Natural remedies for helping fertility problems

Find the cure for infertility inside your kitchen. Some spices and herbs right from your kitchen closet can help you overcome fertility issues without any side effects. Here are some natural practices that can help you cure your problems. 1. Ashwagandha - This commonly found Indian herb, also popularly known in English as Winter Cherry or Indian ginseng has excellent properties that can cure infertility in both men and women. It helps in normalizing the endocrine system and also boosts its functioning, apart from improving the immunity of the body. 2. Raspberry leaves - This is beneficial for women facing fertility problems, as raspberry leaves encourage the normal growth of the embryo. These can also bring disturbed hormones back to normal. 3. Stinging nettle - Known to cure uterine malfunctions and improve fertility, this strange but beautiful herb is great when you're trying to conceive. It helps retain the embryo inside the womb, thus preventing miscarriages. Stinging nettle can only be consumed in the form of tea and so it is advised that women looking to conceive should drink 2-3 cups of tea everyday. Article: 31st March 2014 www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com Read more about Natural Fertility at www.prideangel.com

Does not getting enough sleep reduce your fertility?

Infertility is a disturbing problem that may leave your with sleepless nights. But, does sleep deprivation affect fertility? Of course Yes! You are making your condition even worse without a sound sleep. Getting enough sleep has great role in your health and beauty. Sleep is usually a factor that is generally overlooked while considering methods to improve fertility. So, if you are trying to improve your fertility, no matter through natural methods or artificial treatments, include a good sleep also in your regimen. FRUITS FOR IMPOTENCE Being relaxed is the best thing that you can do to make your hormones work in balance. Moreover, body needs proper rest to make its organs function to its fullest, including the reproductive system. Stress is always a bad companion for hormones. This will affect your overall fertility to a great extend. Sleep deprivation in women may affect ovulation, whereas in men, it will cause decreased sperm count. If you wonder does sleep deprivation affect fertility, here we may discuss some explanations that may clear your doubt. Irregular menstruation: Irregular menstrual cycle is the most evident and common symptom of sleep deprivation. If you want to know how does sleep deprivation affects your fertility, watch your menstrual cycle. Get enough sleep and you will notice the changes without even trying any medications. Interruption of Leptin Production: How does sleep deprivation affect ovulation is a common question among women. One of the major reasons for this is the effect on the leptin hormone, which plays an important role in proper ovulation in women. Sleep deprivation causes interruption in leptin production, which will cause irregular periods and infertility. Weight Gain: It is a clear fact that obesity is one of the major reasons for infertility among both men and women. Sleep deprivation will have a direct impact on your metabolism, which will result in obesity and eventually infertility. Those women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) must take more care on this matter. Disturbed circadian rhythm: Circadian rhythm controls the hormone balance of your body depending on the dark light cycle. Any disturbance in the sleeping pattern will affect the circadian rhythm, thereby breaking the hormone balance. Chronic Stress: Stress will cause sleep deprivation and sleep deprivation will result in further more stress. It is important to keep a balance between your mind and body for the proper functioning of the system. Sleep will keep you relaxed and will allow your hormones to do its work efficiently. Decreased testosterone: Does sleep deprivation affect fertility is a common doubt among men as well. It has been shown in many studies that lack of sleep will affect the functioning of your endocrine system, thereby keeping your fertility under risk. Decreased sperm count: Disturbed circadian rhythm will affect your body in many ways. While considering infertility, decreased sperm count is considered as a major problem. If you wonder does sleep deprivation affect fertility, the answer is unfortunately, yes. Article: 29th March 2014 www.boldsky.com

