The “Signs of Infertility in Men and Women” plus 4 more

Signs of Infertility in Men and Women
Postpartum Depression and Its Relationship to Hormones
Pregnancy Test Breakdown - What is in a Pregnancy Test?
Chinese Acupuncture and Infertility Specialists
The Types of Baby Heart Monitors

Posted: 02 Jan 2010 09:41 AM PST

Infertility is the inability to have offspring. For couples who have been trying to have a child for years, but are still unsuccessful after numerous attempts, it is thought one of the partners must have a problem; either the man has a low sperm count or the woman has ovulatory problems. These are just the two of the most common signs of infertility for men and women.

Infertility has been one of the main issues dealing with conception for both men and women nowadays. For most couples dealing with infertility, the signs are very noticeable, but for some couples, they are uneducated on the signs of infertility. This article discusses the signs of infertility for women and men.

Common Signs of Infertility in Women

Women who are trying to get pregnant but who have been unsuccessful more than once should seek professional health advice at once, especially if they are experiencing any of the following signs of infertility. An irregular monthly period is the number one common sign of infertility in women. Being underweight or overweight may be another sign that they will not be able to get pregnant. For women who are underweight, the lack of vitamins and minerals add more to their infertility problems. As for overweight women, they tend to have hormonal imbalances. The result is they may develop PCOS, or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. PCOS damages the production of eggs and the reproduction system does not function right.

Other signs of infertility in women are the abusive intake of alcohol and the excessive act of smoking. These signs refer to men, as well. People who are trying to conceive but have been under these vices for an extended period might find conception very complicated to achieve, as well as those who have used prohibited drugs. Unfortunately, these deadly vices have toxins that could damage the development of the fetus, even if the women or men have abstained from these vices for a lengthy amount of time.

Common Signs of Infertility in Men

Infertility can also affect men. In fact, it can have visible physical evidences on men. The most common sign of infertility in men is undescended testicles. Most of the time, having undescended testicles is caused by wearing skin-tight jeans or even underwear, which in return could affect the production of the sperm. Just like in women, weight also plays a great role on the factor of infertility in men. If men are underweight or overweight, the chance of them becoming infertile is very high. The worst factor that could make men infertile is when their scrotum or gonad contacts heat. Men who are chain smokers could make their sperm count very low which is another factor that could make them infertile.

It is necessary to make sure that couples hoping to conceive a child have enough knowledge about the signs of infertility before taking any further steps or actions. Both partners should see a specialist to make sure the best treatments and medications are administered to them to address their specific signs of infertility.

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Postpartum Depression and Its Relationship to Hormones

Posted: 02 Jan 2010 09:09 AM PST

Depression begins for all different reasons and so many of those cases are related to a hormone imbalance in the body. This is most evident with postpartum depression.

Our bodies produce hormones in every cell in the body, in minute amounts, but vital to the overall health of a person. There are many other disorders caused by a discrepancy in the hormone levels, such as bi-polar depression, manic depression, psychotic depression, an imbalance in the thyroid gland, menopause and many others too numerous to mention.

If you have the following symptoms, going along with signs of depression, you should visit your doctor to be tested. If you are experiencing signs of depression within a year after the delivery of your child you could be suffering from postpartum depression and there may be a need for hormone therapy.

You might be experiencing insomnia, or the reverse, sleeping all the time, mood swings, dehydration, dryness or maybe a lack of interest in sex. If so, we highly recommend seeing a specialist in hormone therapy, having some simple tests done as soon as possible and to determine the reason for your symptoms.

If it turns out to be a hormone imbalance in your body, then there are hormone therapies which will help you in alleviating these problems you are having. Taking these hormone replacements, you will feel so much better in a very short period of time and you will be asking yourself why you took so long to do something about it. Sometimes though, you are so bad off, that you really don't know that you need help. A good friend is the answer, someone who notices the change in you and has your best interests at heart.

