Loosing weight before Infertility Treatment improves IVF Success rate

By Dr. Shobha Gupta  

Losing excess weight before undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment can improve pregnancy and birth outcome.   

A body mass index (BMI) of 19 to 25 is considered to be the ideal weight for conceiving. A healthy body and optimum weight during pregnancy is crucial for having a smooth pregnancy and delivering a healthy child.. According to recent study 70% of India's urban population is obese and comes under overweight category.   

Both underweight and overweight women and men suffer from a higher incidence of infertility.  Women who are obese are also at a greater risk for pregnancy complications like having a C-section, giving birth to a large baby or even developing gestational diabetes and hypertension.   

There are numerous potential complications for obese women trying to get pregnant. Some of these include:   

1.Lower response to medication used to regulate or initiate ovulation.  

2.Greater need for carefully titrated dosing of medication, especially in patients with polycystic ovaries (PCO).  

3.Greater frequency of over-response and the risk of 

There is a biological clock for men too

By Dr. Shobha Gupta 

As we all know that age factor is directly associated with decreasing fertility in women; their eggs grow old. But age does affect the fertility level in men too. Yes, you heard it right, age affects men too. After the age of 30, there is a drop in testosterone of 1% per year. Testosterone is the energy, the hormone that you need to make good-quality sperm. It’s not just women who have to worry about their ticking reproductive clock. Men's sperm quality seems to decline after the age of 35. The older a man is the more his sperm cells are dived, and the more divisions present, the more there is a chance for an abnormality to occur. 

Studies have shown that age of male is directly associated with a decline in semen volume, sperm motility, and sperm morphology. Many studies have claimed that pregnancy rates decrease between 23% to 38% in comparisons between men under 30 and men over 50. Sperm count declines with age, with men aged 50–80 years producing sperm at an

Surrogacy Bill 2016: why to ban commercial surrogacy.?

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By Dr. Shobha Gupta 

Surrogacy has become a sensitive topic in India. Changes in the surrogacy law or regularizing it; has become a debate over long now. Last year when surrogacy banned for foreign couples in India, it has become a debate then also. Medical tourism plays a significant role in bringing foreign currency to the country. Moreover, these women were able to support their families with this money. Recently, the surrogacy bill passed by the government of India brought turmoil in the rising area of assisted reproduction.

I believe Surrogacy shouldn’t be treated as immoral or illegitimate. There are about 50 million deserving infertile couples in India who will remain childless because of this ban by the government. In my opinion commercial surrogacy shouldn’t be banned instead it should be regulated and monitored properly so that nobody can misuse this opportunity. 

By banning commercial surrogacy, infertile couples will loss the opportunity to become a parent and at the same time surrogate will also loss the monetary benefits associated with it.  Also, by saying Altruistic surrogacy, in today’s time not every relative come forward to become a surrogate. So, in my opinion commercial ban is not very appropriate. 

After certain bans there is definitely a decline in surrogacy cases. But if you see, Surrogacy actually helps people have their own biological child.

Breastfeeding after an IVF delivery

By Dr. Shobha Gupta 

Breastfeeding comes to mothers naturally. However, this is not entirely true in many cases. After delivery the mother’s body undergoes a lot of changes that can make breastfeeding difficult. But this not at all means that you should give up on breastfeeding. Mothers who undergo a C-section or IVF delivery might face problems during breastfeeding. Stress, hormonal imbalances and fatigue ae very normal for such mothers that can lead interfere with breast milk production. 

Please go by the following tips that help in overcoming issues with breastfeeding: 

1. Omit stress from your life – First of all stop taking too much stress. Though it is very normal to feel stressed out after delivery especially if it’s your first baby. But stress at this time could hamper breastfeeding. Remember, a stressful mother will often find it difficult to lactate or even help the baby latch on correctly. Practice deep breathing or take bath in your tub feel the water and try to do everything that keeps you calm and relaxed.

2. Take small breaks from breastfeeding - . If your child keeps on suckling frequently, production of milk could be hampered though suckling helps to produce milk but sitting for long hours with the baby at your breast can only make it more stressful and hampers with breast milk production. So, take small breaks after feeding; let the milk production begin

Stay stress free to conceive

By Dr. Shobha Gupta 

Many researches has been done in the past which says that women with high levels of stress were 29% less likely to get pregnant each month than those women with lower levels. Stress causes infertility in women which means the inability of a woman to conceive after two years of constant efforts.  

