"A lot of the clinics have their own protocols and everybody has to do it the same cookie-cutter way. The big thing for me is that everybody's different."

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Stress and Fertility

There's a very strong link between the mind and the body, but we don't have tools to measure that. You can't necessarily fix it, so you have to work around it to get pregnant.

Stress affects the body cycle. It's much harder to treat, but I try to encourage people to really look at the whole picture and to find ways to de-stress. And I talk about that at their first visit, not when they've been with me for six months and they're getting ready to do IVF. You really need to figure out if they have eating disorders, or stress disorders. Not every irregular period is the classic PCO irregular period.

 

Tina's Tips

If you're having trouble conceiving, here are some things to think about.

• The first thing is to start tracking your menstrual cycle using an ovulation detection kit, to confirm at home that you're having regular menstrual cycles. If your cycles are quite long and/or short, or you don't see ovulation, don't sit at home and wait. That's when you need to seek help.
• If you are ovulating, make sure that the week before you would typically ovulate -- your fertile week -- you're having relations with your partner. Don't wait for the "one day" that you think that you're fertile.
• In general, if you're over 35 and you've been trying for six months, the crucial thing is not to wait at home or go to a general gynecologist -- it's really to go straight to a fertility specialist, because time is so crucial
• For women under 35, unless you have family history of early menopause, you can give yourself a year, but certainly after six months of trying, it's time to get out the ovulation kit and make sure you're having well-timed sex.
• Try one of the over-the-counter home sperm tests. If the result is abnormal, don't waste time.
• Have sex about every two or three days during the week before you ovulate.
• Stay in bed for about twenty minutes. Don't race to the bathroom.
• Don't smoke. Don't drink. Lots of fruits and vegetables. Less fried foods. Healthy living.
• If you have a history of sexual infection, don't waste time. Get checked out.

 

Vallley Center for Reproductive Health, Inc.
13320 Riverside Drive #220, Sherman Oaks CA 91423
Tel. 818.986.1648 Fax 818.986.1653