According to the findings published online in the journal Fertility and Sterility, the fluid within a woman’s ovaries that surrounds the egg or oocyte holds metabolic information that can improve predictions on which embryo is more likely to lead to pregnancy.

“We analyzed samples of the follicular fluid surrounding the immature ovum or egg before it was retrieved for IVF,” says Dr. Lorraine Brennan, UCD Conway Institute, University College Dublin, Ireland.

“We identified clear metabolic differences between the follicular fluids from women who successfully achieved pregnancy as a result of IVF to the fluids from the women who did not.”

“Before the test can be regularized for use during IVF, our results need to be validated across a larger cohort of women undergoing treatment, and we are hopeful that the results obtained from larger samples will support our initial findings,” says Dr. Brennan.

Today, approximately 32% of IVF cycles result in pregnancy, so the standard procedure involves the transfer of multiple embryos back into the womb to increase the potential success rate.

But when more than one embryo is transferred back, there is an increased chance of multiple births like twins and triplets. There are increased health risks associated with multiple pregnancies for both mother and infants including an increased risk of miscarriages and preterm labor, leading to premature infants with admission to neonatal intensive care.

“In more recent years there has been an increase in the number of single embryo transfer (SET) as an effective way of reducing potential multiple births, but the widespread acceptance of SET is limited because there is no fully accurate method of embryo assessment and selection for transfer during IVF cycles.”

Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University College Dublin.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

To answer this query, it is important to consider one aspect in female fertility first to have a clear idea of the whole matter. The topic of ovulation comes to mind. Ovulation is when the female releases an egg from the ovarian follicle. Upon discharge from the follicle, the mature egg travels to the fallopian tube where it waits for 12 to 24 hours to be fertilized by a sperm. Failure to be fertilized within this time frame results in the disintegration of the ovum. If you want to know the answer to when is the best time for “baby making” sex, then ovulation is the key.

The next logical question would be, “how do you know if a person is ovulating? Several warning signs that a person is ovulating are as follows:

1. Cervical Mucus production – This substance resembles egg whites and become more prominent during ovulation. Typically, they are just white substances that are sticky but when your ovulation is nearing, they become more abundant and clear. They can stretch to over an inch long between your fingers if you test for their consistency.

2. Changes in Basal Body Temperature – This is the temperature that your body possesses when at rest. When somebody is ovulating, the basal body temperature is increased and stays there for a while. These changes in basal body temperature are attributed to the hormone known as progesterone, which is immediately produced after ovulation takes place.
Checking for basal body temperature is one of the favorite ways of people who wants to get pregnant without spending much. This in part answers your question, when is the best time for “baby making” sex.

3. Sex Drive – When a person is ovulating, the most obvious change is that the sexual drive of that individual goes to its maximum. All it takes is that you be in tune with your feelings and most likely you are in ovulation.

Now that you have an idea when ovulation takes place, it is now time to know “When is the best time for baby making sex?” Experts all over the world are in agreement that the best time for conceiving a child is about five to six days leading up to ovulation. This is the best time to have intercourse because the woman is more receptive and the healthy supply of sperm will be more potent in impregnating the mature egg.

Remember to watch for the signs and chart when the ovulation period of your partner is to be more accurate in your attempts of getting her pregnant. Pregnancy is a wonderful thing, and knowing when is the best time to achieve that leads you closer to having your first born a reality.

In order to diagnose a blocked fallopian tube, a physician will order a hysterosalpingogram, or HSG. An HSG is a type of x-ray that utilizes a dye that is inserted through the cervix, allowing the physician to observe the pelvic region. The HSG itself can remove small or partial blockages. In serious cases, the dye will not complete its course through the fallopian tubes, indicating a blockage. If this occurs, the physician may request a follow up HSG to confirm the diagnosis. Most physicians will also order an exploratory laparoscopic surgery in order to view the blocked tubes, during which time surgery on the blocked tubes may also take place.

Treatment for blocked fallopian tubes depends on the severity of the blockage. During laparoscopic surgery, the physician may be able to open blocked tubes, which can lead to about a 20 percent to 40 percent chance of achieving pregnancy. If only one tube is thought to be blocked, physicians may suggest fertility drugs to increase egg production in the ovary with the healthy tube. This can lead to pregnancy, but can take much longer than if both tubes were functioning normally as it is impossible to know, without the aid of an ultrasound, where ovulation is occurring in any given month. Also, if there are other fertility issues at hand, a physician may recommend more aggressive fertility treatments, such as In Vitro Fertilization, or IVF. IVF is also a good option for those women who have two blocked fallopian tubes.

