Getting Pregnant: What You Need to Know Right Now

Introduction: The Really Good News About Getting Pregnant\ When I was in medical school in the 1960s, the birth control pill was the prescription of the decade. Indeed, young men and women were far more concerned with avoiding pregnancy than with getting pregnant. Happily, this is no longer the case. Today, getting pregnant is something more and more couples view as a joyous life-expanding experience to be celebrated and cherished. And, too, we have seen the "birth" of the single mother, with many women choosing to honor the alarm on their biological clock by becoming mothers whether or not they have a suitable mate in mind.\ Fortunately, along with these changes in our attitude about pregnancy came some equally important scientific advances that made it faster and easier for all women to get pregnant, and for most couples to achieve their parenting goals.\ \ New information about both male and female biology has given us ways to encourage not only faster but healthier conceptions, with fewer chances for miscarriage and birth defects.\ Discoveries concerning the cause of infertility have given us new ways for men and women to protect their childbearing ability as well as their sexual vitality while they safely postpone childbearing.\ Outstanding advances in nutritional therapy have given us new ways to harness the power of vitamins and minerals and in the process helped us not only reduce the risk of birth defects but also protect and even increase fertility, in both men and women.\ Stellar progress made in the treatment of infertility itself — including powerful new medications, new forms of microsurgery, and brand-new laboratory-assisted procedures — has not only allowed more previously infertile couples to get pregnant, but has given us new ways that even parents over age thirty-five can have a safer, healthier pregnancy.\ \ In fact, thanks to what we have learned in the past several years alone, almost every woman who wants to have a baby can have one!\ Why I Wrote This Book\ Although the field of reproductive medicine continues to explode with new advances, my deep commitment to fertility research goes back several decades. As a member of several key scientific teams I have devoted thousands of hours to reproductive research, and my work has taken me around the world more than three times, to the capitals of Europe where the first "test tube" baby was conceived, to Russia, South America, and the Far East — anywhere I could learn the latest information on the reproductive system. Beginning in 1990, I joined forces with a team of dedicated physicians and researchers to create a medical center specifically to deal with infertility problems. As a result I have been able to see, firsthand, the exciting, almost miraculous ways in which the field of reproductive medicine has continued to grow, and how it can and does change peoples lives.\ \ Couples who were thought to be hopelessly infertile are now able to conceive and deliver not just one, but two and three perfect children.\ Those who previously miscarried up to fifteen times are now giving birth to healthy, full-term babies.\ Women who thought they were "too old" to have a baby are now giving birth to wonderful, beautiful children. Even those women who reach menopause prematurely — in their mid-forties, for example — have brand-new options for having a baby of their own.\ \ Time and again my colleagues and I have witnessed a dramatic rise in the number of our fertility patients who are able to have all-natural conceptions and healthy pregnancies just by making a few simple dietary and lifestyle changes.\ As astounding and important as these advances were, as I traveled the country giving lectures and making television appearances, I began to see that too many couples were still not taking advantage of all the possibilities. My colleague and coauthor Colette Bouchez, an award-winning and respected medical journalist and researcher, began to see the same thing, even among her sophisticated urban readers. While we both did our best to bring much of the good news about reproductive medicine to the public, we could see that too often, too many couples were still "in the dark" about all of their options. While some, certainly, had the basic information about such procedures as in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination, both Colette and I were continually amazed at how few people were informed about the really dramatic advances. Indeed, even many physicians were not aware of some of the great and relatively easy new fertility procedures that we knew could change people's lives.\ Thus, we conceived the idea for this book — a resource and a guide to the newest, most important fertility information available today, data that has made and will continue to make a significant difference in people's lives. It is our hope that this book will make a difference in your life as well.