TTC Myths or Facts

What are some myths or facts you've heard that is suppossed to make it easier to concieve ..??

I haven't really heard very many "myths" .. I know my mom told me before to put the pillow underneath my butt and lie still for 30 minutes and it helps the sperm to travel .... it worked ... now I need it to work again .. ..

[Jill]

i dont know if this is one but when i stop trying to get pregnant, i got pregnant!!!

[Kaymara]

Myth: You can only have sex and conceive at the time of ovulation
Fact: SPerm can stay in you for up to 5 days. So sex before you ovulate is great. Your egg is good for up to 24 hours so having swimmers there waiting is best since it takes 24 hours for them to get there

Myth:stop trying and it happens
Fact: while this is true for some people, others need the extra boost of fertility meds. Yes TTC can be stressful and stress can cause you to not ovulate etc the fact remains the infertility is real and some people do needs meds and stuff

Myth:The more times you have sex in a day the more likely you will get pregnant
Fact: Sperm takes time to rebuild so even tho your husband will orgasm he wont have the full optiman amount of sperm each and everytime. It is actually better to do it every day or every other day and not multiple times in a day

Myth:If you get up and go pee shortly after sex all the sperm leaks out
Fact: While it is good to lay down for awhile millions of sperm are released and most of the stuff you lose is just semen and not sperm.

Myth: A normal cycle is 28 days
Fact: Every woman and every body is different. It isn't as common as once thought that the normal cycle is 28 days. It isn't the cycle length persay that is important, it is if you ovulate or not. Which is why ovulation predictors have gotten so popular. Some women ovulate on day 14, some on day 16, some on day 18 etc. Point being that as long as your ovulating and your cycle length isn't too too long then you CAN get pregnant. And you are NOT considered abnormal for not having a 28 day cycle. More importantly is once you ovulate a period or pregnancy will follow around 14 days later

Fact: Caffiene and other stimulants and certain medications can actually hinder fertility in some people. (such as alcohol, smoking, ibprophen etc) If you are having trouble conceiving with unknown problems SOMETIMES quitting these can actually help.

Myth:You can only get pregnant by using certain positions
Fact: While it is true that SOME positions do offer a small boost in getting sperm where they need to be (doggy style is most common because of the deeper penetration and leaving the sperm higher) any position can lead to pregnancy.

Fact: Even if all conditions are right, you are ovulating, you have sex etc there is only a 25% chance in a given month you will get pregnant. That is why most Dr's tell women to try for a baby for 1 year before seeking help or 6 months if you are over 35.

Myth: If you are ovulating and your husbands sperm is fine then you can get pregnant
Fact: Some women actually have weak ovulation. They ovulate fine but it is a weaker ovulation.weak egg that cannot sustain fertilization. There are meds that can help for this



When I have time I will post more

[Kellie]

Wow Kristi those are good. I can't wait to read the other's you post.

[Kaymara]

Originally Posted by Kellie Wow Kristi those are good. I can't wait to read the other's you post.

Thanks I'll just keep updating my post as I get time so I don't post a ton in 1 thread

[Brandi]

I found these on a TTC website:

When it comes to getting pregnant, the truth is all too often mired in myths passed down as old wives tales and common misconceptions. To distinguish fact from fiction, Mark Bush, MD, offers the following list of common infertility myths.

1. Infertility is a woman's problem.
Approximately 40 percent of the time, a male factor is involved in a couple's inability to conceive.

2. Everyone else seems to get pregnant at a drop of a hat.
More than five million people of childbearing age in the United States experience infertility. The good news is that there are a variety of therapies available to treat the medical obstacles to having children. A thorough medical evaluation is recommended to determine the underlying cause, however, many patients are successful with minimally invasive treatment options.

3. As long as I am having regular periods, I should be fertile.
Even if a woman regularly ovulates, has regular periods, and feels fine from adequate estrogen and progesterone secretion from the ovary, the eggs that the ovaries produce as a woman ages have a decreased ability to establish a pregnancy. Because this decline in egg potential can vary from woman to woman, it is important to seek a consultation with a specialist for basal FSH and estradiol levels and provocative testing after the age of 30. This consultation will give women the information they need regarding their reproductive potential and allow them to make informed decisions regarding their course of action.

