When Should I Worry if I'm Not Getting Pregnant

Are you planning to conceive? But failed it despite trying many times. This is because

conception is process that calls for more trials before you finally succeed. You should know that there are some medical facts which keep coming on your way of getting pregnant. It is estimated that globally around 60 to 80 million couples suffer from infertility annually, of which probably between 15 to 20 million are in India alone according to an ICMR Bulletin. When everything else fails and you think that the in vitro fertilization or IVF may be the only option for you to opt, but before considering anything know some facts that can hinder your chances of conception:

Decline in the number of healthy eggs:

You are born with a fixed number of eggs. But the number gets declines as you age and so does the health of those eggs. According to The American Society of Reproductive Medicine, even a healthy and fertile 30-year-old woman’s chances of getting pregnant reduce by 20% with each passing month.  The ugly truth is that consumption of fertility drugs, without any consultation with an expert, further decreases the numbers and aren’t of much help. In case you want to delay pregnancy and want to keep your eggs in good health till conception, you should probably try freezing your eggs for future use.

The Do's and Don'ts of IVF treatment

Today in this blog I will talk about what you should do and what you shouldn’t do during IVF treatment.  There are a few things that you need to keep in mind to better your chances of conception. 

1.Stay stress free and think positive.  As High stress levels are known to reduce fertility in both men and women and compromise on the outcome of an IVF cycle. 

2. Eat good balanced diet. Getting wholesome diet is vital for producing healthy eggs and promoting implantation of the embryo. Your diet should consist of 4-6 small meals each day and each should consist of  fresh fruits and vegetables. 

3. Staying hydrated is very important. Some women during IVF process suffer from OHSS (Ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome) so drink lots of fluids during this time. Drinking 3-5 liters of water per day can prevent OHSS in some cases. 

Air pollution and infertility

Air pollution has garnered considerable interest in last few years because of the multiple adverse effects reported on human health.  Air pollution is hard to escape, no matter how rich an area you live in. It is all around us. Microscopic pollutants in the air can slip past our body’s defences, penetrating deep into our respiratory and circulatory system, damaging our lungs, heart and brain. “The true cost of climate change is felt in our hospitals and in our lungs. The health burden of polluting energy sources is now so high, that moving to cleaner and more sustainable choices for energy supply, transport and food systems effectively pays for itself (WHO article). The injurious effects of air pollution are widespread and are many. Every day commuting to work or travelling around our town or city, we’re being exposed to high levels of toxins. Air pollution is a global environmental burden, and has been identified as a significant public health risk. It is very dangerous to our health although its impact on

Some common FAQs about infertility and IVF treatment at our centre

Q1 There is a steady rise of infertility in India. Why is infertility on the rise in India?

Ans.  According to a report published in WHO , from the overall population, around 15-20 per cent couples face challenges in having children. There is a slight increased in percentage in the urban areas as compare to rural areas. The reasons for higher cases of infertility in urban areas are busy, hectic lifestyle, and unhealthy eating habits, being more career oriented, less sexually active etc. Ease to junk food, packed food, smoking, drinking, obesity etc. have a negative impact on the fertility in both males and females.

Q2 What are the new types of treatment available for infertility?

Ans. There are many new techniques and treatments in the field of infertility. Some of the technologies are more about eliminating the human effort as well as human errors. Some of them being are:

• IVF, In vitreo fertilization which is the most common way to treat infertility.
• Assisted Laser Hatching: This technology helps the embryo to better attach to the womb.
• I.M.S.I.,  Intracytoplasmic morphologically selected sperm injection (IMSI) is a technique to be better able to assess the structure of the sperm and exclude the sperm with suspected abnormalities from being injected into the available eggs.

Obesity can lower the testosterones in men

Obesity is no doubt a major health challenge worldwide. Being overweight brings plethora of health issues such as heart diseases, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, osteoarthritis and some cancers like colon and breast. And not only these, but obesity highly affects your sex life too. One is considered to be obese when you weigh more than 20% above of your ideal weight.

How obesity can affect your sex life?

Being overweight hinders stamina which is important to sustain sexual performance. It disturbs ones hormonal balance which in turn affects testosterone levels, causing loss of libido or low sex drive. Obesity also affects blood flow to the genitals and lack of blood circulation there causes erectile dysfunction.

Are busy lifestyles contributing to male infertility?

Infertility is common today and has become a clinical problem today affecting 8 to 12 %

couples worldwide. However, usually people think that infertility is a female problem but science has proved both the partners contribute equally to infertility. In-fact, many studies claims that 40% cases of infertility are due to males.

Let’s see how our busy and hectic lifestyle contributes heavily in male infertility. 

Today, major problem in developing countries like India is the growing MNC culture where both the partners are working with erratic working hours and hardly got any time to be together. And of course the work place stress as everybody knows heavily contributes to sub-fertility or infertility in a couple, leading to an inability to have relations during the fertile period.

Today’s generation couples tend to marry late and then plan pregnancy even later, which further worsen the chances of pregnancy. A woman’s reproductive age spans between 15-45

Common causes of infertility that you should know

At some point of time every man and woman thinks of extending their family

which means they want to settle down and have kids. But in today’s fast paced life one’s lifestyle plays a pivotal role in fertility. There are numerous issues which creates hindrances in becoming a parent. Here are 6 common causes which impairs infertility, please have a look:

Blocked Fallopian tubes: Blocked or damaged Fallopian tubes prevent sperm from getting to your egg for fertilization. This condition also prevents the fertilized egg from getting to your uterus. For a successful pregnancy to take place, your fertilized egg has to move to the uterus for growth. It is usually caused by pelvic inflammatory disease, sexually transmitted infections (such as chlamydia), and any history of uterine infection caused by abortion or miscarriage.

Top tips for getting pregnant

I see many patients struggling with infertility and they all have different stories to tell about

their infertility journey. Today the lifestyle we live is the biggest reason that affects thousands and lakhs of couples to become infertile. Sometimes it literally broke my heart when I listened to their stories but being and Infertility specialist, it is indeed my duty to give my best advise to all the couples across the globe to live healthy and give them the best tips to follow for their fertility. Here are certain tips that you need to keep in mind and follow religiously to conceive: 

1. First of all your age matters a lot:  

For a woman the best reproductive years are in her 20s. When a woman reaches her thirties, her fertility will gradually decline, particularly after the age of 35. In your early 30’s you only have a 20% chance of getting pregnant. So, plan early.