Having friends or family who are concerned, is a big part of the process for healing. If you have had a death of someone close to you, it is imperative that you seek help and there are organizations that are available to talk you about your concerns. Talking about your feelings is the biggest part in the process towards getting well. Often new moms feel guilty about their postpartum depression. Once it is realized that this because of the hormone imbalance it is easier to accept.

There are definitely physical problems, which create the symptoms you might be experiencing but just know there are ways to address the problems too. There are synthetic hormone replacements, or a natural source, it just depends on your particular philosophy and your own choice as to which one to pick. We recommend natural or bio-identical hormone therapy and to do so only under the supervision of an expert in the field-just because someone is an MD does not mean they know about hormone therapy. And there could be some side-effects to whichever one if they are not done under proper supervision. The synthetic ones could cause some heart problems down the road, or cancer, especially for the women who are taking hormone replacement for their menopause. If you choose the more natural approach, you might develop an allergic reaction, so you might have to experiment for awhile to see which one is better for you. Don't give up though, as you will get well with the right medication.

Always consult with your health care provider, as they will do the blood tests to determine the source of your problems, so you won't experience all these problems you have been having. This cannot be emphasized nearly enough.

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Pregnancy Test Breakdown - What is in a Pregnancy Test?

Posted: 01 Jan 2010 05:43 PM PST

If you suspect that you may be pregnant it may be time to take a test. There are two types of pregnancy tests on the market today that help to confirm pregnancy, a urine test or a more detailed blood test. No matter which test you decide to go with, both tests are looking for the same thing.

A urine test is a simple and quick way to find out if you are pregnant. Most can be found in the local drugstore and done in the privacy of your home, or it can be administered quickly at a clinic or doctors office. The results are immediate and can give you an easy yes or no answer right away.

Urine tests detect a hormone in your system called Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). This hormone is secreted by the cells of the newly forming placenta that has embedded itself into the lining of the uterus and will later be secreted by the placenta itself as the pregnancy progresses. It is instrumental in supporting the production of protesterone which is needed in maintaining the body during pregnancy.

HCG can be detected in the blood stream about 11 days conception and in the urine about 14 days after. In a normal pregnancy the level of HCG found in the blood stream will double every 48-72 hrs up until 11 weeks of pregnancy, after this point, the levels stabilize and stay constant throughout the duration of the rest of the pregnancy.

HCG is an important indicator because it can be used as a measure of how a pregnancy is progressing. It is measured in units per millimeter. If your tests shows that you have anything under 5 mlU/ml, it means that you are not pregnant, while a measure of over 25mlU/ml means that you are in positive territory. Once the levels taper to around 1200mlU/ml it is in an indicator that you are heading into the second trimester.

If the levels suddenly start to taper off it can indicate a problem with the pregnancy and an ultrasound may be needed as a precautionary measure.

Testing for the HCG hormone is a necessary step in starting on your pregnancy journey.

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Chinese Acupuncture and Infertility Specialists

Posted: 01 Jan 2010 03:51 PM PST

We have all seen the images of someone with long, thin needles sticking out of their face or back or arm. The patient calmly lies on a table while the soft music plays in the background. No different with Chinese acupuncture and infertility specialists, they perform the same procedure. It has been proven to be effective in reducing some forms of infertility.

What is Acupuncture?

What lays behind this ancient Chinese medical procedure is centuries of trial and error allowing the technique to advance to the current state of the art. According to acupuncture theory, there are meridian lines along which the Qi or "life energy" flows, although there is no Western scientific data to support the meridians themselves. That in itself does not mean that they do not exist, it just means that science hasn't found them yet. There is evidence that the procedure works, but no one really knows how or why. So the controversy will continue.

The process is simple to a licensed practitioner. Fine sterilized stainless steel needles are inserted into various points along the body's meridian lines. The points are determined by the particular ailment that is either being treated or in some cases prevented. Since the energy flows along these lines, interrupting them either changes or advances the flow.