4. Women over 40 should be able to conceive easily as long as they are healthy.
Approximately two-thirds of women will not be able to get pregnant spontaneously by the age of 40, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Nationally, the percentage of IVF cycles in 2001 resulting in livebirths for women aged 41 to 42 was 10.4 percent, whereas patients going through IVF under the age of 35 have much higher success rates, often as high as 50 percent. This underscores the need for women to seek competent fertility care promptly.

5. Fertility drugs usually result in multiple pregnancies.
Recent advances have led to increased pregnancy rates while minimizing the risk for higher order multiples. Patients undergoing intra-uterine insemination with gonadotropin stimulation are closely monitored. For patients going through in-vitro fertilization, improved technology has increased pregnancy rates, leading to fewer embryos needing to be transferred in order to maximize chance of pregnancy. Nationally, the percentage of pregnancies with triplets or more after IVF in 2001 ranged from 2.9 percent to 8.1 percent depending on a woman's age.

6. I was able to conceive once, so I'll have no problem conceiving again.
Past fertility does not ensure future fertility. More than half of all women who experience infertility already have one biological child, according to the Centers for Disease Control. These women suffer from secondary infertility, or an inability to conceive after a year when one or both partners have previously conceived. Although more than three million Americans are affected by secondary infertility, and the prevalence rate is higher than that of primary infertility, few couples seek treatment. The causes of secondary infertility vary, but age is a primary factor.

[Brandi]

Here is another one....

Infertility is primarily caused by female problems.

Studies show that about 40% of infertility cases are caused by female factors, 40% by male factors and 20% by a combination of both.

Ovulation occurs on Day 14 of a woman's cycle.

That would make birth control, and conception, very easy if it were true. Couples could either avoid intercourse on Day 14 to avoid pregnancy, or have intercourse to become pregnant.

A normal menstrual cycle lasts 28 days.

The normal range for a woman's menstrual cycle is actually anywhere between 24 to 36 days in length.

Worrying about a late period only makes it later.

Stress cannot delay your menstrual period, however it can delay ovulation. The number of days in your luteal phase (time between ovulation and your period) typically will remain constant with each cycle.

A woman can get pregnant only on one day during each cycle.

Although a woman's egg is only viable for 12 to 24 hours, she can actually get pregnant from an act of intercourse that occurs anytime from about five days prior to ovulation to as much as two days after, for a total of about seven possible days to get pregnant.

A woman should wait a minimum of three months after she stops taking birth control pills before trying to conceive.

Birth control pills work by preventing a woman from ovulating through increased hormone levels. The hormone levels start to return to normal almost immediately once you quit taking them and you should begin to ovulate with the very next cycle.

Stress can cause infertility.

Stress does not prevent conception, however, it can delay ovulation by suppressing the hormones needed for it to occur.

It's all in your mind - just relax or take a vacation. Then you'll get pregnant!

Infertility is a disease or condition of the reproductive system. Although infertility can result in stress, stress cannot cause infertility. Luckily, improved medical techniques have made it easier to diagnose and treat infertility problems.

The egg is fertilized within the uterus.

Implantation usually occurs in the uterus, but conception actually occurs in the outer third of the fallopian tubes, not in the uterus.

Women quit producing eggs at menopause.

Women are born with over 400,000 eggs, but have nowhere near that many menstrual cycles in their lives. Once a woman reaches menopause, her body stops responding to the hormones that cause the eggs to mature in the ovary and be released.

Wearing boxer shorts and taking cold showers makes men more fertile.

While increased scrotal heat from athletic supporters, tight-fitting underwear and hot tubs can reduce a man's sperm count, there are no proven benefits of keeping the area cold.

If a woman takes fertility drugs to help conceive, she'll end up having twins or triplets.

Although fertility drugs can increase the chances of having a multiple pregnancy, the majority of women taking them have single births.

Ovulation occurs on the day of the drop or the day of the rise in your BBT chart.

Actually, the exact day of ovulation cannot be determined by the basal body temperature. By the time the temperature has risen, ovulation has already occurred and since the egg can live for 12-24 hours, the temperature alone is not a good indicator of when you actually ovulated.

Vaginal secretions indicate that you have an infection.

Vaginal secretions are natural and healthy and once a woman understands what it is and when to expect it, she will realize that it is a sign of fertility and not an infectious discharge in need of treatment or douching.

If a man is sexually virile, he will have a normal sperm count.

In reality, men with normal sex drives may have no sperm at all and vice versa as there is no correlation between virility and fertility.

Sperm can only live for several hours.

In fertile quality cervical fluid, sperm can actually survive for up to five days in a woman's reproductive system.