Is Light Pollution Disrupting Your Fertility Cycle?

This morning I was reading up on Fertility Awareness, or following along with one's fertility cycle without using ovulation test strips or saliva ovulation microscopes.  Mainly, its all about basal body temperature charting to better understand one's own body and fertility cycle. However, I also found out that light pollution, or too much light at night, can have strange side effects on overall bodily health, including fertility cycle. Read the article below, or check out the full article on Fertility Awareness at this website.

"In addition to incorporating Dr. Price's principles into their diets, many women with irregular cycles have benefitted from addressing their night-lighting situation. Exposure to light at night can inhibit the pineal gland's production of melatonin. The pineal gland directs your body's rhythmic activities--including sleep, appetite, and the onset of puberty--through its production of melatonin. This hormone is primarily secreted at night, and it requires darkness to be produced. Bright light suppresses melatonin secretion.²

The hypothalamus gland, also located in the brain, is richly supplied with melatonin receptors. This gland regulates your body's overall homeostasis, including things like blood pressure, emotions, temperature, and the endocrine (hormonal) system. Hormones secreted by the hypothalamus stimulate the anterior pituitary gland to secrete its hormones; and these, in turn, stimulate the thyroid gland, the adrenals and the ovaries to secrete yet other hormones. The ovaries (and the testicles) are also thought to contain melatonin receptors.³

You can see how melatonin production--and thereby sleeping in darkness or with light--can affect the whole body's functioning, including the menstrual cycle: if the hypothalamus doesn't receive sufficient melatonin, its ability to regulate the hormonal system will be impaired.

In the late 1960s, Louise Lacey, a writer, realized that being on the Pill took her body away from its natural rhythm. She went off it, and subsequently had very irregular cycles. She began reading about circadian rhythm and the sexual cycles of some primates, which suggested peaks of sexual activity relating to the lunar cycle. Lacey wondered if the moon's cycles relate to human reproduction, and if so, how? She wondered whether artificial lights could interrupt the moon's effect.

A newspaper article that reported the effects of night-light on the menstrual cycle then caught her attention. John Rock (the Ob/Gyn whose experiments with giving infertile women synthesized progesterone led to the creation of the Pill) and physicist E.M. Dewan found that women's menstrual cycles became regular by sleeping in complete darkness Days 1-13, sleeping with a 100-watt bulb burning all night (under a lampshade in their bedroom) Days 14-17, and then returning to sleeping in complete dark.⁴

Thrilled by the possibility that she could return to healthy cycles, Lacey tried variations on the above experiment, beginning in 1971. She also began to chart her temperature. She found that sleeping in complete darkness except for three nights each cycle (when she slept with a 40-watt bulb under a lampshade or with a 75-watt bulb beaming a shaft of light from a nearby bathroom (essentially mimicking full-moon light) triggered ovulation. She called the technique Lunaception, and found that it could be used to direct her fertility--and that of her women friends. By avoiding intercourse on the days they slept with light, Louise Lacey and 27 of her friends developed regular, healthy menstrual cycles, and used Lunaception to avoid pregnancy effectively until menopause.⁵

Other clinical researchers have also found that sleeping in the absence of light (introducing it for a few days each cycle, or sleeping only in the absence of light) can help women in a variety of situations to strengthen their cycles.^6,7

• Women with anovulatory cycles have become ovulatory.
• Women with unclear mucus readings develop discernible, healthy mucus build-up.
• Cycles that had been very short (26 days or less) or very long (35 days or more) become 27-31 days long.
• FSH levels become healthy.
• Spotting at various times during the cycle is significantly reduced.
• Progesterone levels are strengthened.
• Women with a history of miscarriage are able to sustain pregnancy.
• Premenopausal women develop a more discernible mucus pattern; and the intensity of their premenopausal symptoms, including hot flashes, sleeplessness, and mood changes are reduced.

So what does sleeping in total darkness mean? Fifteen minutes after turning out the lights, you can't see objects in the room, including your own hands. Bedroom windows are covered with room-darkening blinds or curtains backed by light-blocking fabric. Cracks of light from under doors can be covered with a towel. Cracks around the edges of windows can be covered with aluminum foil. More specific directions for sleeping in the absence of light to strengthen menstrual cycles are available in my book.

A practitioner of Fertility Awareness recently reported to me, "I went on the Pill when I was 17 to regulate my cycles because they were so long and far apart. By the time I was 18 (and still on the Pill), my menstrual cramps had become incredibly intense. When I was 23, I was diagnosed with endometriosis. After nearly twelve years on and off the Pill, I stopped taking it and tried Lunaception." She was amazed that for five consecutive months, she ovulated within one or two days of the last day of sleeping with light. She felt healthier than she had in years."

