This is the third of a four-part interview with Melissa Ford, author of Navigating the Land of IF: Understanding Infertility and Exploring Your Options. Melissa is also the author of the wildly popular blog, Stirrup Queens, the site many infertile people find as they search for information on infertility treatments, adoption (domestic, international, open, kinship), donor gametes, and childfree living.
Why would someone who is NOT experiencing infertility want to pick up this book?
To better understand someone they know who is experiencing infertility. I don’t know how many people who are not experiencing infertility will pick up this book, but that’s okay. The words are there for everyone to use who is experiencing infertility and they can pass them along in conversation with people outside the experience.
How different would your own IF journey have been if you’d had this book?
I probably would have felt less lonely. The exercises in the book I used to make decision and I included one of the real decision webs we made before we started treatments. And I took my sister’s advice to heart a lot and still do in living my life. But I wish I had known about the online community back then. It was small, but still existed. I wish I had known about blogs and read them.
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Tags : adoption, infertility
Teflon, pesticides, and plastics have all been linked to messing with male fertility. Now, not only are men in danger of extinction, but their ability to reproduce is seriously being compromised. In my artcle Men will become extinct: Appreciate them now, I reported about the fact that males genes will die out in the future. Before their genes die out their ability to reproduce may vanish.
A leading scientist has warned that chemicals found in many foods, cosmetics, and cleaning products are a real threat to male fertility. Professor Richard Sharpe, of the Medical Research Council, says that these hormone-disrupting chemicals are “feminizing” boys in the womb, leading to rising rates of birth defects, testicular cancer, and low sperm counts. ?
Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome
It is thought that all these conditions, collectively called Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome (TDS), are linked to disruption of the male sex hormone testosterone. Professor Sharpe concluded that exposure to a cocktail of hormone-disrupting chemicals in the environment is likely to be at least partly to blame by blocking the action of testosterone in the womb. ?
Strange frogs and bears
The strongest evidence showing that exposure to environmental chemicals can lead to disruption of endocrine function comes from the bizarre changes seen in a number of wildlife species, such as male fish transforming into females; frogs developing a variety of defects like multiple testes or ovaries; and hermaphrodite bears, just to name a few.
We’re destroying ourselves
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Tags : infertility, male, plastic
You’re thinking about having a baby. You’ve just started “trying.” You’ve been trying to get pregnant for awhile. Do any of these describe you?
If so, maybe … just maybe … you need to see a fertility specialist. How do you know?
Take a look at this list:
• I’m under the age of 35, and have been trying to conceive for a year.
• I’m 35 or older and have been trying to conceive for six months.
• I have a history of pelvic infection, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, or pelvic pain.
• I have damage to my fallopian tubes.
• I currently have, or have had painful periods or endometriosis.
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Tags : Conception, fertility, miscarriage
Washington, June 12: Excessive laptop use may impact men’s ability to become dads, says a new study
“Laptops are becoming increasingly common among young men wired into to the latest technology,” said Suzanne Kavic, MD, director of the division of reproductive endocrinology at Loyola University Health System (LUHS) and associate professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology and department of medicine at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
“However, the heat generated from laptops can impact sperm production and development making it difficult to conceive down the road,” she added.
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Tags : infertility
Here are more common myths that couples worry about when trying to have a baby. We asked Heidi Murkoff, author of “What to Expect Before You’re Expecting” to sort out what’s true, and what’s not.
Myth: Does position matter when you’re trying to have a baby?
Murkoff: For the most part position doesn’t matter. What you have to keep in mind is that sperm are excellent swimmers if they’re healthy sperm and they are determined little men on a mission and their only mission is to reach destination egg and be the first one on the block to reach it. So you can get pregnant in just about any position in any kama sutra book or the latest issue of cosmo, might as well pick a position you enjoy, if you’re going to be doing it a lot, might as well have fun doing it.
Myth: Fertility challenges are most common in first-timers.
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Tags : Conception, infertility, myths
By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) — Bisphenol A, a controversial chemical used to harden plastic packaging for many foods and beverages, may affect human reproduction, researchers report.
Bisphenol A (BPA) could hurt the chances of successful in vitro fertilization, or the ability of embryos to attach to the uterus, according to presentations at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s annual meeting, which concluded Wednesday in San Francisco.
