728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Home › Articles › Considering Pregnancy › Fertility Truths and Myths

Fertility Truths and Myths

Dispelling Fertility Myths and Half Truths

By Teri Brown

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

So many fertility myths and half truths exist that it's difficult to tell what is true and what isn't. Read on, and highly qualified reproductive specialists will help you sort the facts from the fiction.

1. Birth control pills reduce fertility. (Fiction)
Dr. Randy Morris, a Chicago-based board certified reproductive endocrinologist, says there is no evidence that the use of birth control pills affects future fertility. "In fact, birth control pills are very short acting," Dr. Morris says. "Therefore, birth control pills never make much of an impact on the body's ability to reproduce. If anything, using the pill or one of its hormonal counterparts such as the patch or the ring may actually help fertility in some women. Birth control pills have been used to treat and reduce symptoms of disorders such as endometriosis and ovarian cysts."

2. Stress causes infertility. (Undecided)
For this one our doctors actually disagreed. According to Dr. Morris, it is much more likely that the infertility is causing the stress instead of the other way around. "The role stress plays in a person's fertility is complicated," Dr. Morris says. "Evidence indicating stress as a cause of infertility is minimal. There are rare occasions when extreme stress can interfere with normal ovulation in women and may reduce sperm production in men. Stress can also affect a relationship by keeping a couple from the intimacy of intercourse." Dr. Morris feels that while stress can affect fertility, it is fairly uncommon and not a major player.

Dr. Paul Miller, an OB/GYN specializing in reproductive endocrinology in the Greenville Hospital System's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, believes that stress can be a major factor, though not the sole cause of infertility. "Both human and animal studies have demonstrated a negative effect of both acute and chronic stress on hormone production and fertility," he says. "Animal studies are much more convincing, given our ability to perform experiments in a very controlled environment. The difficulty with interpreting such studies is that stress is difficult to measure and what may be stressful to some is just a mere annoyance to others."


Pages:  1  2  3  4  

Want to see more?

Comments

Found 2 comments
Displaying all 2 comments below

Fertility Truths and Myths by Anonymous on 02/09/2010 03:04PM

It's interesting that those who smoke are the ones who deny any problems. The wife of my husband's brother smokes. She smoked through her four or five (I'm nto sure how many children she has) pregnancies. I heard from my MIL that one of her children had to go back to the hospital in his first month of life due to respiratory problems. None of her children are exactly the brightest bulbs in the chandilier. As it is one of her daughters is currently a teen mother. Not only that, but she is in jail now. She was living with somebody (I don't think it was the baby's father) and phoned the police with theft report. It was found out that SHE was the one who stole the items. She is now in jail for both stealing and making a false report. However, in terms of intelligence, I wouldn't call the mother too bright. So, it may not be smoking per say, but perhaps that if the parent(s) aren't too bright, they may not raise up bright children. My husband and I actually half seriously talked about fostering the baby while the mother is in jail and discussed the whole "nature/nurture" debate. (Our two year old is qute brilliant. She speaks long sentences, comprehends things just by listening to others' conversations, talks about what is going on as though she is narrating the situation [it's a good thing, except in church], is very articulate, can count, is learning her letters, knows many shapes, colors, etc. We don't smoke. We eat whole, real foods. I'm vegan, but she and my husband occasionally eat animals and animal products and when they do, it's from local, organic farms.) This is just one exaple of people I know who smoke deny any problems (including my husband's sister who also smoked during her pregnancies and smokes around her kids. Even my husband has said that she is also not too bright. Yet, with my husband and his sister, their other sister and one of their brothers, it would be an interesting case of nature/nurture observation.)

Fertility Truths and Myths by Anonymous on 08/18/2009 03:44PM

look i know thats totall crap everyone in my family smokes and none of us seem to have a problem getting or staying pregnant. my sister had 5 kids in 5 years all beautiful healthy boys and she smokes to packs a day. We see anti smoking propganda everywhere but the fact is everyones body works differently so u cant say smoking with "definently" ffect fertlity

add a comment.

Post As:
Enter your comment below:
Title
Comment Text
CAPTCHA
Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection.