Increase Fertility Tips

Ladies … if you are considering a partner to have a child with, check his bone structure!

Intriguingly a new study by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center provides the first evidence that the skeleton is a regulator of reproduction.

Lead researcher Dr Gerard Karsenty and his team have unveiled that the skeleton acts as a regulator of fertility in male mice through a hormone released by bone – osteocalcin.

Until now, interactions between bone and the reproductive system have focused only on the influence of gonads (testes in men, ovaries in women) on the build-up of bone mass.

“Since communication between two organs in the body is rarely one-way, the fact that the gonads regulate bone really begs the question: Does bone regulate the gonads?” said Dr Karsenty.

Of Mice and Men …

Dr Karsenty and his team first noticed that male mice whose skeletons did not secrete osteocalcin were poor breeders.

They then carried out several experiments that show osteocalcin enhances the production of testosterone, a sex steroid hormone that controls male fertility.

As the team added osteocalcin to mice cells that in the human body produce testosterone, its synthesis increased. Similarly, when they injected osteocalcin into male mice, levels of testosterone also went up.

Conversely, when osteocalcin was not present, testosterone levels dropped. This caused a decline in sperm count. As a result, when osteocalcin-deficient male mice were bred with normal female mice, the pairs only produced half the number of litters as did pairs with normal males, along with a decrease in the number of pups per litter.

Now the findings have not yet been confirmed in humans, but Dr Karsenty expects to find similar characteristics in humans, due to other similarities between mouse and human hormones.

If osteocalcin also promotes testosterone production in men, low osteocalcin levels may be the reason why some infertile men have unexplained low levels of testosterone.

Skeleton Regulates Male Fertility, But Not Female

Remarkably, although the new findings stemmed from an observation about estrogen and bone mass, the researchers could not find any evidence that the skeleton influences female reproduction, even though estrogen is one of the most powerful hormones that control bone.

For example, when ovaries stop producing estrogen in women after menopause, bone mass rapidly declines and can lead to osteoporosis.

Sex hormones – estrogen in women and testosterone in men – have been known to affect skeletal growth, but until now, studies of the interaction between bone and the reproductive system have focused only on how sex hormones affect the skeleton.

“We do not know why the skeleton regulates male fertility, and not female. However, if you want to propagate the species, it’s probably easier to do this by facilitating the reproductive ability of males,” said Dr Karsenty. “This is the only rationale I can think of to explain why osteocalcin regulates reproduction in male and not in female mice.”

Conclusion

Personally I found this latest research quite fascinating, in particular the different findings and impact on male and female fertility for seemingly the same biological process.

It is yet another example of how you can marginally increase your odds of getting pregnant by paying attention to a seemingly insignificant detail.

Of course there is a world of difference between the world of mice and men, but if further studies confirm these initial findings in humans it could be a telling factor as to why you can’t get pregnant.

(This post was sent to subscribers in a weekly newsletter on February 23 2011).

Last week’s e-letter shockingly revealed the anti-oxidants commonly found in face cream as well as food and drink may cause female fertility problems.

So THIS week’s e-letter may cause you some confusion. Because now I’m going to tell you … those very same anti-oxidants taken by men can IMPROVE a couple’s chances of conceiving!

Let me explain …

Be Alert to Male Subfertility

As a woman you probably know how sensitive men are about their ‘masculinity’ and ‘virility’. Men often confuse low fertility with poor virility. The two are not the same, but because of this confusion men don’t always seek out the help they need – and YOU as a woman trying to get pregnant also needs.

A man can be extremely virile and perform well in the bedroom.

BUT … he may have a low sperm count which is also known as male subfertility. It’s a condition that affects one in 20 men.

What is Male Subfertility?

As mentioned last week, chemicals called reactive oxygen species (ROS) cause damage to cells. For men ROS can damage sperm cells. This can result in lowered sperm counts and interfere with a man’s ability to fertilise your eggs.

The damage caused by ROS can be reduced by taking antioxidants. These can be natural or synthetic chemicals, including certain vitamins and minerals.

How Antioxidants Combat Male Subfertility

A recent review of a number of studies discovered antioxidant supplements may benefit couples having difficulty conceiving naturally. The review suggests the partners of men who take antioxidants are more likely to get pregnant.

The review focused on 34 trials involving 2,876 couples undergoing assisted reproductive techniques such as in vitro fertilisation and sperm injections. Most men in the trials had low sperm counts or low sperm motility. The trials explored the use of many different types of oral antioxidants, including vitamin E, L-carnitine, zinc and magnesium.

