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Fertility Tips: Trying to Conceive

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Want to increase your odds of hitting the reproductive jackpot? The following tips from Ann Douglas -- author of The Mother of All Pregnancy Books (U.S. edition and Canadian edition), The Mother of All Pregnancy Organizers and The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby (first edition and the brand new second edition) -- will help you to maximize your chances of conceiving quickly and ending up with a healthy baby. (Note: If you find this list of tips helpful, you may want to read some of Ann's fertility articles, too.)


• Does your partner like to spend hours on the exercise bike at the gym? Tell him to hop on the treadmill instead. A study at the University of California School of Medicine revealed that men who cycle more than 100 km per week put their fertility at risk. The repeated banging of the groin against the bicycle seat can damage critical arteries and nerves.
• You can have too much of a good thing -- at least when it comes to exercise. Excessive amounts of exercise can lead to such fertility problems as irregular periods, anovulatory cycles (cycles in which ovulation does not occur), and luteal phase deficiencies (a problem that occurs when the second half of your cycle isn't long enough to allow for the proper implantation of the fertilized egg). The moral of the story? Stay active, but don't overdo it.
• Don't go on a crash diet if you're hoping to try for that Y2K baby. Starvation diets, purging, bingeing, and yo-yo dieting affect ovulation and consequently your fertility. (Note: You can find some other nutrition-related fertility links at our sister site, ParentingLibrary.com.)
• Unhappy with your health insurance company? The time to switch companies is now. Don't get stuck with sub-standard coverage after you win at baby roulette!
• Don't make sex into a chore. Consider these words of wisdom from one of the parents interviewed in The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby:"Do not have sex every day. If you're trying to maximize your chances of conceiving, it's better to go every other day around the time you are ovulating. You are also more fresh, and therefore can put your heart into making sex as pleasurable and romantic as possible."
• Don't hop out of bed right after you finish making love. While you don't have to stand on your head to give the sperm a chance to make their way through the cervix--they are, after all, programmed to know the way!--you don't want to put gravity to work against them.
• Worried that you're less likely to be able to conceive because you've only got one functioning ovary? Here are some encouraging words. Ovulation is a random event each month, with both ovaries vying for the honor on a first-come, first-served basis. If you only have one ovary, it wins the draw by default.
• Make sure that you've been properly screened for STDs. More than one million North American women are affected by pelvic inflammatory disease each year. The number-one cause is an untreated sexually transmitted disease.
• Wondering if you should pull out the thermometer and the temperature chart? Some couples like to try to predict their fertile days by watching for the temperature shift that typically accompanies ovulation; others prefer to let nature take its course. If you're having intercourse two to three times per week anyway, you're already doing everything possible to try to conceive, so taking your temperature could be a bit of overkill. If, on the other hand, you find it reassuring to know that you're "doing everything right," then put that thermometer to good use.
• If you decide to take your basal body temperature (BBT) to track your most fertile days, pick up a digital thermometer rather than relying on the old-style mercury thermometer. It's easier to read, it requires no shaking (which can cause your body temp to go up for no good reason), and it even beeps to remind you to record your reading if you accidentally go back to sleep. If you prefer a more high-tech approach and your budget can swing it, you may want to look into fertility monitoring software or a fertility computer.
• Don't eat, drink, or get out of bed before you take your temperature. Each of these activities can affect the accuracy of your reading.
• If your partner's sperm count is low or marginal, you may be advised to have intercourse every other day to allow his sperm count to build up. Your doctor may even recommend that your partner refrain from ejaculating during the days leading up to your most fertile period.
• Here's a clear case of use it or lose it. Studies have shown that abstaining from sex for more than seven days can decrease the male partner's fertility. Any gain in sperm counts from lack of use is more than offset by the increased number of aged sperm cells with lower fertilization potential.