\ Part One: How the New Discoveries Can Help You\ If you are planning to have a baby in the very near future or even if you haven't yet decided when motherhood will be right for you, knowing the factors that could affect your childbearing potential will enable you to take the necessary steps to protect your reproductive options and ensure that your body remains ready for pregnancy throughout your childbearing years. Part One of this book was developed to help you do just that.\ It begins by exploring the very latest information on how your reproductive system functions and what biological factors can cause it to malfunction. It also explains how you can use your family history to help predict fertility problems and discusses the preventative treatments you can begin right now. It also shows how the ways in which you and your partner live, work, and play may be affecting your reproductive health, and suggests things you both can do, starting today, to make the most of your most fertile years. In Part One you will also discover:\ \ New information on how your immune system affects your fertility, and on the power boosters that can save your reproductive health\ How to tell if your job is harming your fertility\ The influence that alcohol, caffeine, and medication, as well as cell phones, computers, and other new technologies may be having on your reproductive health, and the steps you can immediately take to protect your childbearing options\ The kind of birth control to use to safely postpone a pregnancy without harming your fertility\ \ Here, you'll also find a primer on the most common sexually transmitted diseases, with new information on how to keep even the most devastating infections from harming your reproductive health. You'll learn to recognize the early signs and symptoms — in both yourself and your partner — and find out the latest treatment options.\ And, finally, you 'll learn important new truths about male fertility, along with vital new ways your partner can protect his virility and his potency, while decreasing your risk of miscarriage and protecting your baby from birth defects.\ Part Two: Getting Pregnant Right Now — More Good News\ If you are thinking about getting pregnant in the near future, and especially if you are actively trying to conceive right now, Part Two was written for you. It provides the very latest information on the factors that may influence your immediate ability to conceive, and to sustain a healthy pregnancy.\ In this section you'll find:\ \ Breakthrough treatments for preventing miscarriage — and what you can do before you conceive to reduce your risks\ The links between dieting and conception — and how to find your ideal fertility weight\ How your fitness workouts may be blocking your ability to get pregnant — plus the exercises that can help you get pregnant faster\ How stress affects conception\ How to avoid major pregnancy complications\ How to get pregnant fast — including how sex affects conception\ What you can do to influence the sex of the child you conceive\ \ Want to have a boy? Can't wait to have a girl? We'll tell you how!\ In addition, you'll find an exciting new kind of nutritional guide with information on the foods that can increase your fertility and encourage your reproductive health. You will also find all the latest information on the vitamins, minerals, and herbs that can not only influence your ability to get pregnant but help reduce your baby's risk of problems from the moment of conception. You'll even learn how making love on your birthday can give your fertility a secret boost, and may help you get pregnant faster!\ Finally, you'll read about the new Fertility Exam 2000, the very latest form of pre-conception counseling that can help ensure your pregnancy right from the start. Included are all the tests and treatments your doctor should be administering to help ensure that any baby you conceive will be healthy right from the start. What's more, with the information provided, you will be able to uncover any potential fertility problems you may not know you have and learn how to correct them before they seriously harm your reproductive health.\ Part Three: If You Don't Get Pregnant Right Away — What to Do\ In Part Three you will find the most advanced and most important new technologies developed to help you have a baby, even if you believe you are infertile. The data in Part Three not only will help you understand why you are having a problem getting pregnant, but will offer a multitude of options for solving your problem. Some of what this section offers:\ How to tell if you can have a baby long before you try to conceive — plus how to turn the pregnancy odds in your favor\ Superovulation, one of the newest ways for every woman to increase her chances for conception\ The surprising truth about fertility drugs, including new information about their safety, and how they can help you have a natural conception\ Brand-new time- and money-saving fertility surgeries that require no hospitalization and can help you get pregnant in record time\ Because we now know that male fertility is a factor for nearly half of all couples who cannot conceive, this section will also offer the very latest treatments for male fertility, including the brand-new ICSI procedure.