Women trying to get pregnant should reduce their stress levels

Women trying to get pregnant are often told, "You just to need relax and it'll happen on its own." And indeed, many of us have heard stories of couples who became pregnant as soon as they stopped "trying." Now, a new study suggests there might be something to that "just relax" advice, finding women with high levels of a key stress biomarker are more likely to suffer from infertility. The study looked at 501 healthy U.S. women between the ages of 18 and 40 who had just started trying to conceive; it followed them for 12 months or until they became pregnant. The researchers from Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center tested the women's saliva and recorded their levels of cortisol, a hormone that's a well-known indicator of stress. They also measured their levels of alpha-amylase, a digestive enzyme also linked to stress. The women did one saliva test when they enrolled in the study and another after the start of their first menstrual cycle. The researchers found that cortisol levels were not linked to the women's likelihood of pregnancy. But women with the highest levels of alpha-amylase were 29 per cent less likely to get pregnant each month compared to women with low levels of this protein enzyme. They were also more than twice as likely to meet the definition of infertility, meaning no pregnancies despite 12 months of regular unprotected intercourse. The full results appear online in the journal Human Reproduction. The researchers, led by Dr. Courtney Denning-Johnson Lynch, director of reproductive epidemiology at the medical centre, say this study corroborates an earlier study they did in the U.K. linking high levels of alpha-amylase to a reduced likelihood of pregnancy. "For the first time, we've shown that this effect is potentially clinically meaningful, as it's associated with a greater than two-fold increased risk of infertility among these women," Lynch said in a statement. The researchers say their findings should encourage women who are having difficulty conceiving to consider stress-reduction techniques such as yoga, meditation and mindfulness. However, Lynch notes that stress is not the only factor involved in a woman's ability to become pregnant, nor is it likely the most important factor. For that reason, she said couples should not jump to blame themselves or their lifestyles if they are experiencing fertility problems. Roughly 16 per cent or 1 in 6 couples in Canada experience infertility. This number has doubled since the 1980s. Around 30 per cent of cases are related to the men, who may have issues with their sperm; 40 per cent are related to the women; and 10 to 20 per cent are related to both, or the cause is unknown. A women's age is a key factor in her ability to conceive, as fertility decreases with age, particularly after 35. Article: 24th March www.ctvnews.ca Read more about boosting your fertility at www.prideangel.com

