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Is Stress Really Affecting One’s Fertility?

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Many women easily fall pregnant even if they smoke like a fireplace, drink a lot after dinner and even think that exercise is a waste of time. On the other hand, there are women who do all that is good but who do not get pregnant for months and years and do not take their time to become pregnant. New evidence indicates that stress affects fertility. A recent study has shown that women with high levels of alpha-amylase, an enzyme that correlates with stress, have a harder time getting pregnant. Women can, and often do become pregnant even under intense stress, for example after the death of a spouse. Women suffer from high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. In stressful situations, cortisol, similar to adrenaline, drives the metabolism to a higher speed. This can increase blood pressure, gain weight or lead to other health problems. How to get rid of the stress of women trying to get pregnant? 1. Enlist one’s partner. Research indicates that women manage inf
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Facts and Tips for Fertility Treatments

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If you are sterile, you must be examined by a doctor. Medical history, medication, sexual history, and sexual habits are taken into account. Men will indeed undergo a physical examination and often a semen analysis, which will test the health of sperm. How do we know that we are sterile? In the case of women, the test begins with a medical history and a physical examination, which includes a pelvic exam. The doctor then makes sure that she ovulates regularly and that her ovaries actually release the eggs. Blood tests are needed to measure hormone levels. The ovaries, as well as the uterus, can be examined by ultrasound and a specific x-ray test can be used to check the uterus and fallopian tubes. In about 80% of couples, the cause of infertility is indeed an ovulation problem, a fallopian tube block, or a sperm problem. In 5 to 15% of couples, all tests are quite normal and the cause is not really known. What type of treatment is available for infertility?
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New Stem Cell Research Aims to Stop Boys Losing Fertility after Childhood Cancer Treatment

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Earlier research has indeed shown that it was possible to perform a transplant of sperm stem cells from donors into the testes of infertile mice, thus restoring their fertility. However, the testes of prepubescent boys do contain so few immature sperm cells that it would be impossible to do this without actually multiplying them in the lab. It has also been observed that by isolating particular cells from the tests referred to as endothelial cells, which have been found to be critical in supporting the growth of the immature sperm cells. Efforts have been also made to a cocktail of 5 key proteins thus produced by these endothelial cells that were essential in order to keep the sperm stem cells alive and also replicate them on a long-term basis. Furthermore, tests were conducted on the method in infertile mice and were also able to restore fertility, which has been proven by the male mice that have been fathering pups. For years, in fact, researchers have indeed been trying to fin
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Can Losing Weight Increase Your Chances of Getting Pregnant?

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It has been observed that certain lifestyle habits do die hard, and one has to overcome them which is rather a difficult proposition. These habits can make one put on weight too and changing such habits is not so easy. Weight levels do matter in making conception easy. Body Mass Index (BMI) does inform one whether someone is underweight, healthy weight or overweight. It is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. BMI does not of course perfectly correlate with fat mass. It does no doubt provide an idea of disease risk. For women who are of healthy weight, a weight gain of 11.5 to 16 kg during pregnancy is recommended. Overweight and obese adults are no doubt at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, pancreatitis, and musculoskeletal diseases. Infertility in overweight and obese men Increased weight in males disrupts hormones and increases inflammation in
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Hot bathtubs can kill male fertility

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One may love indulging themselves in hot bathtubs or hot water tub and also relax in Jacuzzi baths. It is better to shed this love to indulge oneself in hot baths in case one wants to have a family. Researchers hold the opinion that the constant exposure to the existing ‘wet heat’ can indeed damage one’s fertility levels. This view has gained much ground as several studies have been conducted to this effect. The study was indeed conducted on a group of men who were used to hot bathtubs or hot water bath on a rather regular basis. They were indeed exposed to water with the higher temperature for at least 30 minutes in a week. When their semen samples were actually examined, it did show low sperm production as well as poor sperm motility rate as compared to those who were less exposed to this sort of heat. Men who have actually been diagnosed with fertility disorders, overexposure to heated water can also worsen the matter for them. However, the effect can indeed be reversed. If on
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IVF – A medicinal boon for couples seeking to reproduce

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Reproductive medicine is indeed constantly evolving to improve its success rates. Since the first IVF in 1978, where the egg was fertilized with the sperm in-vitro and then the embryo is transferred to the uterus, millions of parents have welcomed babies using the technology. Here are some technical advances that increase chances of conception. Pre-Implantation Genetic Screening (PGS): Going by tradition doctors did select embryos based upon their appearances. However, even top-rated embryos do have chromosomal abnormalities thus resulting in implantation failures. PGS screens embryos that are rather developmentally as well as chromosomally competent, usually genetically normal embryos which are transferred thus increasing the chances of implantation and also reducing miscarriage rates by about half. PGS has been referred to couples who facing failures with IVF/ICSI cycles and women with repeated miscarriages. Pre Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD): This does help couple
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Next-Gen Sequencing Procreates IVF Baby

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Much of IVF failures are on account of the abnormalities in the DNA of the fetus. These abnormalities do prevent the successful implant and even lead to miscarriages. Though there are tests to detect genetic as well as chromosomal defects in the embryo prior to IVF, they are very expensive and also have drawbacks. A new detection method has been successfully developed. This method is indeed relatively less expensive and also does overcome the drawbacks of the previous methods. This new investigation technique does allow the detection of an abnormal number of chromosomes, mitochondrial gene mutation and also individual gene mutation of the IVF embryo within a span of 16 hours. This does negate the need for embryo freezing, thus, lowering the cost to a great extent. New advancements in the fields of embryology and genetics testing have rather significantly improved In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) pregnancy success rates. The latest technological innovation, Next Generation Sequencing
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