For women today, a yearly check-up with your healthcare provider is an essential part of maintaining your fertility health at every age. The maker of First Response asked its panel of experts to share tips every woman should take to her doctor to maintain optimal fertility health at every age.
Tag: fertility health
Appendectomies No Threat to Fertility, Study Says
Getting an appendectomy doesn’t seem to hurt a woman’s chance of having babies, according to a new study that contradicts long-held beliefs among fertility experts.
In fact, UK researchers found women who’d had their appendix removed were more likely to get pregnant later on than women who hadn’t had the common surgery.
Dr. Alan B. Copperman, who heads the division of reproductive endocrinology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and was not involved in the new work, called the results “reassuring.”
“We always assume that appendectomy is a risk factor for infertility,” he told Reuters Health. “This study showed us it wasn’t necessarily the appendectomy that put patients at risk.”
Still, he warned, “I would not conclude that your fertility is enhanced by appendectomy.”
The procedure is one of the most common surgeries in the U.S. and is usually done to treat appendicitis, a potentially life-threatening inflammation of the appendix.
One in 14 people nationally will have appendicitis at some point in their life. It most commonly occurs in young people age 10 to 30.
Ruptured appendixes and bad pelvic infections after appendectomies are known to increase the risk of infertility. Some reports have also suggested the appendectomy itself might hurt a woman’s fertility, presumably because it could leave scar tissue sticking to the fallopian tubes, snagging the egg on its way to the uterus.
“A lot of patients thought they would become infertile after appendicectomy (appendectomy),” said Dr. Sami Shimi, a surgeon at the University of Dundee in Scotland, who worked on the new study. “But when I looked at the reports supporting this, they were really weak.”
He and his colleagues decided to do a bigger study, using a limited patient database. They were taken aback by the results.
“I was completely surprised that patients who had had an appendicectomy or appendicitis were more fertile, they had more subsequent pregnancies,” Shimi told Reuters Health. “And I thought, OK, I have done something wrong here.”
So the team tapped into one of the world’s largest digital repositories of medical records from primary care, the General Practice Research Database from the UK.
New Study Sounds Warning on Hormone Replacement Therapy
Women who are past menopause and healthy should not take hormone replacement therapy in hopes of warding off dementia, bone fractures or heart disease, according to a new analysis by the government task force that weighs the risks and benefits of screening and other therapies aimed at preventing illness.
Gene Discovery May Boost Fertility
A Durham University team working with scientists from Osaka University in Japan were studying fertility in mice when they discovered that the gene, which makes a protein called PDILT, enables sperm to bind to an egg, a process essential to fertilization.
Dealing With Infertility is a Roller Coaster
“You’re so young.” I hear this a lot. A subtle implication treads coyly between each word: “You’re so young so it should be easy for you to get pregnant.” But the truth is, for me and 7.3 million other Americans – it’s just not that easy. There’s nothing easy about infertility.
Infertility Awareness Week: 5 Barriers To Pregnancy Success For Black Women
It isn’t easy getting pregnant, and there are some 7.3 million infertile women in the U.S. to prove it. For black women, trying to conceive is an even more precarious spot to be in, with research putting the odds of infertility at twice that of our white counterparts.
Popcorn: A fertility superfood?
One of the best ways to boost fertility and have a healthy pregnancy is to make careful food choices. Nothing is more intimate than to swallow something and then digest it so that it becomes part of you. Yet most of us give little thought to what we eat. In today’s fast-paced lifestyle it’s critical that we also find tips that are practical so that people can incorporate healthy changes with less effort. That’s why when a good study comes along, I feel compelled to share it.
Recently, a study was presented at the American Chemical Society that revealed the potential health benefits of popcorn. Researchers found that popcorn contains more concentrated healthy antioxidants than fresh fruits and vegetables. Whole grains contain a group of chemicals called polyphenols which are able to capture free radicals and therefore protect your DNA and the proteins in your body from damage. More noteworthy, since these polyphenols are not soluble in water, they are more concentrated in dehydrated foods like uncooked popcorn so you get more of them with fewer calories. These are the same chemicals that make wine, tea, and chocolate of interest to health-conscious foodies.