Chemicals in plastics may be a threat to male fertility

To study the impact of everyday chemicals on fertility, federal researchers recently spent four years tracking 501 couples as they tried to have children. One of the findings stood out: while both men and women were exposed to known toxic chemicals, men seemed much more likely to suffer fertility problems as a result. The gender gap was particularly wide when it came to phthalates, those ubiquitous compounds used to make plastics more flexible and cosmetic lotions slide on more smoothly. Women who wore cosmetics often had higher levels of phthalates in their bodies, as measured by urinalysis. But only in their male partners were phthalate levels correlated with infertility. “It’s the males in the study that are driving the effect,” said Germaine Buck Louis, an epidemiologist at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and lead author of the report, published in February in Fertility and Sterility. “They’re the signal.” Phthalates belong to a group of industrial compounds known as endocrine disruptors because they interfere with the endocrine system, which governs the production and distribution of hormones in the body. The chemicals have been implicated in a range of health problems, including birth defects, cancers and diabetes. But it is their effect on the human reproductive system that has most worried researchers. A growing body of work over the last two decades suggests that phthalates can rewire the male reproductive system, interfering with the operation of androgenic hormones, such as testosterone, that play key roles in male development. That mechanism, some experts believe, explains findings that link phthalate exposure to changes in everything from testicular development to sperm quality. “I wasn’t surprised at all by this finding,” Andrea Gore, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Texas, and editor in chief of the journal Endocrinology, said of the new report. “We see the cell studies, the animal studies and now the human epidemiology work, and they are all showing us a similar picture.” The focus on male fertility dates back to the early 1990s, when researchers in the United States and Europe published a paper suggesting chemical exposures could be linked to a steady decline in semen quality. One of the authors, Niels Skakkebaek, a reproduction researcher at the University of Copenhagen, has since suggested that an increase in malformations in male reproductive systems, which he calls “testicular dysgenesis syndrome,” may be linked to environmental exposure to compounds including endocrine disruptors like phthalates. More recent studies in the United States have also suggested links between phthalate exposure and apparent sperm damage in men. The findings are supported by a host of animal studies, particularly in rats, which have shown that the compounds can interfere with masculinization of young animals and result in odd physical changes to male reproductive tracts. “They interfere with how testosterone is made,” explained Heather Patisaul, a biology professor at North Carolina State University who is studying the effect of endocrine-disrupting compounds during puberty. “Anything you can think of that’s testosterone-dependent is likely to be affected.” Women also have androgenic hormones, but to a lesser degree, and according to some theories this accounts for the smaller but still observable effects of phthalates on female fertility. (Testosterone, for instance, is part of the cascade of hormones that leads to egg production.) There are plenty of uncertainties in this picture. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that while studies suggest that phthalate exposure is “widespread in the U.S. population,” it’s difficult to know what those levels are. Health effects from very low levels are still not well understood. While the “evidence for an effect on male fertility is compelling,” said Tracey Woodruff, director of the program on reproductive health and the environment at the University of California, San Francisco, it’s still difficult to gauge the impact. “We are still pulling the tricky aspects together.” There are different kinds of phthalates complicating the picture; some seem to have a much larger effect than others. And these are far from the only factors, chemical and otherwise, that influence human fertility. Dr. Buck Louis’s group is looking at a broad range of industrial compounds, including heavy metals like lead and cadmium, that tend to accumulate in the body. Phthalates, by contrast, tend to be metabolized within a few hours. Their impact would not be so profound if it were not that people are constantly exposed from multiple sources. These include not only cosmetics and plastics, but also packaging, textiles, detergents and other household products. Phthalates are found in the tubing used in hospitals to deliver medications; enteric coatings on pills, including some aspirin; materials used to create time-release capsules; and countless other products. In 2008, the government banned them in children’s toys, and the European Union is also moving forward on restrictions. “The W.H.O. called them ‘pseudopersistent’ in one report,” Dr. Woodruff said, because continued exposure keeps phthalates in the body. But here’s the silver lining: the transient nature of these compounds also means that consumers can take fairly simple measures to reduce their phthalate levels. One is to read the labels on cosmetics and other personal care products and to choose those without phthalates. Another is to be cautious with plastic food containers, and to avoid using them to heat food and drink, as the phthalates in them may get transferred to what you consume. “These compounds leach from plastics,” Dr. Buck Louis said. “You can switch to glass for drinking. You can cook your frozen dinners on paper plates.” Studies have shown that these kinds of actions do make a difference; experiments have found measurably lower levels within several days in people who make these changes. “Lifestyle has an important place here,” said Dr. Buck Louis. Article: 21st March 2014 www.well.blogs.nytimes.com

Quebec woman's 'phanton' pregnancy fools her own boyfriend

A Quebec woman had her entire town believing she was pregnant and expecting quintuplets, convincing many to open their hearts -- and wallets -- to help her. Problem was, not only were there no quintuplets, there was no pregnancy at all. The woman had told her boyfriend she was pregnant about a month after they met on an online dating site. At first, she said she was expecting twins. Then it changed to triplets and then quadruplets. The community of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu rallied around the expectant couple and the expecting father created a Facebook page to keep family and community members up to date. Geneviève Laflamme, a mother of triplets herself, befriended the future mother. “I gave her tips on how to handle it, where to get financial support, where to get sponsors for diapers,” she told CTV Montreal. Laflamme says she began to suspect something wasn’t right when she noticed holes in the woman’s story. Then, a week before the woman’s purported due date, she told Laflamme she had undergone another ultrasound that revealed there were actually five babies inside her. Laflamme didn't buy it. But Facebook followers of the mother showered the couple with gifts and offers of help. The whole story fell apart Tuesday when the woman's boyfriend took her to hospital for her delivery at 34 weeks. A nurse took Paul aside and informed him his girlfriend was not pregnant at all and had either faked or imagined the whole thing. The woman is currently undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, which is why CTV News has decided not to identify her. Medical specialists say “phantom pregnancies” are not unheard of. Dr. Haim Abenhaim, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital, says there are two types of so-called phantom pregnancies documented in medical literature. One is called pseudocyesis, which occurs when there are physical pregnancy signs, such as missed periods, morning sickness and extension of the abdomen, but no actual pregnancy. The other condition is called delusional pregnancy in which a patient truly believes she is pregnant but is not. A posting on the couple’s Facebook page Wednesday explains that Paul is now determined to return all the gifts the couple received and will donate other items to local charities. The post says that Paul has cut off ties with the woman and is devastated by the events of the last week. “Not only has he lost someone he had fallen in love with, but also four babies who had becomes his ‘joie de vivre’,” the post reads in French. Article: 21st March 2014 www.ctvnews.ca