“The issue of environmental toxicants upon human reproduction is very important,” said Dr. Richard J. Paulson, chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, who was not involved in the studies.
Last month, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel said the agency had erred when it said that BPA, which is widely used in baby bottles and other plastic packaging for foods and beverages, posed no health risks. The agency said it would probably start research early in 2009 to determine the toxic effects of BPA on babies less than 1 month old.
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Tags : infertility, plastic
Researchers have known for more than half a century that sperm is able to fertilize an egg only after it has resided for a period of time in the female reproductive tract. Without this specific interaction with the female body, the sperm is incapable of producing offspring. But until now there was very little understanding of what changes occur within the sperm that suddenly allows it to fertilize an egg.
In the Journal of Proteome Research, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Mark Platt reveals the molecular-level changes that occur within sperm after it enters the female reproductive tract. His findings provide important clues into the still-mysterious process of capacitation, the process by which sperm acquire the ability to fertilize an egg, including why some otherwise healthy males might encounter fertility issues. His research may also offer insight required to develop an entirely new contraceptive, even a male version of the birth control pill.
“Much has been done to understand capacitation, but with the tools that we have within the lab we can now identify how specific sites on individual proteins are modified during this process,” said Platt. “With this knowledge we can develop a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms required to provide sperm with fertilizing competence.”
“Based upon some of our additional work, a few of these sites appear to be essential to carrying out the process of capacitation,” Platt said
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Tags : Conception, fertility, infertility, male
About 50% of all infertility can be traced to male causes; the good news is there’s something you can do about it it.
In two separate studies, Spanish researchers compared the diets of men with normal sperm with those with poor semen quality to determine to what extend diet affected male fertility. The first found that men who ate more meat and dairy, and less lettuce, tomatoes, and fruit were more likely to have poor semen quality. The second study showed that men with normal sperm consumed more carbohydrates, fiber, folic acid, vitamin C, and lycopene, and less fat and protein. Men with poorer semen quality had diets containing fewer antioxidants.
Tips for top notch semen
If you smoke, quit now. In addition to the myriad of ill health effects from smoking, cigarette smoke contains dozens of chemicals known to interfere with fertility.
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Tags : diet, infertility, male, semen
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who eat healthier diets may also have healthier sperm, new research from Spain shows.
“A healthy, well-balanced diet is not just important for preventing diseases like diabetes, high cholesterol, or hypertension, but it may be useful for preserving or improving your reproductive health too,” Dr. Jaime Mendiola of the University of Murcia, the lead researcher on the study, told Reuters Health via e-mail.
A number of studies have suggested that there are links between consuming certain nutrients and male infertility, Mendiola and his team note in the journal Fertility and Sterility. They had previously investigated the relationship between consumption of certain foods and semen quality, and found that men who ate more dairy products and more meat, and less lettuce, tomatoes, and fruit, were more likely to have poor semen quality.
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Tags : fertility, male
ATLANTA — Recent testing has revealed the presence of the toxic chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8, in drinking water supplies for the Rome and Dalton areas, according to a June 3 news blog on Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB).
According to the news blog, GPB obtained internal documents from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) saying that the testing, which was conducted in March, found PFOA levels at 1 part per billion (ppb).
While that is lower than the provisional health advisory level for PFOA in drinking water of 0.4 ppb set by the EPA in January, it is at least twice the allowable level in other states, such as in Minnesota and New Jersey. It also is higher than a recent research-driven recommended limit of 0.04 micrograms per liter (µg/L), or 0.04 ppb (40 parts per trillion).
PFOA, a synthetic chemical, has been used to make Teflon® and other non-stick coatings, including stain guard for carpets. The EPA reports PFOA “remains in people for a very long time.” It is considered carcinogenic and toxic to the liver. Other studies have linked PFOA to infertility, birth defects, various types of cancers, dementia and stroke, the news blog said.
The carpet industry in Dalton is the suspected source of PFOA in the local drinking water supplies, the GPB item said.
GBP reported that EPA “expects the final results to come in by the end of the summer.”
No public health advisories have been issued.
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Tags : infertility
