Michael Alper, medical director at Boston IVF, a New England infertility treatment center.

Studies show that 10 to 25 percent of all pregnancies will end in miscarriage. But by using Array CGH, doctors can now see beyond the microscope to figure out why.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

I Never Held You: Miscarriage, Grief, Healing and Recovery
-- speaks to the heart of women, their families and friends who have either lived through the pain & grief after miscarriage, or who want to better support someone who has. Author Ellen M. DuBois shares her own painful journey after miscarriage taking you from her darkest moments of grief, despair, isolation, anxiety, fear and depression to the steps she took towards healing and recovery. Her suggestions prove to be helpful in balancing the emotional peaks and valleys after suffering such a heartbreaking loss.
I Never Held You validates your grief after losing a baby to miscarriage, and assures you that you're not alone in your struggle. With the help of contributing author Dr. Linda Backman, Ed.D., licensed grief counselor, psychologist and author, you'll come to better understand grief- and why it's so important to allow yourself the time necessary to heal.

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SpermCheck Fertility Kit

In April, Walgreen’s 7,800 U.S. stores plan to start selling a fertility test that determines if a man is producing enough sperm to get a woman pregnant. Walgreen, CVS [and Amazon] have already started selling SpermCheck Fertility online.

The blue-and-gold box, which features a smiling couple holding a newborn, will join more than two dozen varieties of female fertility tests in Walgreen stores. SpermCheck’s owner and distributor, closely held ContraVac Inc., is banking on women dropping an extra $40 for the test when they buy ovulation and pregnancy kits for themselves.

“In our society, the woman carries the burden of trying to determine the issues surrounding infertility,” said Ray Lopez, ContraVac’s chief executive officer. “Men don’t say, ‘Let me go to the urologist and give a semen sample.’”

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Overcoming Male Infertility
-- Hope and strategies for couples dealing with male infertility If you or your partner is suffering from male infertility, you're not alone. Millions of couples are struggling with this problem. About 40% of these couples have exclusively male infertility problems, while another 20% have both male and female infertility problems. Now, two leading experts, a urologist specializing in male infertility and a psychologist, team up to write the most complete guide available on male infertility. From the latest, state-of-the-art treatments to advice on how to handle the emotional aspects of male infertility, you'll find out where to get the help you need. Overcoming Male Infertility also covers the psychological issues that are unique to men, and gives advice to women on helping their man through the trauma of infertility treatment--including how to get him to see a doctor in the first place.

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EATING fruit and vegetables daily halves the chance of miscarriage, research shows.

A study of thousands of pregnant women revealed those who included fruit and vegetables regularly in their diet were 46 per cent less likely to miscarry.

Chocolate, vitamin tablets, dairy products, fish and white meat also increased the odds of a successful pregnancy.

Underweight women, however, were 70 per cent more likely to miscarry.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

Marriages and Miscarriages: One Woman's Personal Experience
-- Kathleen Smith shares her experience regarding the three miscarriages she experienced. The trials and emotional changes, the feelings experienced when being around other pregnant woman after having had a miscarriage, how turning to God got her through them, and more.
Kathleen, a mother of three and entering her sixteenth year of marriage, relates her personal feelings and emotions. As you read the book you will experience a conversation with Kathleen about this topic, and learn how one woman dealt and struggled with this topic.

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Caffeine changes women's estrogen levels and has different effects in Asian and white women, a new study says.

More than 250 women, ages 18 to 44, took part in the study between 2005 and 2007. On average, they consumed 90 milligrams of caffeine a day, about the equivalent of one cup of caffeinated coffee.

Estrogen is the reproductive hormone produced by the ovaries.

Asian women who consumed an average of 200 milligrams or more of caffeine a day (equivalent to about two cups of coffee) had elevated estrogen levels compared to women who consumed less. But white women who consumed the same amount of caffeine had slightly lower estrogen levels than women who consumed less.

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Stock photo credit: dspruitt
All rights reserved

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Rewinding Your Biological Clock: Motherhood Late in Life
-- In 1996, Dr. Richard Paulson assisted a 63-year-old woman to conceive using in vitro fertilization with a donor egg, and she became the oldest woman in the world to give birth. This incredible example of how assisted reproductive technologies, or ART, can change the course of nature, raises tough biological, emotional, and ethical issues. Rewinding Your Biological Clock is a unique exploration of each of these issues, especially the "how-to" of peri- and post-menopausal pregnancy. Written by a leading fertility specialist and a health educator, this original and daring book rethinks society's most fundamental beliefs about motherhood, aging and life itself.

