Posted: 15 Dec 2009 09:46 AM PST

Parenthood gives a human being a sense of total fulfillment. It is a sublime experience, a necessary corollary of love, without which many people find themselves incomplete. The sad truth is that there are many who are forced to live with this sense of incompleteness, with unrealized dreams of parenthood. They are constantly in search of different types of infertility information that can help them out of their predicament.

Infertility Defined

Infertility is the inability to conceive through natural means, or sustain a pregnancy even if conception takes place. Most of the infertility problems, and the resultant need for infertility treatment, is a woman's cross. First of all, to conceive, a woman must have right ovulation cycles, with regular menstruation. Other problems that cause infertility are a blocked tube, tubal legation, or uterine problems. From the male side, a low sperm count or weak sperms can cause infertility. There are also some medically inexplicable situations where pregnancy does not occur.

Infertility and Age

The age of a woman can substantially influence her ability to bear a child. A woman's body could lose up to 1000 eggs a month and of these only one is exposed to be fertilized. The probabilities of medical conditions like endometriosis, STD or sexually transmitted diseases, PCOS or polycystic ovarian syndrome, also increase with age. All these make her more vulnerable to infertility, and in need of infertility treatment, as age advances.

Infertility Causes and Solutions

PID, or pelvic inflammatory disease, involves infections to ovaries, uterus lining, fallopian tubes etc. Having right infertility information regarding such diseases will help women a lot in preventing these problems. Often it is untreated bacterial infections like gonorrhea or chalmydia that later aggravate into PID. Blocking of fallopian tubes is also the result of bacterial infection that reaches up to areas surrounding the ovary. Conceiving through in vitro fertilization is possible after curing PID.

PCOS, or polycystic ovarian syndrome, is a hormonal complaint that can lead to barrenness by interfering with the ovulation cycle. When ovulation becomes irregular, timely fertilization becomes difficult, and this will result in infertility. Infertility treatment is available for women with PCOS. The anti-diabetic drug Metformin is an effective medication for the condition. It rectifies the hormonal imbalance by increasing the ability of the system to take in insulin.

Secretions of hypothalamus, and that of endocrine glands like testes, ovaries, pituitary gland, pancreas, thyroid, and adrenal glands, are crucial in making people fertile. Failure to conceive could result from the irregular activity of any of these glands. Timely treatment will correct the problem.

A healthy lifestyle is also a form of infertility treatment. Drinking too much, smoking, substance abuse, being overindulgent in food, lack of exercise, a stressful career, obesity, and sundry other unhealthy circumstances can create an atmosphere that is not conducive to conceiving. An altered lifestyle devoid of such negativities has been found to increase the chances of pregnancy.

Idiopathic infertility is a condition where a woman fails to become pregnant, even though both the partners have been found to be medically fit to reproduce. No specific infertility treatment can be prescribed for such a condition. Still, maintaining a healthy lifestyle will improve the chances of conceiving and looking forward to a life enlivened by baby joy.

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The IVF Procedure & the Cost of IVF

Posted: 15 Dec 2009 09:22 AM PST

In vitro fertilization (commonly referred to as simply IVF) is a method of assisted reproduction that provides infertile couples a chance to have a baby who is biologically related to them.

With IVF, a man's sperm and the woman's egg are brought together in a laboratory dish, where fertilization occurs. The embryo which forms is then transferred to the uterus (womb) of the woman to develop naturally. Each attempt at this is referred to as a cycle, with the cost of each cycle being around $12,000.

So, what exactly is involved in each cycle? Here is a more detailed explanation...

The woman may be given certain drugs (hormones) to induce her ovaries to create several eggs. A surgeon then inserts a needle through the vagina into the woman's ovary to take out the eggs. General anesthesia is not necessary for this part of the procedure, but the woman is sometimes given a mild sedative. At the same time, the man provides a semen sample. He will be asked not to have sex for a few days prior to the eggs being retrieved from the woman. The sperm are separated from the semen in a laboratory procedure.

Following this, the sperm will be mixed in a laboratory dish with the eggs taken from the woman. About 18 hours after this fertilization procedure, it is possible to find out if the egg or eggs have fertilized and have begun to grow as embryos. Should this have happened, they will be incubated over the next 2-7 days. After that time, the embryos will be transferred into the woman's uterus through the cervix with a catheter (a long slender tube). She is then given certain hormones for the following 10-14 days. All being well (the egg or eggs attach to the uterine wall and grow), a pregnancy test will give a positive result.

The pregnancy success rate of the IVF procedure is 37% for women younger than 35 years, 27% for those between 36-39 years and 14% in those who are 40+ years. On the basis of the those percentages, the final cost of IVF is generally more than $20,000, as a minority of couples succeed at their first attempt.

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Pregnancy Stages

Posted: 15 Dec 2009 09:21 AM PST

When will my baby start kicking? When would I start feeling the fluttering in my tummy? When would s/he develop fingers and toes? Can he/she hear me or feel my touch? Is he/she big enough to respond to me? All these and a lot more questions keep coming to the mind of a pregnant woman every now and then. She can easily find answers to these by acquiring the relevant knowledge about Pregnancy stages. Knowing about these stages would give her a fair idea about what to expect when.