Woah! So I learned something new today :P Once again, you can read more about fertility cycle charting at this website, along with all the research sources. Good luck, and enjoy a nice, dark sleep tonight!

New Look!

I'm redoing the look of my blog, with a little help from www.shabbyblogs.com

I love her site! If you're a blogger and shabby chic is your thing, check it out! So cute!

Thats all for today... Good luck baby-making!

Sex After Pregnancy - How to Address the Post-Baby Slump

A lot of people ask questions about sex during pregnancy, and of course there is plenty of discussion on sex in the preconception stage, but you don't often hear a whole lot of talk about sex after pregnancy.  CNN's health column just published an article called New moms and the post-baby sex slump which covers some of those less talked about issues. 

According to this article, doctors say its safe to begin having sex again six weeks after delivery. However, there is a slew of reasons why sex after pregnancy might not have the appeal that sex before pregnancy had for women: complications during pregnancy can cause physical or emotional damage that takes time to recover from, hormonal changes in a new mother's body can cause decrease arousal, postpartum depression, which can occur anywhere from right after delivery, to a year after delivery, has the same symptoms and severeness as major depression, and can be emotionally crippling.  Sex after pregnancy comes back easily to some lucky women, but not so much for others. Refraining completely from sex after pregnancy can put a strain on your relationship, so its a good idea to be prepared and know how to work through this issue with your partner. 

Whether you're trying to conceive, pregnant right now, or have just had a baby, its important to know about what happens to a woman's body after giving birth. Chemical changes that go along with the process range from a decrease in testosterone after delivery to the release of a hormone called prolactin when breast-feeding, which actually inhibits arousal. There are no medical treatments on the market to help women recover from sexual dysfunction, but according to the article, a drug called Flibanserin that could do just that is currently under FDA scrutiny. If approved, this drug might become a regular prescription for women having trouble getting back into sex after pregnancy. 

Caring for a newborn is a round-the-clock job, and can be physically and emotionally exhausting for the baby's primary caretaker, usually the mom. The very thought of having sex after pregnancy, delivery, and then watching a new born all day (and night!) can be too much.  To combat this, share responsibilities with your partner and consider setting aside one night out of the week to hire a baby sitter and have "date nights" to try to bring the spark back. 

If sex after pregnancy presents some serious difficulties, there are sex counselors and therapists who are well trained to help restore sexual wellbeing.  Raising a new born can be stressful and time consuming and it can be hard to look after one's partner's needs once responsible for the baby's needs.  As always, the most important part of a relationship is communication, so be sure that you and your partner understand each other well!  Even if you're currently pregnant or just TTC, talk about sex after pregnancy and make sure you're both on the same page :)

How the Healthcare Reform Bill Can Affect Pregnant and TTC Couples

If you live in the US, you've probably heard a lot of buzz about the Healthcare Reform Bill. I don't know about you, but my legal lingo skills fall flat and I don't quite trust anything I read on the net that doesn't provide the source documentation... which seems like just about everything. I've been having a hard time figuring out exactly how this bill will affect the TTC (trying to conceive) community and parents-to-be, but I've gathered up some info that I hope will help clarify the changes. Here's a summary of any number of ways the health care bill might affect you, your family, and your children:


- Requires the Secretary to establish a Pregnancy Assistance Fund for grants to states to assist pregnant and parenting teens and women.  (source)


- Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require employers to provide a reasonable break time and a suitable place, other than a bathroom, for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child. Excludes an employer with less than 50 employees if such requirements would impose an undue hardship. (source)


-Requires a health plan that provides dependent coverage of children to make such coverage available for an unmarried, adult child until the child turns 26 years of age. (source)


- Encourages the Secretary to continue activities on postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis, including research to expand the understanding of their causes and treatment. (source)


-Reauthorizes appropriations for preventive health service programs to immunize children and adults against vaccine-preventable diseases without charge. (source)


- Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014 for the expansion and improvement of emergency medical services for children who need treatment for trauma or critical care. (source)


-Prohibits a health insurance issuer offering individual coverage from imposing a preexisting condition exclusion or a waiting period or otherwise discriminating against a woman on the basis that she is pregnant. (source)


If you're a smoker:
 - Provides for Medicaid coverage of counseling and pharmacotherapy for cessation of tobacco use by pregnant women. (source)


If you're considering adoption:
- Increases from $10,000 to $13,170 the dollar limitation on: (1) the tax credit for adoption expenses; and (2) the tax exclusion for employer-provided adoption assistance. (source)