\ In addition, you'll learn about the astonishing new ways that artificial insemination is helping millions of couples get pregnant, and you'll find information on the breakthroughs that can increase the success of all laboratory-aided conceptions, including in vitro fertilization, and even let you know beforehand which of the new methods is going to be best for you.\ You'll also learn about the GIFT procedure and it's newest cousin, called ZIFT, both of which can help you achieve a faster, easier, healthier conception regardless of your age or how long you have been infertile.\ Later in this section you will also find the latest information on donor eggs and donor sperm, as well as the new data on embryo freezing. And in a special chapter devoted to the midlife pregnancy you will find all the information you need to help you get pregnant after age thirty-five, including special dietary precautions and the treatments that will and won't help you conceive.\ Part Four: Your Personal Pregnancy Planner\ In Part Four of this book you'll find a Personal Pregnancy Planner — a six-month guide that takes you step-by-step through everything you need to do to have a healthy baby, whether you conceive on your own or with laboratory assistance.\ Whether showing you ways to protect your fertility from current dangers or helping you restore it from dangers past, the programs in this book were developed to help you have a fast, easy, healthy conception. Not only can you be sure of your ability to get pregnant right now, but you can retain your reproductive options throughout your childbearing years. You have the power to achieve your parenting dreams. Good luck and go for it — we're on your side!\ Copyright © 1991, 2000 by Niels H. Lauersen, M.D., Ph.D., and Colette Bouchez

Preface: Getting Pregnant in the New Millennium: Dear Mother-to-BexvIntroduction: The Really Good News About Getting Pregnant1Part INew Discoveries: What Affects Fertility MostChapter 1How Your Body Works: the Latest News11The New Conception ChemistryThe Hormones That Help You Get PregnantGetting Ready to Get PregnantHow Your Life Cycles FunctionWhy You Get a Menstrual PeriodHow Your Personal Biology Affects Your FertilityYou Can Prevent InfertilityChapter 2Seven Super Fertility Threats and How to Avoid Them20Surgical Adhesions (Scar Tissue)Pelvic Inflammatory DiseaseFibroid TumorsOvarian Cysts and PCODPMSAbortionsEctopic PregnancyA Final Thought About Your FertilityChapter 3Your Immune System and Your Fertility: What You Need to Know About Endometriosis, Thyroid Disorder, and More53The Secret Immune Disorder That Destroys FertilityEndometriosis, Immunity, and FertilityA Final ThoughtChapter 4Finally! The Truth About Male Fertility69Problem Within a ProblemUnderstanding Male Fertility: What Every Woman Needs to KnowSeven Super Male Fertility Threats and How to Avoid ThemThe Male Fertility Protection ExamA Final Word About Male FertilityChapter 5Sex and Infertility: What Every Couple Needs to Know Right Now97STDs: What Are They? Who's at Risk?How STDs Are SpreadHow STDs Can Affect a Woman's FertilityHow STDs Can Affect a Man's FertilityAn STD Primer: The Most Common Sexually Transmitted Diseases and How to Treat ThemHIV, AIDS, and Your FertilitySTDs: Are You at RiskA Final Word: Safe Sex, Not Fearful SexChapter 6Your Fertility from Nine to Five: Reproductive Hazards of the Workplace and How to Avoid Them128The Workplace and Your FertilityThe Reproductive Hazards: Who Is at RiskComputers and Your FertilityWorkplace CautionsWorkplace Fertility Protection GuideSeven Steps to a Safer WorkplaceYou Are Not Alone!Chapter 7Fertility Protection 2000: A Couple's Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle154The Lifestyle Fertility QuizThe Fertility Protection Update 2000Drug Abuse and Your FertilityHow Climate Affects FertilityThe Time to Protect Your Fertility Is Now!Part IIThe Fastest, Easiest Ways to a Safe, Natural ConceptionChapter 8The Pre-Conception Exam 2000: Getting Ready to Get Pregnant189How Pre-Conception Counseling WorksThe Personal Facts Your Doctor Needs to KnowThe T.H.E. 2000 Physical ExamThe Newest Diagnostic TestsTesting for Genetic DiseasesThe Final EvaluationSome Final AdviceChapter 9Body Fat, Dieting, and Fertility: How Your Weight Affects Conception207Too Thin to Get Pregnant?How Your Body Fat Affects Your FertilityOverweight and Infertile? The New LinksFinding Your Ideal Fertility WeightAchieving Your Fertility Weight GoalsEnhancing Your FertilityChapter 10Fitness, Stress, and Getting Pregnant217The Body-Fat ConnectionWorking Out: The Silent DangersThe Workouts That Can Encourage Your FertilityHow Yoga Can Help You Get PregnantStress, Anxiety, and InfertilityChapter 11Fertility Diet 2000: The Foods That Enhance Your Fertility and Protect Your Pregnancy230The Fertility Power BoostThe Antifertility FoodsFood Additives and FertilityCaffeine and InfertilityVegetarian Diets and Your