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Unasked and Unanswered Questions About Infertility

Straight Answers to
Uncomfortable Questions

Couples facing infertility typically have a million questions. Although the vast majority of them – from which drugs and therapies work best to what kind of undergarments the "dad-to-be" should be wearing – are asked and answered with compassion and professionalism, there are also questions that often don't get answered. Either no one can work up the courage to ask them, or they just don't seem relevant to conception.

"Despite the fact that infertility treatment is so closely linked to sexuality, this aspect of a couple's life is often very uncomfortable for them to discuss," says Dr. Mark Leondires, medical director at Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut and a leading authority on reproductive medicine. "We find that it's the more personal questions involving a couple's unique sexual practices or other habits that are more likely to go unasked, and unanswered."

According to Dr. Leondires, some of these uncomfortable questions need to be asked, because the answers can hold the key to helping couples achieve a healthy pregnancy more quickly. "Sometimes it's the activity in question itself that should be modified or stopped in order to better the couple's chances for pregnancy," he says. Following are his list of straight answers to infertility's most uncomfortable questions:

"Not necessarily. During normal intercourse, the ejaculate fluid in which the sperm travel through the uterus and into the fallopian tubes is usually effective at doing its job. However, the uterine contractions that occur during orgasm may help or hinder the process, depending upon the direction of those contractions while the sperm is en route."

"No. It can take up to 48 to 72 hours for a man's sperm count to replenish after an ejaculation, [so] having intercourse every day can actually decrease your chance of pregnancy. It is only important to have intercourse around your ovulatory phase for you to achieve pregnancy. For most women this occurs during the middle of the menstrual cycle, but you can confirm this using an over-the-counter (OTC) ovulation predictor kit or by charting your basal body temperature (BBT)."

 

Want to see more?

• How's Your Sex Life? Great Sex Matters When You're Trying to Conceive
• Fertility Boosters: 6 Things You Might Have Overlooked
• Baby Steps: A 5-point Plan to Help You Conceive
• Talk about it!

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