This would make the mother know what her little one inside her is up to. It actually comes with the explanation of what would happen next in various pregnancy stages. This subsides the anxiety of would-be mothers and helps them to handle each stage in a better way. These phases of pregnancy are medically referred to as pregnancy trimesters. These trimesters greatly differ from each other in terms of development and growth of the baby taking place during their course.

Medical experts from all over the world have affirmed that every pregnancy is different from the other. And so are the symptoms shown in various pregnancy stages. Some may start feeling the heartburns in the very first trimester itself whereas some may not feel it at all.

The first trimester is considered to be the most crucial of all the stages of pregnancy. It inflicts a lot of changes upon the would-be mother. Right from tender breasts to constant tiredness and from nausea to frequent urination; all occur during this time itself. This trimester does not only cause various changes in the body of the mother but also witness the heartbeat of the baby as well. It is during this phase only that the baby moves its tiny limbs. In the second month of pregnancy, around the seventh week, the face of the baby will develop giving way to the development of various vital organs as well. It is therefore quintessential for the mother to have a balanced diet during this phase. This would ensure that the baby would get all the nutrients desired for a proper development and periodic growth.

In the second trimester, the baby starts growing further and by the 16th week s/he develops a stronger heartbeat and fine body hair.

The next stage, that is, the third trimester is the time for the mother to start taking baby birth lessons. As by the 35th week both the mother and the baby would come full term and would be anxiously waiting for the DUE DATE. Around this time only, the use of the pregnancy calculators and calendars gets enhanced more than ever for the expecting women consult them every now and then.

Pregnancy stages can be dealt with quite easily if the would-be mother is aware about them. She can cope better with her changing body if she knows what can happen and when. Also, being better informed will actually save her a lot of undue stress.

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Early Pregnancy Symptoms - Nausea, Dizziness, and Food Cravings

Posted: 15 Dec 2009 09:18 AM PST

Early pregnancy symptoms may vary significantly from one woman to another. In fact, even a single woman may experience different symptoms each time they are pregnant. The journey of these special nine months brings an array of bodily changes, behavioral changes, complications, and uncomfortable experiences. But all these things can be dealt with very easily by taking an educated approach. A pregnant woman must be well aware of the reasons why such changes take place and know how to ease the uncomfortable effects of such changes. There is no need to worry because these changes are temporary and they automatically go away with time.

Nausea

Vomiting, nausea, and queasiness are some of the early pregnancy symptoms that may appear right from the first week after conception. Some would-be moms may feel queasy all day. Some experience nausea during the evening, afternoon, or morning. Others may feel like vomiting when they have an empty stomach, when they eat something, or when they have coffee. The easiest way to deal with these symptoms is to take small (snack-size) but more frequent meals, such as six small meals instead of three big meals. Taking milk or saltine crackers may also be helpful. These symptoms usually automatically disappear with the beginning of the second semester of pregnancy.

Fainting Or Dizziness

Fainting or dizziness is one of the most surprising early pregnancy symptoms. A pregnant woman may feel lightheadedness during the initial few weeks when standing up suddenly after sitting for over fifteen minutes or while going upstairs. This may happen because of low blood pressure caused by the swelling uterus. An empty stomach can also be another reason for this to happen. This is the reason why pregnant women are strongly recommended to eat healthy snacks frequently all day. Working women can take with them some portable lunch box foods, such as boxes of raisins, granola bars, juice boxes, small cartons of milk, cheese and crackers, carrots and celery, yogurt cups, grapes, bananas, and apples.

Aversions To Food Or Food Cravings

Aversions to food and/or food cravings can also be another one of the interesting early pregnancy symptoms. A pregnant woman may experience a significant change in her tastes. She may develop cravings for certain foods that she never liked before. There are so many funny stories about food cravings. Many women crave unusual combinations of foods, such as vanilla ice cream topping warm peach pie and taking it as a midnight snack. Likewise, when a woman is expecting, she may develop distaste for foods that used to be her favorites. Even the smell of such foods may make them feel nausea. Such symptoms may last throughout pregnancy for some women. For others, the problem may come and go.

Overall, the more informed you are about the various early pregnancy symptoms, the easier your pregnancy journey will be.

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Expecting That Little Buddle of Joy?

Posted: 15 Dec 2009 09:02 AM PST

Every mother will fully agree with me that the joy of holding that little baby after birth is an unexplainable feeling. Whether you had planned for a baby or not, being a parent is an experience that can never be quantified. Carrying that little one for nine months makes one wake up to a reality that your life is not yours alone anymore.

As you live through the first trimester's morning sickness (for those who have it), take it easy. You do not have to struggle much with your emotions and mood swings, learn how to control them. A balanced diet is a must irrespective of how wild your cravings are. Start your antenatal clinics early and avoid missing them.

Be keen to have prenatal exercises. Be sure you bask in the sun often to get a good dose of vitamin D, which is essential for bone development of your unborn baby. Your gynecologist might prescribe some multi-vitamin tablets too. It is advisable to go for an ultra sound scan too so as to know the position and progress of the baby.

Prepare early, buy what needs to be bought when you can still walk around easily. When shopping for your baby's clothes, do not buy many because they outgrow them very fast. Enjoy your pregnancy, unless you have complications, being pregnant does not mean that you have been condemned to suffering.

Buy nice clothes that will reveal your beautiful figure. For those who stare at pregnant women, please note it is rude, and if you must look then do not make it so obvious. Enjoy your pregnancy and good luck when the day finally comes for baby to be born.

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