Women are remarkably clueless about their fertility, and aren't doing much to help improve it.
It seems a ridiculous question - do you know how to get pregnant? But though the obvious answer might spring easily to mind, conceiving a baby is a bit more complicated than just the sex bit.
And a huge number of women are clueless about how to improve their chances. Marilyn Glenville, author of ‘Getting Pregnant Faster’ to bust some fertility myths that could hampering your attempts to get pregnant.
According to research published in the journal Fertility & Sterility, many women don't know factors that harm fertility, what supplements they need to be taking while trying to conceive (TTC) and many have odd beliefs around sex positions and frequency, and how that can affect baby making.
And a huge number of women are clueless about how to improve their chances. Marilyn Glenville, author of ‘Getting Pregnant Faster’ to bust some fertility myths that could hampering your attempts to get pregnant.
According to research published in the journal Fertility & Sterility, many women don't know factors that harm fertility, what supplements they need to be taking while trying to conceive (TTC) and many have odd beliefs around sex positions and frequency, and how that can affect baby making.
What supplements should I be taking?
The study found that half of the women polled didn't know that folic acid is a vital supplement for conception and pregnancy. "It is absolutely crucial that women take a preconceptual multivitamin and mineral supplement containing folic acid, particularly for prevention of neural tube defects like spina bifida," explains Marilyn. "This should be taken up to three months before conception." She recommends taking a multivitamin and mineral supplement that contains folic acid because the additional nutrients, such as zinc, are beneficial for both fertility and the health of the baby.
More than a quarter of women didn't know that lifestyle choices such as smoking and obesity, and sexually transmitted diseases can harm fertility.
"STDs, smoking and obesity can either make it difficult to get pregnant in the first place or can increase the risk of a miscarriage," Marilyn warns. "It's important to get STDs checked and treated, stop smoking and lose weight up to three months before conceiving because it takes three months for the woman to mature the egg that is going to be released at ovulation."
She adds that because of this, living well in the months before conception can go a long way to improve the quality of your eggs.
Ageing and conception
More women were aware that age has a significant effect on fertility and miscarriage risk but many were unclear of exactly what this meant for them
"Unfortunately, fertility does reduce as we get older and the biggest drop is after the age of 35," says Marilyn.
"Ovarian reserve (egg store) is lower by this age so there aren't as many eggs available to ovulate so that makes getting pregnant harder. Women we are born with their store of eggs so we can’t change the quantity and as we get older our eggs are getting older which increases the risk of miscarriage.
"But this is not all doom and gloom!"
"As I mentioned, we do have this three month window of opportunity while an egg is maturing to change the quality. So although we can’t change the quantity of eggs a woman has we can change the quantity by looking at diet, supplements and lifestyle in order to increase her chances of getting and staying pregnant if she's in her late 30s or even early 40s.
Many couples try to boost their sex lives but it can be hard work (REX)"
Position-wise, there aren't any studies that prove the anecdotal or 'common sense' suggestions that certain positions could help.
"The man-on-top position is thought to have the best chance of getting a woman pregnant," Marilyn tells us. "But the rationale is that this position allows for deep penetration so the man’s sperm can be ejaculated as close to the cervix as possible, giving them a flying start on their long journey."
She adds that logically, any position that goes against gravity, such as woman-on-top or having sex sitting or standing up, discourages the sperm’s journey upward and is thought to deter conception.
Penetration from behind is another position that's thought to encourage conception, while making love in the spoons position (both partners facing the same way with the man penetrating the woman from behind) is not thought to be such an effective baby-making position because the penetration angle is not so deep.
"Unfortunately, fertility does reduce as we get older and the biggest drop is after the age of 35," says Marilyn.
"Ovarian reserve (egg store) is lower by this age so there aren't as many eggs available to ovulate so that makes getting pregnant harder. Women we are born with their store of eggs so we can’t change the quantity and as we get older our eggs are getting older which increases the risk of miscarriage.
"But this is not all doom and gloom!"
"As I mentioned, we do have this three month window of opportunity while an egg is maturing to change the quality. So although we can’t change the quantity of eggs a woman has we can change the quantity by looking at diet, supplements and lifestyle in order to increase her chances of getting and staying pregnant if she's in her late 30s or even early 40s.
Many couples try to boost their sex lives but it can be hard work (REX)"Sex and conception.
There were plenty of beliefs surrounding what positions encourage pregnancy and half of women falsely thought that the multiple sex sessions every day improves changes.Position-wise, there aren't any studies that prove the anecdotal or 'common sense' suggestions that certain positions could help.
"The man-on-top position is thought to have the best chance of getting a woman pregnant," Marilyn tells us. "But the rationale is that this position allows for deep penetration so the man’s sperm can be ejaculated as close to the cervix as possible, giving them a flying start on their long journey."
She adds that logically, any position that goes against gravity, such as woman-on-top or having sex sitting or standing up, discourages the sperm’s journey upward and is thought to deter conception.
Penetration from behind is another position that's thought to encourage conception, while making love in the spoons position (both partners facing the same way with the man penetrating the woman from behind) is not thought to be such an effective baby-making position because the penetration angle is not so deep.
When to have sex and how much?
"Having sex after ovulation is like shutting the door after the horse has bolted," says Marilyn, on the subject of timing. "The egg only lives for 24 hours so the woman needs to have intercourse before ovulation in order to get pregnant so that the egg is travelling through the Fallopian tube (which is where fertilisation happens) to meet the sperm."Also after ovulation the cervical mucus changes to acid from alkaline and will kill off and block the passage of sperm." And though you do have to have sex regularly to improve your chance of conceiving, you don't have to go overboard.
"It's better to have sex every other day around ovulation as this break allows time to maximise sperm volume," explains Marilyn. "Although the egg only survives for 24 hours, sperm can live for five days around ovulation when the cervical mucus is alkaline. So that means a woman can have intercourse on a Monday and get pregnant on the Friday when the eggs have been released."
www.marilynglenville.com.
www.marilynglenville.com.
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