FertilityA Food Strategy for Getting PregnantFertility Food Plan 2000Chapter 12Mother Nature's Bounty: All-Natural. Ways to Increase Your Fertility247The Vitamin You Need MostMore Fertility NutrientsThe Fertility Vitamin-Mineral Support GuideThe Fertility PlantsThe Herbal "Cocktail" to Boost FertilityThe Helpful Herbs That May Harm FertilityAll-Natural Male Fertility BoostersTaking the Natural ApproachChapter 13Making Love and Making Babies: How to Get Pregnant Fast272Predicting OvulationLove, Sex, and Getting PregnantSex and ConceptionOne Dozen New and Time-Tested Ways to Encourage ConceptionA Final Word About Getting PregnantChapter 14Boy or Girl ... Is There a Choice? The Latest News About Gender Selection303How Gender Selection WorksTried and True: The Shettles Method of Gender SelectionSex and Your Baby's GenderDo Opposites Attract? The Whelan MethodEat Chocolate--and Give Birth to a Baby Boy!The Electricity of LoveHigh-Tech Gender SelectionGender SelectionChapter 15Preventing Miscarriage: Now You Can!315Understanding Pregnancy LossYour Immune System and MiscarriageFour Powerful Immune Boosters to Save Your PregnancyMen, Immunity, and PregnancyPreventing Pregnancy LossFive Medical Breakthroughs That Can Save Your PregnancyDry-Cleaning, Nail Polish Remover, and MiscarriageStress and Pregnancy LossExercise and MiscarriageOrgasm and Pregnancy LossHow Water Beds Can Cause a MiscarriageThe Skin Treatment That Threatens Your PregnancyMiscarriages and MenTwenty-One Super Easy Ways to Decrease Your Risk of Miscarriage Before and After You ConceiveYou Can Stop a MiscarriageGetting Pregnant AgainPart IIIIf You Don't Get Pregnant Right Away: How Science Can HelpChapter 16Can I Have a Baby? How to Tell351How to Test Your Own FertilityHow Your Family History Can Predict Your FertilityTake Charge of Your FertilityYour Basic Fertility ExamThe Fertility Blood TestsIf You Don't Get a PeriodReading Your Body SignalsThe Postcoital Test for Fertility RhythmVisualizing Your FertilityUnder the MicroscopeLooking Inside Your BodyUnderwater VisionWhere Do We Go from Here?Seeing a Fertility ExpertChapter 17The New Fertility Surgeries: Natural Conception Made Fast and Easy371Can Fertility Surgery Help You?The Procedures--and How They Can HelpThe Nonsurgical Way to Save Your Fallopian TubesThe Fibroid Surgery That Preserves Your FertilityThe Surgery That Saves Your Fertility--Even After CancerIf You Decide on Fertility SurgerySome Final AdviceChapter 18When He's the Reason You Can't Conceive: The Newest Treatments for Male Infertility392Understanding Male FertilityGood Sperm-Bad SpermThe Male Fertility ExamCan He Make a Baby? How to Find Out FastThe Fertility Blood TestsHot Testicles and InfertilityFrom Zero Sperm Count to Fatherhood in Less Than Sixty MinutesWhen Sperm Can't Leave a Man's BodyRestoring His Sperm FlowThe New Testicle BiopsyZero Sperm Count--and You Can Still Get PregnantLove on IceRestoring Male Fertility by Reversing a VascetomyOvercoming ImpotenceA Final WordChapter 19Super Ovulation and other New Ways to a Faster, Easier Conception422Super OvulationThe Most Common Fertility Drugs and How They WorkLupron and Other "Agonizing" Treatments That Help You ConceiveGrowth HormoneProgesteroneAre Fertility Drugs Safe? What You Need to KnowFertility Drugs and YouChapter 20The New Artificial Insemination: Nothing Artificial at All440Can Artificial Insemination Help You?Not All Inseminations Are AlikeHow Your Body Helps Your Partner's SpermGetting Your Body Ready for InseminationThe Insemination ProcessDonor SpermA Final Word About InseminationChapter 21The A.R.T. of Conception: The New In Vitro Fertilization and How It Can Help You Conceive458The A.R.T. of ConceptionHow In Vitro Fertilization WorksPreparing Your Body for IVFPreparing Your Partner for IVFMaking Your BabyWhen Science Plays Mother HenGiving Your Baby Back to YouConfirming Your PregnancyImproving Your Pregnancy RateThe Natural CycleWill Your IVF Be Successful?Ensuring the Health of Your IVF BabyImproving the Odds of Your IVFA Final WordChapter 22The GIFT of Life--and Other New Technologies482What Is the GIFT Procedure--and What Makes It SpecialIncreasing Your Pregnancy Success OddsNatural Pregnancy After GIFTMore Conception OptionsICSIImproving Your Pregnancy OddsEnsuring Your ICSI BabyA Final ThoughtChapter 23The Science of Motherhood: Donor Eggs, Frozen Embryos, and More New Ways to Have a Baby502Stopping Your Biological ClockYour Donor PregnancySelecting a DonorGetting PregnantBonding to Your Donor BabyEgg FreezingGood Eggs--No PregnancyMore Pregnancy OptionsThe New SurrogacyMotherhoodChapter 24The Midlife Pregnancy: What You Need to Know518A Woman's BodyYou're Only as Old as Your EggsPreserving Your Good HealthYour Fertility ExamGetting PregnantIVF After FortyThe GIFT for Women Over FortyIncreasing Your Pregnancy Odds Even MoreProtecting Your PregnancyPreventing Birth DefectsThe Older New MomPart IVYour Personal Pregnancy Planner: A Six-Month Guide to a Safe and Healthy ConceptionPlanning Your Pregnancy Step-by-Step537Resources545Index555