If your child is born with a disability:
- Families won't be turned down (by insurance companies) if a parent or child has a pre-existing disability or other health condition (source)


If you're on Medicaid:
- Requires Medicaid coverage of: (1) freestanding birth center services; and (2) concurrent care for children receiving hospice care. (source)


Note: Most of this information was taken from a summary of the bill itself, the link to which I found through www.senate.gov  (here).  My goal in this was to give a no-frills, broad picture of how the bill is going to affect pregnant and trying to conceive people.  If you have any further information (with a source, preferably) please, please, please! comment or shoot me an email - spread the knowledge!


I hope my little summary helps!

Going Abroad for Artificial Insemination Outlawed in Turkey

Here's a crazy bit of news I just read -  Turkey has made it a criminal offence for a woman to leave the country to get pregnant through artificial insemination...punishable by up to three years in prison.  No joke.

Artificial insemination with donated eggs or sperm has already been illegal in Turkey for some time. Its only legal for fertility clinics to preform artificial insemination with the infertile couple's own sperm and eggs. One striking part of this law is that fertility clinic advertisements must specifically say that they do not offer donor sperm or eggs at all.   This law is said by proponents to be an extension of a previous article that made it illegal to conceal the paternity of a child.  Opponents and women's rights activists say that both the ban on local and foreign artificial insemination are a misconstruction of a law meant to protect inheritance.

With the passage of new ban on artificial insemination abroad, fertility clinics will be shut down for three months for even suggesting that patients consider traveling abroad for treatment. Repeated offences will result in the fertility clinic being shut down entirely.

I'm not to familiar with Turkish culture, but race seems to be a pretty big issue here, seeing as all people interviewed are very insistent that this law has nothing to do with race or racial purity and the passing of this law has sparked serious concern for interracial couples.  For some reason, I had thought Turkey was more liberal than most of the Middle East. I am ashamed to say I need to read more papers because, apparently, the governing Justice and Development Party made a failed attempt to criminalize adultery in 2004, and the Prime Minister made a public call for women to have at least three children.

I am so grateful that the US's laws are as reasonable as they are, and that fertility clinics are actually there to help TTC couples. Sheesh.

Check out these source articles for more information:
BBC News
Hurriyet Daily News

6 Tips on Getting Pregnant

If you've just started trying to conceive, or if you've been trying for a while, you may be looking for a few quick tips on getting pregnant to help you and your partner out. Without breaking the bank or resorting to IVF, here are my top five tips on getting pregnant:

1. Get Fit - For women, this will not only make you healthier, but will also protect the health of a child. Fit women are less likely to suffer from pregnancy complications like high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. For more information, check out this article from March of Dimes.
Surprisingly, according to this article on CNN, being fit can also protect you from an unexpected risk - being discriminated against by your own doctor.  If you're considering IVF, be warned that higher doses of anesthesia necessary to preform IVF on obese women creates a risk that many doctors are not willing to take.

2. Eat Right - Having a balanced, healthy diet can not only help you conceive, but will provide nutrient essential for fetal development.  For example, getting plenty of Folic Acid can help prevent spinal cord related birth defects, but your body needs to be stocked up on it before getting pregnant or during early pregnancy.  For both men and women, vitamins that can help with conception include tissue repairing anti-oxidants, like Vitamen C and E, and Zinc, for healthy cell formation.  If you're worried that you're not getting enough vitamins, consider taking a multivitamin or a vitamin blend specifically geared towards TTC couples, like Fertilaid.

3. Relax - It's common knowledge that stress can have negative effects on our health, repressing our immune systems and striking back at our bodies in the weirdest ways. Trying for a baby can be an especially stressful experience, so make sure that you are emotionally ship-shape as well as physically. Make time in your day to do something you find particularly relaxing - perhaps meditation, exercise, or a hobby like painting.
You can combine my Tips on Getting Pregnant 1 & 3, fitness and relaxation, by adopting a yoga routine, like Bend Breathe and Conceive.

4. Avoid Certain Household Chemicals - According to this article on ovulation-calculator.com and this one on LA Times, a flame-retardant chemical commonly used to coat fabrics, plastics, and carpets has a strong correlation to greatly reduced chances of pregnancy. These chemicals, called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, have been standard in the US since the 70s. Yikes!
If you bought your furniture from IKEA, you may be in luck - European health laws restrict the use of brominated flame retardants.  Californian furniture made after 2004 should also be PBDE free. 

