Cool it, boys, if you want a baby

AVOID saunas and taking hot showers if you want to be a father. That is the frank advice to men from the fertility watchdog in its new guide to having babies published this week.

Men, whose fertility has fallen dramatically in recent years, should try to maximise the amount of sperm they produce by keeping themselves cool. The fall in sperm production has been linked to drinking alcohol.

Up to one in five healthy young men between the ages of 18 and 25 have abnormal sperm counts. Even the sperm they do produce is often of poor quality. In contrast, more than 90% of the sperm of a bull or a ram is normal.

The guide from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority advises men how to boost sperm production: “For maximum sperm production, the testes should be a couple of degrees cooler than the rest of your body. It may help to avoid tight-fitting clothing, saunas and hot showers.”

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article7140255.ece

UK's first ever abortion ad screens tonight amid controversy

THE UK's first ever advert promoting abortion will be screened tonight.
Marie Stopes hopes its ads for unplanned pregnancy and abortion advice will raise awareness of sexual health.

But Christian bodies are outraged and are considering legal action to stop the broadcast - due to go out on Channel 4 at 10.10pm.

It comes after a study found less than half of UK adults knew where to go for advice in the event of an unplanned pregnancy, and 76 per cent believed the adverts should be screened at appropriate times.

But the Christian Legal Centre slammed the commercial as an advert for the "destruction of human life".

Its director Andrea Minichiello-Williams said: "Members of the public will be enraged that such adverts are allowed to be beamed into their living rooms, especially as early as 10.10pm, when very many teenagers are around.



For more on this story follow the link: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2985074/Abortion-ad-screens-tonight.html#ixzz0pDlF1n8e

How could any woman not know she was pregnant until she gave birth? A new study suggests it's more common than you think

To any mother who has not only navigated her way through morning sickness, but been hampered by a huge bump and then floored by a long labour, the idea that you can be expecting a baby and not know is hard to grasp.

How can any woman possibly miss the tell-tale signs that she is carrying a growing baby inside her?

Yet, according to studies, the phenomenon is not as rare as you might imagine. In fact, statistics published last month show that one in 600 mums-to-be will be unaware they are pregnant until they give birth, or just before.

'It is something you come across very rarely as a midwife,' says Jen Mearns, midwifery manager of London's Birth Centre.

'There are a few very young women who are in self-denial about being pregnant. They might conceal their pregnancy from families and friends, and even pretend to themselves they aren't having a baby.

'But, difficult as it is for many people to imagine, situations where the woman truly has no idea she is having a baby really do happen. And often they occur in busy women, and particularly as they approach the menopause.'

According to Sue McDonald, from the Royal College of Midwives, such feelings of guilt are very common in women who give birth unexpectedly. 'People imagine giving birth suddenly must be wonderful because you haven't knowingly gone through the trials of pregnancy.

'But, in fact, a woman who gives birth unexpectedly will need lots of support. She will experience a whole range of emotions, and one might well be guilt as they berate themselves for not realising they were pregnant.'

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1281456/How-woman-know-pregnant-gave-birth-A-new-study-suggests-common-think.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Big rise in fertility among women over 40

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show a decrease in fertility rates for women under 35 but a relatively large increase in fertility rate in women over 40.

In 2009, there have been decreases in fertility rates for women aged under 35 and increases for women aged 35 and over, compared with 2008.

Over the last decade the number of live births to mothers aged 40 and over has nearly doubled from 14,252 in 1999 to 26,976 in 2009. The figure for 2009 is the highest on record.


For more info on birth statistics and this story follow the link: http://www.onmedica.com/newsarticle.aspx?id=71145139-b3a8-45b0-a1cc-3a92766a05c8

Sky presenter Sophie Blake found out how a very common women's operation can ruin your fertility

When Sky TV presenter Sophie Blake became pregnant with her daughter Maya, she never imagined that, just a few years later, trying to conceive a baby brother or sister for her would prove so difficult.
'My fiancé Scott and I hadn't been together long when I became pregnant with Maya - it was a shock,' says Sophie, 37.

'So when we started trying for a second baby, we assumed everything would be plain sailing.' But as the months passed with no luck, Sophie began to worry.

It took two years for Sophie to get a diagnosis - and even then it was only down to her persistence and the internet. She suffers from Asherman's syndrome, which is treatable, yet which often goes misdiagnosed, causing recur rent miscarriage and infertility.

Asherman's syndrome is a type of adhesion - where bands of scar-like tissue form inside the body between two surfaces, causing them to stick together. Adhesions are a common problem, affecting 93 per cent of patients who undergo surgery.

The problem is triggered by a dilation and curettage (D&C), a standard procedure used to clear the womb after a miscarriage, or when the placenta is retained after childbirth or a termination, says Adrian Lower, a consultant gynaecologist and one of only a handful of Asherman's specialists in the UK.

It's thought that Asherman's occurs when this is done too forcefully. Around 100,000 procedures are carried out each year, with five per cent resulting in Asherman's.


To find out more about this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1281143/Sky-presenter-Sophie-Blake-common-womans-operation-ruin-fertility.html#ixzz0ovYQ3CDL



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1281143/Sky-presenter-Sophie-Blake-common-womans-operation-ruin-fertility.html#ixzz0ovXwRmNO

The Gift of Sperm Donor 8282

The New York Times today tells the story of three Boston ladies who found themselves childless once they reached their late 30s.

Two of the friends decided to turn to sperm donation, but in an amazing twist of fate both women ended up settling down and having children the old fashioned way straight after ordering the vials of sperm. In order not to waste the viles they were offered to their other childless friend, and thus the story of donor 8282 was founded.

Three friends, ensuring they would all have a happy ending to their stories. Now their dreams of children have been answered, the three are writing a book about their experiences.

To find out more about this story follow the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/fashion/23sperm.html

From Britain's leading fertility expert, an intriguing question...Is a woman more likely to conceive if she enjoys sex?

The more frequently you have sex, the more chance you have of getting pregnant. Nobody will be surprised at that - but what is surprising is that, according to various scientific studies, an average couple in Britain having reasonably regular sex have only about an 18 per cent chance of conceiving in any given month.

Could this factor be down to whether or not a woman's enjoyment of sex aids conception? A leading fertility expert has suggested just this, a link between satisfying sex and conception is an interesting one.

A study of hundreds of couples struggling to conceive has left experts in little doubt that the female orgasm can aid conception - it was previously assumed it was a useless factor for reproduction.

How could we account for these findings in a scientific way?
One theory is that the muscles of the vagina and the womb contract, sometimes quite vigorously, during orgasm and that way more sperm enters the uterus.

Then, after a period of relaxation, the sperm are retained. We do know that, during orgasm, a hormone is released - oxytocin, which, among other things, is associated with extreme pleasure. This hormone is also important in producing contractions of the womb.


For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1279841/From-Britains-leading-fertility-expert-intriguing-question--Is-woman-likely-conceive-enjoys-sex.html#ixzz0oY09PX6v