Birth Control has been extremely effective in decreasing unwanted pregnancies and delaying childbearing. This allows professional women to complete their education and establish careers. However, now many women are starting birth control shortly after puberty and remaining on it for ten or twenty years. This raises the question- “What are the long term effects of… Read More What are the Long Term Effects of Birth Control?
First you need to understand what a true period is. A true period or “menses” is bleeding that occurs following ovulation. It is the sloughing off of the uterine lining and contains blood, uterine tissue and the non-fertilized egg. If you don’t ovulate in a cycle (as would happen when you are on birth control)… Read More Can You Get Your Period and Still Be Pregnant?
With the recent announcement of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s engagement, the focus is once again on the effect of advanced maternal age on fertility. Women are waiting longer and longer to start a family and this is having significant impacts on the prevalence of infertility. Meghan Markle is 36 and her and Prince Harry… Read More Should You Freeze Your Eggs? What Impact Does Age Really Have On Fertility?
Maybe you’ve started charting your fertility and now you are approaching your fertile window. You don’t want to miss ovulation so you get busy in the bedroom. How often should you have sex to increase your chances of becoming pregnant? Is too much sex a bad thing? Do you need to wait a certain amount… Read More How Often Should You Have Sex to Get Pregnant?
As you’ve probably already discovered, trying to conceive can be extremely isolating. You try to keep it a secret from everyone you know, especially your families. The last thing you need when TTC is your aunt telling you how to have sex or someone else telling you about their friend who tried for years before… Read More TTC over the Holidays
Everyone knows that advanced maternal age (over 35) is linked to decreases in fertility and a slew of other pregnancy complications. How about paternal age or the age of the dad? After all, it takes two to make a baby. Does the age of the sperm matter? We know of many celebrity dads fathering children… Read More Having a Baby with an Older Man: Does Paternal Age Effect Fertility?
I used to believe that when it came to food everything was the miracle food one week and carcinogenic the next week, and my opinion hasn’t totally changed. However, now everything we eat not only impacts us, but also our fertility. So all of a sudden, all the panic surrounding BPA and soy that I… Read More BPA & Soy: The Good and the Bad for Getting Pregnant
As a midwife one of the main questions I get all the time is “what is a midwife?”. As I am deepening my interest in fertility and subsequently infertility, people are even more confused as to where a midwife fits into the fertility picture. This post is to clear up any confusion about what a… Read More What is a midwife & Can I see a midwife after IVF?
Birth control is a vital part of your health when you are trying to avoid pregnancy, but deciding when to stop it when you are trying to get pregnant can be challenging. This post will help walk you through the steps of choosing the right to stop taking birth control. Step #1 Choose a pregnancy… Read More When Should You Stop Your Birth Control Before Trying to Get Pregnant?
Having a baby completely changes… well everything, so it is important to set realistic expectations from the beginning. You can take this quiz from University Hospitals to see if you are ready to take the next step. I’ve made a list of 6 topics to cover when deciding whether now is the right time… Read More Are You Ready to Have a Baby?
You and your partner have decided to become pregnant, or maybe you are going at it alone (kudos to you!). Where do you begin? I have summarized 10 steps to help you get pregnant below. I believe that it is important to be adequately prepared to optimize your fertility before you begin trying to increase… Read More 10 Steps to Start Trying to Get Pregnant