What prompted researchers to investigate popcorn is that now that we know grains contain high concentrations of healthy chemicals and dietary fiber. In fact, popcorn is a completely unprocessed whole grain. As a result, one serving provides people with more than 70% of the minimal recommended daily intake. That’s more than most people in the U.S. get on a daily basis! So that’s another health benefit of this easy-to-find snack.
It is important to pay attention to how popcorn is prepared since that can be its downfall from the wellness promotion aspects. Using too much oil or covering it with the unhealthy fake butter—a.k.a. “movie theatre style”—are the worst ways to prepare a serving of popcorn. Air-popped popcorn is best since it is lowest in calories. Microwave popcorn often contains unhealthy trans fats as well as more calories. A healthy compromise is to cook popcorn on the stove in healthy canola/olive oil blend; about half the calories and the addition of some healthy omega-3 fats. Enjoy!
Robert Greene, M.D., FACOG, is a physician at the CNY Fertility Center in central New York and the author of Perfect Hormone Balance for Fertility, Perfect Hormone Balance for Pregnancy, and Happy Baby, Healthy Mom Pregnancy Journal. You can read Dr. Greene’s blog, The Greene Guide, and follow him on Twitter. This post was first published on Dr. Greene’s blog, and he kindly shared it with ConceiveOnline.com.
New face of Infertility, Under 35, Frustrated – Watching the Fertility Clock
TTC, in Internet-speak, means “trying to conceive.” Being labeled “infertile” or discovering a partner’s infertility is changing the life plans of many in their late 20s and early 30s.
The Effect of Alcohol on Fertility
The data regarding the effects of moderate alcohol intake on fertility is inconclusive at this time. The largest prospective studies conducted in Europe indicate that high levels of alcohol consumption are associated with greater difficulty conceiving.
One small Danish study identified a slight delay in conception even with alcohol ingestion of 5 drinks or less per week. However, this research relies on self-reporting of alcohol consumption which may be inaccurate. In many cases, the studies do not fully account for other factors that could be affecting fertility.
Don’t Overdo It
When you are attempting to conceive, taking a moderate approach to alcohol consumption is the wisest course of action. If having an occasional beer or glass of wine once or twice a week is part of your normal lifestyle, this is unlikely to have a significant effect on your ability to conceive. Drinking every day or consuming several drinks at one sitting is behavior you should avoid. High levels of alcohol can negatively affect many aspects of your health and is probably not good for eggs or sperm development either.
Alcohol and Pregnancy
If you think you might be pregnant, it’s time to stop consuming alcohol. Fetal harm from exposure to alcohol in the womb can lead to lifelong health problems. In fact, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) caused by maternal alcohol consumption is the leading identifiable cause of neuro-developmental disorders and birth defects in babies. No “safe level” of prenatal alcohol exposure has been identified, so pregnant women are advised to abstain from alcoholic beverages altogether.
More reasons to lose weight before you’re pregnant
We’ve written before about why it’s a good idea to shed pounds before you conceive — for one thing, it may make it easier for you to get pregnant. And we all know that being at a healthy weight is good for you and your baby, and can make childbirth easier and with fewer complications.
A new study shows more good reasons to lose weight before you conceive — or at least good reasons not to diet once you are pregnant. A study in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB Journal) found evidence that babies of mothers who were dieting around the time they conceived and early in their pregnancy were likelier to have an increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes later on in life.
It’s worth noting that the research was done in animals – sheep, in particular – and not in humans, and it focused on twin pregnancies. It also looked just at genetic changes that may or may not lead to obesity and diabetes down the road. So it’s far from conclusive. But it is an interesting insight into how changing your nutrition — for the worse, by restricting calories and possibly nutrients in an attempt to shed pounds — around the time of conception might affect your child far into his or her future.