Expecting Fitness - Misc. Articles

"Fertility wine". It turns out that moderate wine drinking (1/2 - 7 glasses per week) makes women 30% more likely to conceive within a year, than nondrinkers. Beer and liquor had little effect. Wine can also reduce heart disease. However, once pregnant all alchol is a no-no. Fetal alchol syndrome can cause sever dysfunction and health problems in the child.

From hang-ten to baby: women that practice stress reduction by meditation, hypno therapy, exercise and change for healthier nutritional habits are more likely to fall pregnant.

Body fat and fertility: according to the American society of reproductive medicine, having too little body fat shuts down your estrogen and reproductive cycle and being too fat produces too much of the Estrone (a bad estrogen). Exercise makes your body produce Esradiol (the good fertility estrogen).

Douching downfall. Although research shows douching may be harmful, 65% of women surveyed in the Southeast think it is good hygienic practice In fact, some studies have linked douching to pelvic inflammatory disease, which can lead to infertility. Don't douche unless your MD recommends it.

Acupuncture for fertility? Trying to conceive through in vitro fertilization? Acupuncture could improve your chances by almost 50 percent, suggests a study in Fertility and Sterility. Further research is needed to confirm the connection, but scientists say placing needles in points along the stomach before IVF may relax the uterus, making it more receptive to fertilization.

Pills and Pounds Birth control pill consumers who weigh 155 pounds or more are 60% likelier to get pregnant despite the Pill than slimmer women, a study in Obstetrics & Gynecology shows. The risk is even higher for those who use low-dose pills. Heavier women process hormones more quickly, which lowers the Pill's effectiveness.

New Ovulation Tool Fertilité OV (FDA-approved) is a watch-sized unit that gives you a full 4 days notice before ovulation - it measures your sweat glands, is worn 6 times/day, and costs $200 (with monthly refills at $30).

Home Menopause Fertility Test As women are having children at more advanced ages than in the past, now there is a home test for women to test their fertility or possible lack of it. This urine test monitors your FSH hormone levels and two consecutive readings of elevated FSH levels indicate a slowing of fertility and a menopausal transition. The test is currently available for about $60. It's not the only piece in the fertility puzzle or an end-all answer, but it's a beginning for women to gain control and knowledge of their reproductive aging.

Aspirin - a fertility pill? A study in Fertility and Sterility says that women were more likely to become pregnant when taking as little as 100 mg (1/3 an aspirin) a day. However, once pregnant aspirin is not allowed as it may cause birth defects.

Infertile herbs. The Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California has found that the herbs St. John's Wort, echinacea and ginkgo biloba seems to prevent sperm from penetrating the eggs making pregnancy more difficult.