Mums through surrogacy not entitled to maternity leave under EU law

Yesterday, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that women who become mothers via surrogacy do not have an automatic right to maternity leave under EU law. Going on, however, the court stressed that member states are free to provide maternity leave of their own accord. The Court of Justice of the European Union CJEUA hospital employee in the United Kingdom and a teacher in Ireland were unable to bear children. They both had children using surrogate mothers, in line with British and Irish law. Both surrogacies were declared legal by national authorities. EU law guarantees minimum protection standards at work to women who are pregnant, were pregnant, or are breastfeeding. It also allows, but does not insist that member states to provide leave to workers who adopt children. However, in yesterday’s preliminary ruling, the EU Court of Justice established that neither mother was pregnant, nor legally adopted the children since the parenthood was already established at birth. The court also ruled that there was no discrimination on the ground of sex, which is also forbidden under EU law. Commenting the ruling, Raül Romeva i Rueda MEP, Vice-President of the Intergroup on LGBT Rights and member of the Employment Committee, said: “The court is technically right, since neither woman was pregnant or adopted her child. EU law is clear that minimum standards of protection apply to those women only. “But yesterday’s ruling points to a clear gap in EU law, especially for those parents who do not conform to traditional family models. We’ll have to bear this in mind when next discussing employment and maternity laws.” Sirpa Pietikäinen MEP, Vice-President of the LGBT Intergroup and member of the Committee on Women’s Rights, added: “Women’s rights are not up for discussion. Regardless of national laws on surrogacy, if these surrogacies took place legally, Great Britain and Ireland should ensure that a new mother can spend time with her child. This is common sense, but not common law yet. We ought to work in that direction.” Article: 19th March 2014 www.pinknews.co.uk

Celebrities are giving the wrong impression about Fertility over 40

Many people believe it is usual and easy to become pregnant in their forties, says Louise Johnson, a spokeswoman for a coalition of health and science groups. They want to get the message across that a woman's fertility starts to decline in her early thirties. A 40-year-old woman has five per cent chance of conceiving in any given month, says Ms Johnson. Media stories about miracle babies born to older celebrities often neglect to mention the use of donor eggs, she says. This has contributed to the misconception that IVF will help couples have a baby at any age. However, for every IVF cycle in Australia in 2011, fewer than seven per cent of women aged 40 to 44 who were using their own eggs had a baby. For women over 45 the success rate was below two per cent. A study by the coalition shows 80 per cent of Australians do not know a woman's fertility declines before the age of 35. The study also shows a large proportion of people think the decline starts at 40 or that age does not affect fertility. There is also a lack of understanding that male fertility also declines with age. People in higher socio-economic circumstances are more likely to have the wrong idea than those in lower socio-economic circumstances, says Ms Johnson. "We want people to know the facts so they can make informed choices." "There is a belief that if you are healthy you fertility will be fine. But sadly health does not trump age." Bringing plans for a family one or two years forward can make all the difference. It's basic biology, she says. But the focus at school is about birth control and avoiding infections. Less attention is paid to fertility. Article: 17th March www.news.ninemsn.com.au