When diagnosed with infertility, many couples feel helpless and no longer in control of their bodies or their life plan. They become stressed whereas men who work in night shifts affected more as compared to men working in morning shifts with infertility as their biological clock is very badly disturbed. They sleep during the day and to keep themselves awake, they often smoke, which damages the system further. The stress at work place and sitting for long hours at work stations is also found to reduce the sperm count. There are many factors that contribute to stress which further causes infertility like: 

• Marital disturbance 
• Job or business stress 
• Personal injury or illness 
• Death of close family member 
• Late marriages 

Women with hectic jobs are those most at risk, and are often most in denial about the stress in their lives. Stress not only causes infertility, it is one of the reasons for weight gain too. Many times stress may mess up our brain’s reward system and may cause us to crave more fat and sugar. Stress is not a good reason to treat oneself to a burger or chocolate or truck loads of ice cream. In fact, consuming high fat foods is more likely to lead to weight gain. Also, when we are stressed, we also may be more likely to drive through the fast food place, rather than taking the time and mental energy to plan and cook a meal. 

Stress is one of the major causes of obesity and even weight gain in today’s fast paced life. In fact, stress even makes it very difficult to produce optimum results if you are attempting to lose weight. Stress puts the body in ‘fight or flight’ mode from an evolutionary perspective and activates the sympathetic nervous system. This leads to the production of

Hepatitis links to male infertility

By Dr. Shobha Gupta

World Hepatitis Day falls on 28 July 2016 and the theme given by World Health Organization for 2016 is “Know Hepatitis - Act Now”  

Hepatitis as we all know is the inflammation of the liver and prove to be deadly in the long run if ignored. According to the World Health Organization, there are 400 million people worldwide who are living with Hepatitis B or C. Globally, every year 1.4 million people die from viral hepatitis. There are five viruses that can cause hepatitis - A, B, C, D and E. Out of these, hepatitis A, B & C cause over 90% of the diagnosed cases of the disease. While viral hepatitis can be acute or chronic, hepatitis A and E do not cause chronic illness. Hepatitis B and C are the most common disease viruses and can cause chronic illness.  According to WHO Viral hepatitis affects 400 million people globally and, given the size of the epidemic, anyone and everyone can be at risk.  

Let’s look at the risk factors hepatitis has brought:  

You are at the risk of infertility if you are found with Hepatitis Virus. The hepatitis virus negatively impacts spermatogenesis in males thereby significantly lowering sperm count, its motility, viability and morphology. We can say that Hepatitis contributes to male infertility majorly. However, hepatitis has no effect on the normal functioning

Let’s talk about female infertility

Dr. Shobha Gupta addressing female infertility issues

By Dr. Shobha Gupta  

These days couples plan their pregnancy after 30 years of age but if you are over 35 and have been trying for a baby for more than a year without getting any results, it is best to contact a fertility expert.   

Here are few signs that could help in indicating that there can be problems in conceiving:  

1. Irregular menstrual cycle:  Abnormal or irregular menstrual cycle or periods is one sign that can point towards a woman’s infertility. A menstrual cycle that is too long (35 days or more) or too short (21 days or less) could indicate problems with ovulation. Sometimes a healthy diet, exercise and medication can regularize your periods and help you conceive.  

2. Medical issues:  There are various medical problems or issues like endometriosis, PCOS and tubal blockage that can reduce one’s chances of conception drastically. PCOS is a major cause of infertility for urban Indian women. Tubal blockage or fallopian tube obstruction is again a prime cause of female infertility. Blocked fallopian tubes are unable to deliver the sperm and ova to the uterus for implantation and so conception becomes difficult. While most of these conditions can be rectified with help of a doctor, the sooner you meet a fertility expert, the better.  

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3. Thyroid:  According to Indian Thyroid Society, about 70% of women with PMS have thyroid dysfunction and possibly results in infertility. Since the thyroid hormones regulate cellular functions, abnormal thyroid function affects ovulation and fertility as well.

Best IVF Treatment in Delhi NCR

By Dr. Shobha Gupta     

Infertility is very common in urban areas There is a lot to manage when you are trying to get pregnant and dealing with infertility issues. The most difficult could be the emotional ups and downs that inbuilt in the process and IVF has proved as a Blessing for modern day woman. Production of sperm or eggs, with the Fallopian tubes or the uterus, endometriosis, frequent miscarriage, as well as hormonal and autoimmune (antibody) disorders in both men and women are the causes of infertility which pushes them back from being parents.     

The reason of infertility can be because of either partner. About one-third of infertility cases are caused by women's problems and one third of fertility problems are due to the man. The other cases are caused by a mixture of male and female problems or by unknown problems.     

Few more common causes of infertility today known are Ovulation problems - tubal blockage - male associated infertility - age-related factors - uterine problems - previous tubal ligation - previous vasectomy - unexplained infertility - Tuberculosis (TB) - Male Hypospadias, Pre mature menopause etc.  Apart from these infertility causes there are many