5. Stop Smoking, Using Drugs, and Drinking - This goes for both men and women.  All of these activities inhibit healthy cell production, make it harder to get pregnant, and pose serious risks to the developing baby once you are pregnant. If you need help, consult your health care professional.

6. And finally... Cool Down Those Testes - This one is just for the men. Even a quick dip in a hot bath can interrupt sperm production, which can take up to three months to re-stabilize.  Bath and shower water should be no hotter than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Any hotter and those sperm are toast!

I hope these tips on getting pregnant help you out, maybe even taught you something new! Good luck and stayed tuned - more tips on getting pregnant are always on their way!

Acupuncture and IVF: New Study Suggests No Connection

Acupuncture and IVF - possibly the two most popular medical and traditional methods to help combat infertility.  Acupuncture has played a growing role recently, since it was found that it can increase blood flow.  IVF too has been growing in popularity in the last few decades, as couples wait longer and longer to try to have children.  Couples often try acupuncture and IVF treatments in conjunction, in the hopes that the acupuncture will facilitate the implantation of the embryo in the uterus.  However, a recent review has lead the British Fertility Society (BFS) to state that there is "no evidence" to support the idea that acupuncture leads to an increase in successful pregnancies. 

The review looked at 14 studies, involving a total of 2,670 women, and compared the rates of successful IVF and rates of miscarriage between control groups receiving only IVF and groups receiving acupuncture at a number of different times during IVF cycles.  The review concluded that no matter when acupuncture and IVF treatments were given in relation to on another, there were no measurable gain from using acupuncture. The BFS states that women seeking infertility treatments are being misled into believing that combining acupuncture and IVF treatments, will maximize the chances of IVF success.  The BFS wishes to inform TTC couples that there is no evidence to support this and that they'd be better of saving their money. 

However, according to an article in the BBC News, top acupuncturists like  Dr Xiao-Ping Zhai, of The Zhai Fertility Treatment Clinic, debate the methods of the studies. 

"Certainly for those with unexplained fertility problems in particular, we know acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine can be beneficial. What matters is both the expertise and experience of the practitioner, but most of all the treatment of the patient as an individual. It is the tailored treatment which is key.

"We need clinical trials that take this into account."

Combining acupuncture and IVF might still carry some yet-undetected benefit.  But until there is measurable evidence to support this conjecture, I, at least, would caution you to err on the side of doubt.

Exercises for Pregnant Women

If you're pregnant, or trying to become pregnant, you may be concerned that once you're carrying around an extra pound or ten in your uterus, you may have trouble keeping your girlish figure. In times gone by, "exercises for pregnant women" would not have been a phrase - pregnant ladies got to tell their work out schedule, "I'll see you in nine months!"  But these days, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that healthy pregnant women get at least 2 1/2 hours of aerobic exercise every week.  Thats about half an hour of moderate aerobic exercise almost every day!  Why exercise? Exercises for pregnant women can help prevent gestational diabetes, strengthen muscles used in child birth, build stamina, and keep stress at bay. Sounds good to me!

Now before you break out the bench press, be warned, there are measures you want to take to protect the baby. First, DO NOT EXERCISE if you're carrying twins, triplets, etc, if you have heart or lung disease, a weak cervix, preterm labor, frequent bleeding during months 4-9, Placenta Previa (very low implantation), or hypertension.  Doing even normal exercises for pregnant women with any of these complications can pose a danger to the baby. Consult your doctor before starting any work out program, whether you know you have one of these conditions or not, just to be on the safe side.

Also, it might be a good idea to read up on these Warning Signs to Stop Exercising from March of Dimes.  If you exhibit any of these symptoms, stop exercising and consult your health care professional immediately.

Recommended exercises for pregnant women include brisk walking, yoga, swimming, jogging or dancing.  These exercises elevate the heart rate and are relatively low impact.  If you need a program to keep you motivated, consider finding a local aerobics or yoga class specifically designed for pregnant women, or if you want to work out at home, consider a Prenatal Yoga DVD.

Avoid sports and activity in which you might get hit in the belly, or that require you to lay on your back, as this restricts blood flow to the uterus. Never scuba dive, your baby's new circulatory system can be affected by "the bends" easier than you can. Stick to safer, aerobic exercises for pregnant women, rather than going out and joining a contact sports team.

Lastly, remember that even exercises for pregnant women should be fun: choose activities that appeal to you and if you're out of shape, build up to higher fitness levels gradually.  Get your heart rate up, but don't over do it!

PS, Here's one last helpful hint to keep you healthy and fit: the USDA has nutrition tools for pregnant and nursing women. Check it out!