Chinese medicine, acupuncture in particular, looks at the body as a whole with each organ working in conjunction with every other. The energy flows from one to another and no one part is less important than another. So treating one may also help another area, unlike western medicine that treats each individual part separately.

How Does It Help Infertility?

Acupuncture alone does not help infertility. Most specialists will use a variety of herbs in conjunction with the acupuncture. Bringing the body to optimum health is a major goal when infertility is concerned. Making sure that all the body functions are in peak condition allows the flow of energy to run naturally as intended for reproduction. Using this combination has proven to help reduce miscarriages when receiving in-vitro fertilization by about 12% and increasing the success rate by about 16%

Who Can Administer Acupuncture Treatments?

In order to practice acupuncture, an individual must be licensed in each state. It takes between 300 and 3000 hours of formal training. The former is more of an adjunct to the practice of M.D.'s, while the latter represents a Master's Degree or Doctorate Degree. Since each state has a different licensing requirement, the schools themselves offer the degrees to accommodate the appropriate legal concern.

Will It Cure Infertility?

Since there are many factors that contribute to infertility in both men and women, there is no one set of procedures that cure infertility. It does take a concerted effort on the part of the specialist and the couple to each do their part to identify the cause of the problem by eliminating many of the most common and obvious obstacles while at the same time allow the couple to maintain good overall health. Acupuncture helps in many of these area when combined with herbs and other techniques all coordinated with the same goal in mind.

If someone really wants to have a baby and has had no success or has had a miscarriage, then it may be time to look into the natural and traditional methods that have helped millions of people over the centuries.

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The Types of Baby Heart Monitors

Posted: 01 Jan 2010 03:39 PM PST

If you're thinking about shopping in the realm of baby heart monitors for your not yet born bundle of joy, you probably want the best product money can buy. After all, what's the point in having a heart rate monitor that's inaccurate? But the different units and things that claim to be heart monitors, can be confusing to those who haven't dipped into the subject before. Expectant parents shouldn't have to deal with unnecessary stress like that! Just keep on reading for a simple, clear guide through the world of monitors for babies.

One of the first things that may pop up to confuse you is the difference between heart dopplers and heart monitors. The truth is that the two are similar enough that you don't need to distinguish between them that much for ordinary household use. While not all monitors for babies are dopplers, all dopplers are heart monitors. Confused? It's okay, it's really not that complex! Heart monitors are simply devices that help us keep tabs on the heart rate of a living being, such as an unborn baby. Dopplers are a specific kind of heart monitor, that use ultrasound technology to detect that heartbeat. They then translate the information they receive into an equivalent sound to project out into the world for those nearby to listen in on.

Dopplers are, in fact, by far the most common monitors for babies. They're easy to use, cheap, and even have rental services nowadays. But they're not quite perfect! Dopplers are an active means of monitoring a baby's heart, which means that they'll only let you hear the heartbeat when you specifically set aside the time to make the effort for it. This can be useful and enjoyable, but doesn't serve as a passive warning system for heart problems in your infant. And that's why another option has cropped up in the market.

The other major form of baby heart monitor is based on acoustics. The sound is amplified directly by the monitoring machine, usually through the use of headphones. This allows the parent to be to keep track of the heartbeat indefinitely and passively, so long as the headset is worn. Some newer versions of these devices are even sophisticated enough to send out an alert whenever the heartbeat rate drops below safe levels. Acoustic monitors are also even easier to use than the already intuitive dopplers, since they don't require ultrasound gel. The drawback to all this is that acoustic technology is a bit less accurate, and usually doesn't allow multiple people to listen to the heartbeat simultaneously.

So, there you have it, the two major types of baby heart monitors with their advantages and drawbacks. Hopefully you now know enough to go out into the market and make an informed decision for your baby's health. Given the cheapness of these little machines, it would be pretty hard to justify not having any kind of monitor for your infant, even nowadays.

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