Fibroids like the ones shown in Figure 2-3 are easily seen with a pelvic ultrasound and can be removed surgically if they appear to be interfering with a woman’s ability to get pregnant or carry a pregnancy.
Illustration by Kathryn Born, MA
FIGURE 2-3: Fibroids (uterine growths) occasionally interfere with pregnancy.
Recognizing issues that cause fertility problems in men
Sperm take a long time to make. Sperm you ejaculate today have been three months in the making, so if you’re working on health problems or making lifestyle changes, give them enough time to take effect.
Although male health issues may seem less important to a quick conception, your health problems can interfere with conception. Here are a few examples of potentially problematic issues:
Diabetic men often have problems with erection and ejaculation. If you have a problem with erection, you’re probably well aware of it, but ejaculatory issues may not be quite as obvious. Retrograde ejaculation, where sperm get pushed into the bladder rather than out through the urethra, can affect diabetic men.
Men who take high-blood-pressure medications called calcium channel blockers may have sperm that don’t penetrate eggs well; other blood pressure medications may cause retrograde ejaculation.
Toxins common to the workplace — such as lead, X-rays, inhaled anesthetics in the operating room, and a host of other environmentally damaging substances — can also damage your internal plumbing if you work with them frequently.
STIs can also take their toll on the male reproductive system. Chlamydia and gonorrhea can cause an infection and inflammation in the epididymis, part of the testes where sperm develop. Syphilis can cause low sperm count and poor motility.
Assessing lifestyle choices that affect eggs and sperm
You can improve your chances of pregnancy by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Yes, giving up bad habits is painful, but failing to get pregnant month after month can be painful, too. Take the step of cutting the following bad habits out of your life before you start trying to get pregnant.
Smoking
Compared to nonsmokers, smokers
Have sperm that are less motile (capable of moving spontaneously). Sperm have a long way to go to reach the egg, so they need all the motility they can get.
Have lower sperm counts and more abnormally shaped sperm, which are chromosomally abnormal.
Have more eggs that are chromosomally abnormal.
Have a 50 percent higher rate of miscarriage.
Are two to four times more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy.
Drinking alcohol
Using drugs
Two commonly used drugs can affect male fertility:
Marijuana lowers testosterone levels in males, which isn’t good in the baby-making biz because testosterone is the male hormone responsible for male sexual functioning and sperm production. Sperm counts are lower and sperm are less motile in men who use marijuana regularly.
Anabolic steroids suppress testosterone production and can cause irreversible damage to the sperm production line. Avoid them at all costs.
Maintaining an (un)healthy weight
Being overweight is a huge problem — one that’s getting bigger all the time. Around 20 percent of women of childbearing age in the United States are obese. Overweight women may not ovulate, and if they don’t ovulate, they can’t get pregnant. One Australian study showed that obese women were only half as likely to get pregnant as normal-weight women.
However, being underweight can also interfere with ovulation. Overall, 12 percent of infertility issues are related to being over- or underweight. Fortunately, either losing or gaining weight in these cases results in pregnancy 70 percent of the time.
Issues that may never have crossed your mind
Sometimes, behaviors you may never have considered can negatively affect your chances of pregnancy. Here are a few:
Douching: Washing or cleaning out the vagina using water or an over-the-counter solution is referred to as douching. Although between one-third to one-half of childbearing age women do it, it’s not only unnecessary but also potentially harmful. Women who douche are 73 percent more likely to have pelvic inflammatory disease, which can seriously damage the fallopian tubes and increases the chance of ectopic pregnancy by about the same percentage. Because you want your partner around for a long time, remind her of this statistic: Women who douche are 80 percent more likely to develop cervical cancer.
Not sitting on the couch enough: No, not really — some exercise is definitely good for you. But some sports, like bicycling, may cause testicular damage from the pressure of the bike seat. Women who exercise too heavily may stop having periods (called amenorrhea), and good luck getting pregnant without them.
Spending time in hot tubs and other heat sources: Hot tubs, tight underwear, saunas, steam rooms, and anything else that raises the temperature of the testicles is bad for the boys. Hot tubs may also damage eggs and increase miscarriage rates, so neither of you should be lolling in the hot tub.
Keeping Sex from Becoming a Chore
As unfathomable as it seems, sex while trying to conceive isn’t always fun. Couples often begin to feel a sense of duty and pressure when they segue from spontaneity to planning exactly when to have sex to increase chances of conception. Monitoring rises in body temperature, charting mucus, and even lying down afterward to give the semen time to do its job are just a few of the unromantic actions that can take your sex life from crackin’ to clinical.
Pleasure may take a back seat to the goal of having a baby, and nothing takes the “sexy” out of sex faster than making it feel like work. In fact, if the sex becomes solely about trying to conceive, you may begin to feel a bit like a sperm-producing machine that’s only needed during ovulation, and performance issues can arise (no pun intended).