Hope you are probably not thinking about having a baby in near future? In fact?you are likely to spend a fair amount of energy trying to avoid pregnancy. But it actually pays to give a little thought to your fertility now.
That’s because the lifestyle choices we make today have an impact on whether one be able to be a mom down the road. Women are born with the limited number of eggs, and if you damage them, it reduces the chances of conceiving and having a successful pregnancy. The same goes with other reproductive structures like fallopian tubes, uterus, and cervix.
Not that this means that you need to be stocking up on the ovulation test kits while you are still playing the field. In fact, the biggest hindrance to fertility is age, something on which you have no control over. Heredity is also a factor, if your mom went into the menopause early you may be genetically destined to follow suit. But, you can control some other key factors. So take these measures now to give yourself the best chance of a problem free conception later.
If you are likely many women out there, you look at your body fat as the enemy. But, here is a fact that may help you see a little triceps pudge or tummy bulge in a new light. Oestrogen, a hormone that’s the key to keeping your reproductive cycle functioning normally, is stored in fat, so if you don’t have enough padding, whether it’s because you don’t eat enough or you exercise maniacally, your fertility could be at risk. Ideally a woman should have 22 to 25 percent body fat, and when it falls below 19 percent, they are probably going to have problems to maintain ovulation.
Most of the time, women with low fat related infertility just need to gain weight and they will have no trouble conceiving. But if you are so under weight or you exercise so much that you no longer have a period at all, the situation might not be reversible, even if you gain weight.
On the other hand, being overweight can keep you from getting pregnant too. Women who are more than 20 percent above their ideal weight which normally translates to a body mass index of more than 25 may produce too much oestrogen and too much of the male hormone androgen, which could make them infertile. While this type of infertility is fully reversible once you loose the excess weight, we all know how hard that can be. So if you are packing 20 or more extra pounds and think you will want to get pregnant one day even if not for years start a slim down programme now.
In addition to the zillion other reasons you should not smoke, the toxin in cigrates contain can kill or damage the eggs in your ovaries. Cigarettes should come with a warning label that reads’’ this product can have harmful effect on your fertility”. Since the number of eggs you have is fixed, the more you harm, the more you limit your chance of conceiving and having a healthy pregnancy.
Plus, smokers enters the menopause an average of two years earlier than non smokers , which means nicotine habit also cuts short your fertile period. The only good news is if you quit now, you will limit the damage. The impact is reversible, but the minute you stop smoking you stop its negative effects too.
Scarily, one of the biggest risks to your fertility is a disease that often has no symptoms, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). It can lead to scaring in your fallopian tubes, making it difficult .If not impossible, for the egg to meet the sperm. Damaged fallopian tubes are tough to treat and can make you permantely sterile, which is what happens to about 12 percent of women with PID.
PID is caused by Chlamydia and gonorrhea, sexually transmitted infections that are easily treatable but can lead to big problems if one doesn’t catch them in time. Symptoms of gonorrhea typically include bleeding during sex, pain or burning during urination, and yellow or bloody vaginal discharge, although it can also have no symptoms.
Chlamydia is particularly dangerous because it often has no symptoms at all and can lead to PID within just weeks if left untreated. Condoms block both of these infections, so practicing safe sex is the best way to protect yourself. But if you do have unsafe sex or the condoms slips or breaks, see your gyno pronto and specifically to be tested for Chlamydia and gonorrhea.
The tests are not included in a basic pap smear you have to ask for them. Even if you do safe sex, you should request these tests with your annual pelvic exam, just to be safe. Both infections are easy to treat with antibiotics, but it is important to make sure your partner is treated as well or you can become re infected.
If you suddenly have heavier or more painful periods or other discomfort down below, don’t just pop up a painkiller and ignore it. These symptoms could signal a fertility damaging disorder. Pelvic pain is very painful menstrual cramps, and spotting between periods are all symptoms of endometriosis, a condition that occurs when the tissue that lines uterus start to grow outside of it.
Endometriosis affects about 10 percent of women of child bearing age and leads to infertility 30 to 40 percent of the time. If you catch endometriosis early, you can stop its progress. The usual treatment involves taking birth control pills continuously which keeps the uterine lining thin and stops its overgrowth.
Another disorder that leads to infertility is uterine fibroids, which are non cancerous tumors in the uterus .The symptoms of fibroids is heavy bleeding and general pelvic pain .Fibroids are not as big as endometriosis, but they can cause problems if they go unchecked. If they distort the lining of the uterus, it can be harder for an embryo to implant.
Photo Credit: Allaboutdiapers.com
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