Blocked fallopian tubes are the cause of infertility in nearly half of all infertile women. Also known as fallopian tube obstruction, blocked fallopian tubes do not allow eggs to travel through the fallopian tubes, which prevents an egg from being fertilized by sperm.

Blocked fallopian tubes are usually caused by pelvic inflammatory disease, also referred to as PID, which is an infection that is usually associated with a sexually transmitted infection, or STI. Though blocked fallopian tubes are often caused by a PID, this is not always the case. It is also not necessary that a person have suffered with STI in order to have obtained a pelvic infection, therefore blocked fallopian tubes should not be ruled out by those who have never been diagnosed with an STI. Other causes of blocked fallopian tubes include a past ruptured appendix, any type of previous abdominal surgery, a previous ectopic pregnancy, or endometriosis.

A woman with a blocked fallopian tube is unlikely to exhibit any symptoms, making an easy diagnosis of the disorder nearly impossible. Most women do not suspect they have a blocked fallopian tube until they have unsuccessfully attempted to become pregnant. At this point, if a woman has had previous pelvic infections, sexually transmitted infections, or has endometriosis, she may begin to suspect a blocked fallopian tube. A woman who suffers from a hydrosalpinx, a blockage of the fallopian tube caused by fluid, may experience vaginal discharge and abdominal pain, though even these types of blockages may be asymptomatic.

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]]> http://www.infertilitycouples.org/blog/2011/06/special-pricing/feed/ 0 http://www.infertilitycouples.org/blog/2011/06/proud-parenting-moments/ http://www.infertilitycouples.org/blog/2011/06/proud-parenting-moments/#comments Fri, 10 Jun 2011 03:37:42 +0000 Leisha http://www.infertilitycouples.org/blog/?p=796 As parents our children bless us with many proud moments in their/our life.  When children are little we are proud of their first crawl, first word, first step, etc.  As they get older the proud moments can sometimes come as a surprise.

My husband and I were blessed with triplets 7 years ago.   Today was a proud moment for us, our children finished First Grade.  Another proud moment was a couple of weeks ago, our daughter sang “Ave Maria” at her school talent show.  We would like to share this proud moment with you.

We hope you enjoy the video.  Here is the link: http://youtu.be/YXyGDkKg4tw.

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I have many of those little things in life that I feel very blessed about each day when I look at my family.   One of them is having my husband who is also my best friend by my side after a long and hard 10 year struggle with infertility.  I say this because it is proven that infertility can take a toll on a marriage and be the cause of a break up.

The second little thing in life I feel very blessed about are my 3 children.  Six years ago we were blessed with triplets, two boys and a girl.

I would like to share with you something that happened when I was helping my daughter with her homework the other day.  To some it might not be a big thing, but to others who have struggled with infertility (like myself) it is a major thing.

My children are in 1st Grade this year and have many interesting homework projects that they bring home.  My daughter is proud to be “Star Of  The Week”, this means that she has a separate backpack that she came home with.  The words “Star Of  The Week” on the backpack were in gold lettering so everyone could see that she was special.  In this backpack was a letter to the parents stating to have the child bring  5 days worth of special things to share about herself, her family and her accomplishments in it.  In the bag was also a form that my daughter had to fill out and share with the class.  The form title was “About Me” and had questions that she had to fill in.  One of the questions asked was, “Who do you most admire”.  My daughter without even having to think started writing.

I had thought that being as young as she is (6yrs.old) the person she most admired would have been her favorite singer or actor.  When I asked her what she was writing, she looked up at me and said, “I am writing that I most admire my mom”.  She looked so cute and proud when she told me this.  I had to do everything in my power to hold back tears, but of course my daughter caught me.  She asked why I was starting to cry, I looked at her and said, “Sweetie it’s just one of those little things in life that reminds me of  how blessed I am to have you for my daughter and I will cherish this forever”.

The Infertility Couples Association Blog and The Infertility Couples Association Membership site was created so that those struggling or who have struggled with infertility can share their stories with others and seek support as well as give support back.

I will be posting a lot of different things on Infertility Couples Association Membership Site,  like Shared Stories, News, Inspirational Quotes, etc.  On Infertility Couples Association Blog I would like to share a story of my own.   I do this because when I have a story, it reminds me when my husband and I were trying to conceive.  I know that there is a lot of heartache that comes with infertility, but there is also joy.

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