By Dr. Jason Hitkari MD,
Medical Director Olive Fertility Centre,
Special to The Post
May 12 to 20th is Canadian Infertility Awareness Week.
A recent Statistics Canada report shows that infertility in Canada has nearly doubled in the last two decades.
According to the study more than one in six o couples will experience infertility (defined as failing to get pregnant after one year of unprotected sex).
The good news is that for the more than 350,000 Canadian couples and individuals struggling with infertility, the majority will be able to have child.
Just knowing these 5 fertility facts could increase the odds.
1) 40 is not the new 30 when it comes to your eggs. Despite the number of celebrities that seem to conceive with ease in their 40’sand even, in the case of Janet Jackson, at 50, your chances of getting pregnant over 40 with your own eggs are very slim. Most of 40+ celebrities touting baby bumps or pushing Bugaboo strollers have used donor eggs (eggs from a younger woman) in order to get pregnant with IVF.
Fertility peaks in the mid-twenties and drops off sharply after 35: a healthy woman at age 30 has about a 20% chance per month of conceiving. By the time she reaches 40, her chances drop to about 5% per month.
2) What is the optimum age to freeze your eggs? Many women who are feeling their biological clock ticking but not yet ready to have a baby are thinking of freezing their eggs with vitrification —a flash freezing process that,-allows women to preserve their eggs for future use. But you may be waiting too long. Doctors recommend women freeze their eggs before age 38, with optimal years between 32 and 36.
3) Are you missing your fertile window? If you rely on taking your basal body temperature (BBT) to determine the best time to have intercourse you may be too late. The rise in your BBT occurs after you have already ovulated. The sperm will live in the body for approximately 3 days but the egg only lives for 24-48 hours, so it is important to have intercourse before you ovulate rather than after.
Te easiest way to find out if you are ovulating is to use an Ovulation Predictor Kit (OPK) where you pee on a stick and it measures a surge in the luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine. Ovulation predictor kits are useful because they tell you when you are about to ovulate so you can have intercourse before you ovulate. The 12 to 36 hours from the time you test positive for ovulation is the best time to conceive.
4) Your BMI (body mass index) and that of your male partner may be preventing you from getting pregnant. A healthy BMI is 18.5 - 24.9. Just losing 5 to 10 pound if you are overweight (or gaining a few pounds if you are underweight) can significantly increase your chances of getting pregnant.
Weight is just as important for guys. The National Institutes of Health found that overweight men are 20% more likely to be infertile than men with a low to normal BMI, while obese men were 36% more likely to be infertile.
Fat can affect fertility hormones and, in men, can lead to reduced sperm motility and increased sperm DNA fragmentation.
5) Not getting enough shut-eye? Most people are chronically sleep deprived. This doesn’t just make you tired, it may the reason you aren’t getting pregnant. Sleep deprivation (less than an average of 7 hours of sleep a night) or sleep disruptions, like shift work, can interfere with circadian rhythms and disrupt reproductive hormones in men and women.
Trying to conceive?
When: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 - 18:30
Where: Surrey City Centre Library, 10350 University Drive
Discover how advances in fertility technology are achieving a 75% pregnancy rate even in women with previous IVF failure, recurrent miscarriage or advanced maternal age.
This integrative presentation will discuss:
How advancements in IVF can improve your chance of getting pregnant and having a healthy baby.
How diet, stress reduction and acupuncture can increase your chances of conceiving naturally.
Natural approaches to optimize your fertility before you start the IVF process to increase your chances of pregnancy and a healthy baby.
Natural approaches during the IVF process and during the two week wait after transfer increase your chances of pregnancy and a healthy baby.
More information go to http://www.acubalance.ca/events
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