Fertility, Age, and Career - the Balancing Act

As a follow-up to my post The Ticking of Your Biological Clock: Fertility Age Education or Scare Tactics? I thought I'd share this article from MarketWatch - What's the "Ideal" Age to Have a Baby and a Successful Career?  ForbesWoman and theBump.com recently polled 2,210 women online "of whom 76% were moms or moms-to-be and 24% did not have children" according to Forbes.com. 


A sampling of results:

This was a pretty interesting survey, especially after all that hype about women's fertility age declining faster than previously thought.  One of the results I found most interesting was this:

"...fertility is not the number one factor when it comes to deciding when to have a baby. The top two reasons were financial security (33%) and being emotionally "ready" to become parents (31%)."

So is this an indicator that women are uninformed about thier ideal fertility age or does it relate more to an honest desire for financial and emotional stability? This next statistic makes me think its stability: 

"62% OF WOMEN FEEL MOTHERHOOD NEGATIVELY IMPACTS A WOMAN'S CAREER. Yet working moms who were surveyed didn't feel as strongly when it came to their own career. Non-moms were more likely to think that motherhood had a negative impact on women's careers compared to moms and moms-to-be (71%, 59% and 58%, respectively)."

MarketWatch makes an interesting point, that working moms were less likely to think motherhood has a negative effect on a woman's career...well, it seems like a valid point until you take into account the fact that 59% is still a pretty good majority of moms who felt motherhood negatively impacts career. This probably explains why women would consider economic stability over fertility age, I assume.


On a feminist note, I get a little miffed when I read headings like "59% OF WORKING MOMS NO LONGER CARED AS MUCH ABOUT WORK POST-BABY".  Well thats not good publicity for us ladies!  Employers already tend to eye women of healthy fertility age a bit warily, wondering if they'll jump ship and claim maternity leave at any moment.  It might have been a bit more fair to all-caps their other statistic - " 59% of working moms are "glad to be back at work" post-baby"...


Personally, I'd like to see this survey asked of "working dads" and see what the other half of the population has to say on the subject.  Just saying.

IVF Cost Plummets! ...A bit...

If you live in the United Kingdom, In Vitro Fertilization aka IVF cost just got a little more affordable.


According to this article the supermarket Asda will be selling IVF drugs at cost price, saving couples who are paying out of pocket hundreds of pounds per each IVF cycle. 

"Asda Pharmacy will charge £1,171.41 for drugs to accompany one IVF cycle, a saving up to £820 compared with other high street pharmacies, it claims."

If you're in the USA, this translates to a drugs for IVF cost of about $1,700, with a savings of around $1,240.  Thats a lot of money!  But when a single complete round of treatment of IVF cost at least $10,000... Well, I guess IVF is still a pretty serious monetary commitment. But every bit counts, right?


In any case, it is nice to see a large pharmacy taking an interest in helping consumers afford medication. This is a better (though possibly short term) alternative to having taxpayers pay to keep IVF cost down, like is up for debate in Canada right now.  


With the IVF cost so high, are we left with only these three options: make individual couples pay out of pocket, ask tax payers to subsidize costs, or hope for the charity of big pharmaceutical companies?  These all seem like pretty grim options, lets hope some better alternatives present themselves!

Fertility Calculator - Cheap and Free Ways to Boost Your Fertility

If you're TTC (trying to conceive) you may have already accumulated some hefty bills on doctors appointments or home fertility tests.  However, there are some cheap (or even free!) resources out there that can help, like a fertility calculator.  If you have regular cycles, a fertility calculator can help you predict when you're ovulating, when you're most fertile, and when you and your partner should have sex to take advantage of this fertile window. Before you lay down $10,000 plus on IVF treatment cycles, try using tools like these to get to know your body better.

Once you start looking for a fertility calculator, you will quickly realize that there are a lot of options out there, and you'll need to choose one based on your needs, resources, and schedule.  Here are a few options:

1. If all you want is a free fertility calculator, I recommend trying a online ovulation calculator.  
2. If you're more comfortable having a physical calendar to reference, you might try an inexpensive paper calendar wheel.  
3. If you have an ipod or iphone (you lucky dog), there are a few fertility calculator applications on the ipod app store - like this one from Baby Med - that let you take the calculator everywhere you go. 
4. There are also a variety of fertility focused self help books out there that can teach you how to chart your cycle and turn any calendar into a fertility calendar. 

Did any of these methods work for you?  I would love to hear other people's fertility calculator recommendations, so please, let me know!

Good luck, and happy cycle charting :)