Let’s Bust Some Myths About Infertility And Pregnancy

There’s no shortage of myths when it comes to pregnancy and infertility. Chances are high that you must have heard about many of them from your family and friends which either make you feel better or increase your fear about your reproductive life. However it’s very necessary to separate myths from facts especially when you are trying to conceive as some of these myths can hold you back from taking a proper treatment for fertility and can lead you to wrong ways.

Usually the issue of infertility remains mysterious to the couples as they do not have proper information neither do they contact a doctor for it. Infertility is considered something to be ashamed about and couples feel shyness and embarrassment to discuss about it. Myths have very strong effect on people’s mind and it have made a very clear way in our society. All of these things affect the decision making of couples regarding the treatment of infertility.

Let’s get to know about some of these myth and facts behind them.

• MYTH – Infertility is a problem of woman.
  FACT – This is the most common myth of infertility as every women going through infertility is accused of it without going through proper tests of both the people in couple. It is that half of the infertility cases are due to male factors like sperm disorders, shape of sperm, number of sperms or ability of sperm to move effectively.
• MYTH – Before seeing a specialist doctor couple should always try for at least a year.
  FACT – Yes it’s true that infertility is characterized by no conception even after one year of unprotected intercourse but it is just a guideline not a rule. Any woman who is above 35 years of age and have history of fibroids, irregular periods, multiple miscarriages, endometriosis, ectopic pregnancy or pelvic adhesive disease should seek medical help. Same goes for the male who have history of trauma to genitals, infection or surgery.
• MYTH – Birth control pills usage can cause infertility.
  FACT – Fact is that contraceptive pills do not affect fertility either in negative or positive way. Normal menstrual cycle of a woman will usually continue within one or two month after she stop taking the pill and if it doesn’t continue normally than do consult a obstetrician.
• MYTH – After birth of one baby conception is easy.
  FACT – This isn’t always true and many people are known to suffer from infertility issue after having their first baby and this is known as secondary infertility. Usually people think that if they have conceived first time than it is almost impossible that they would have any infertility issue second time. The causes here are usually blockage in fallopian tubes, poor sperm quality or quantity, defective ovulation, etc.

Infertility can be caused due to genetics, diseases or anatomical ailments but there are also many lifestyle activities which have played a role in infertility. Rise in lifestyle diseases have contributed in increased risk of infertility. There are many evidences which suggests that bad lifestyle habits like smoking, unhealthy weight and increasing age have adverse effect on fertility of a couple. Fertility is affected by our daily activities, factors we are born with and things we are exposed to. It is necessary to have awareness about these factors in order to maintain good reproductive health.

1. Obesity – Both men and women’s reproductive health is affected by obesity. Unhealthy increase in weight have not only physical but psychological and emotional effect on chances of reproduction. In case of woman’s fertility, hormones production are significantly affected by obesity. If a woman is significantly overweight or underweight, it can inhibit the normal ovulation and cause menstrual irregularities. Obesity can increase the risk of miscarriages and also being overweight causes longer in conception than normal weight people. In case of males, if they are obese, the testosterone levels are low and risk of impaired sperm production and low sperm quality is high.
2. Tobacco – Cigarette smoke contains nicotine which in body is converted into a substance that slows down the movements of sperms. Sperm density is affected by the heavy metals like lead and cadmium.Chewing tobacco damages the structure of the sperm while cigarette smoke affects the DNA of sperms. While smoking or chewing tobacco ages the ovaries prematurely and causes other health ailments as well.
3. Stress – We know that stress is unavoidable especially in today’s world and lifestyle but the point here is to manage it. When couple is trying to conceive and they are not being successful in it, anxiety and worry develops which further leads to hormonal imbalance and eventually affecting fertility.
4. Alcohol consumption – Alcohol decreases the levels of the sex hormones which causes abnormalities in the menstrual cycle of a woman and inability to conceive. Woman who is trying to conceive should completely stop drinking alcohol also it harms the well being of baby.

Road to parenthood can be challenging but if you are determined and support each other in this process, it can help in enhancing the fertility. There are certain food choices and lifestyle changes you can do to boost your fertility and maybe even you don’t need any secondary procedures for conceiving.

• Food rich in antioxidants – Zinc and folate are the antioxidants that enhances the fertilityin both women and men. Such food deactivates or eliminates the free radicals from the body which damages egg cells and sperm.
• Stay active – Exercising and staying active not only help you maintain your physical health but also boost fertility. Especially people with obesity must be exercising daily however that should be in moderation.
• Relax yourself – Stress is major factor for decreased fertility as stress is inversely proportional to fertility. Stress goes up, fertility goes down because stress causes certain hormonal changes that are bad for your fertility. Hence, take support and help to reduce your anxiety and relax yourself if you are trying to get pregnant.
• More fiber in diet – Fiber helps in maintaining a balance of hormones by eliminating the more of them and also helps in keeping blood sugar in balance. Take soluble fiber like present in oats, avocado, sweet potatoes etc.

Good lifestyle and nutrition is vital for conceiving as well as for your overall health. Making healthy changes in diet and lifestyle can help you boost fertility and prevent you from going for the secondary measures for conceiving.