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The average age of women becoming mothers has risen in the United States, and in the last 20 years, a few women have even entered motherhood in their 60s.

By implanting embryos produced by in-vitro fertilization using egg cells donated by younger women, women who have passed menopause can become pregnant and give birth.

A new study of 101 women age 50 and older who had children using donated eggs reveals that pregnancy at this age carries about the same risks as similarly induced pregnancies in younger women. The study is the largest one to date looking at pregnancy in post-menopausal women.

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CREDIT: Pregnancy photo via Shutterstock

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

The Infertility Cure: The Ancient Chinese Wellness Program for Getting Pregnant and Having Healthy Babies
-- Infertility affects one out of six couples today. Dr. Lewis presents a groundbreaking alternative approach to infertility, explaining how she used traditional Chinese medicine to treat her own infertility, successfully conceiving and giving birth to two children.
In Lewis's experience, women who have undergone three to six months of the dietary changes, herbs and acupuncture treatments become pregnant with no further effort. Lewis intersperses her somewhat technical examination of the program with anecdotes about her patients, weaving in discussions on diet, herbal supplements, acupuncture, older women and problems related to infertility.

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Experiments by researchers in Argentina have suggested that using wifi-connected laptop computers could affect male fertility.

In simulated tests, the sperm of 33 volunteers was negatively affected, showing diminished mobility and an increased breakdown of its DNA.

While tests have yet to be conducted on female subjects, some say the discovery suggests use of the devices could reduce a man's fertility and increase the danger of genetic deformities in affected embryos.

Source

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

Surviving In-vitro Fertilization: IVF Stories and Inspiration from the Women who have been there
-- True IVF stories and inspiration from the women who have been there. In-vitro fertilization is not a journey you need to take alone. The women in this book who share their stories, thoughts, and lessons learned, have been in the IVF trenches - some for long periods of time. We call them the IVF veterans. They've struggled, cried, laughed, and inspired. Let their experience guide you through the process and use their knowledge and tips as a beacon of insight for your own journey. In-vitro fertilization is, on your best days, a journey that empowers you toward your ultimate goal of being a mom.

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Sunlight boosts fertility, according to new research that claims vitamin D can balance sex hormones in women and improve sperm count in men.

The findings suggest some couples could be undergoing unnecessary and costly fertility treatments when spending time in the sunshine could be more beneficial.

'People could either spend more time outside in the sun - or take vitamin D supplements, which are a safe and cheap way to increase levels,' says lead author Dr Elisabeth Lerchbaum.

The researchers at the Medical University of Graz in Austria found that women ovulate less and their eggs have a reduced chance of implanting in the womb in the winter months

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
The Fertility Diet: Groundbreaking Research Reveals Natural Ways to Boost Ovulation and Improve Your Chances of Getting Pregnant
-- Reveals startling new research from the landmark Nurses' Health Study, which shows that the food you eat can boost your fertility. The book prescribes ten simple changes in diet and activity that can increase your chances of getting pregnant.
Groundbreaking findings into changes you can put into practice today, setting the stage for a healthy pregnancy and forming the foundation for an eating strategy that will serve you well for the rest of your life. The Fertility Diet also offers a week's worth of meal plans and delicious recipes that will make following the guidelines easy and tasty.

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The many stories circulating about fertility problems and treatments may give you the impression that the incidence of infertility is rising. On the other hand, a 2002 CDC report says that infertility has actually declined substantially in the past twenty years, though that report has been disputed. If you’re confused about fertility, it’s probably because you’ve been paying attention—the messages out there are mighty mixed.

Though the use of fertility treatments is rising, there’s no evidence that the intrinsic span of women’s fertile years has changed much over time. While advancing treatment options can expand the span for some, the blockage of fallopian tubes brought on by pelvic inflammatory disease or endometriosis can impair it for others. Then there’s the male infertility element.

So if women aren’t more infertile now than in the past, why are the numbers of visits to fertility doctors rising?

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:

Ready: Why Women Are Embracing The New Later Motherhood
In 2006, one in every twelve women giving birth for the first time in the US was 35 or older, while in 1970 it was just one in one hundred. Add in the many contemporary later adoptive moms and you’ve got a substantial portion of the population starting families after 35!

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