Compared to controls, a couple was more likely to have a pregnancy or live birth if the man took antioxidants. Although the study group sizes were small, the effects of antioxidants on sperm motility and concentration showed mostly positive benefits.

The lead researcher of the review, Marian Showell of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at the University of Auckland in Auckland, New Zealand, acknowledged the conclusions are currently based on limited evidence, but added:

“When trying to conceive as part of an assisted reproductive program, it may be advisable to encourage men to take oral antioxidant supplements to improve their partners’ chances of becoming pregnant.

“Whilst there is not enough data comparing different antioxidants to reach any definite conclusions about the relative effectiveness of supplements and more head-to-comparisons are necessary to understand whether any one antioxidant is performing better than any other, the early evidence is encouraging.”

Conclusions

Two things to consider … what is good for the goose may not be good for the gander!

As I mentioned last week, antioxidants can possibly impact negatively on a woman’s ability to conceive, whereas this week I am telling you the same antioxidants may benefit a man (and thus, a couple’s …) ability to get pregnant.

Be well informed on all aspects of your attempts to get pregnant and understand what is good and bad for both you and your partner.

Secondly, any failure a couple experience in conceiving is not necessarily all down to the woman. I cannot stress enough how important it is that BOTH of you are tested and evaluated for your ability to give birth.

Unfortunately, as mentioned here, for some men that can be wrongly interpreted as an affront to their masculinity and virility. In that case you need to help educate them that male virility and male subfertility are NOT the same thing.

(This post was sent to subscribers in a weekly newsletter on February 9 2011).

It is a very rare woman who doesn’t apply skin cream to freshen up the face, keep your skin moist and to (hopefully!) help keep those wrinkles at bay.

No harm in a bit of self-pampering and vanity, right? WRONG!

Recent research has shockingly revealed the antioxidants commonly found in face cream as well as food and drink may cause female fertility problems.

Vitamins C and E NOT So Benevolent

Common anti-oxidants include vitamins you may have always considered benevolent – vitamins C and E. They help eliminate molecules called reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are produced naturally in the body.

Stress can cause these chemically active molecules to be overproduced. And if they are produced in large amounts they can damage cells indiscriminately. Now it has long been believed that by neutralizing these potentially harmful ROS, antioxidants help improve health and slow down the aging process. Thus their common usage in face cream, food and drink.

However, new research by Professor Nava Dekel of the U.S. Biological Regulation Department has revealed a possible unexpected side effect of antioxidants: female infertility.

Anti-oxidants Suppress Ovulation

During her research Dekel applied anti-oxidants to the ovaries of female mice. The results surprised her: ovulation levels dropped dramatically. Very few eggs were released from the ovarian follicles to reach the site of fertilization compared to those in untreated ovaries.

Dekel and her team further wondered if the process of ovulation actually relied on the (assumed) very ‘harmful’ substances destroyed by antioxidants, the ROS.

Shockingly, further tests revealed just that.

In one experiment, Dekel treated some ovarian follicles with luteinizing hormone (the physiological trigger for ovulation) and others with hydrogen peroxide (a ROS). The results showed hydrogen peroxide fully imitated the effect of the ovulation-inducing hormone.

This implies that ROS produced in response to luteinizing hormone serve, in turn, as mediators for the physiological stimulus that leads to ovulation.

Be Wary of Anti-Inflammatory Products

These results add further weight to an emerging belief about fertility and conception, in which it appears that these processes share a number of common mechanisms with inflammation.

As Dr Dekel explained: “Substances which prevent inflammation in other parts of the body might also get in the way of normal ovulation, and so more caution should be taken when administering such substances.

“On the one hand, these findings could prove useful to women who are having trouble getting pregnant. On the other, further studies might show that certain antioxidants might be effective means of birth control that could be safer than today’s hormone-based prevention.”

Dekel intends to investigate further the exact mechanics of this step in ovulation by collecting data on the possible link between females being administered antioxidant supplements and the difficulty to conceive.

My opinion? This is a startling revelation and should be taken seriously. It’s another example of taking time out to read the label of ingredients of anything you eat, drink or indeed put in or on your body.

(This post was sent to subscribers in a weekly newsletter on February 2 2011).

We were with her in the end when she quietly, peacefully, slipped out of this world.

Naturally, the final days caring for my mother and being attentive to my distraught father took up all of my time.

I have good moments – life has to carry on. All the more so when you have your own young daughter to care for as I do.

But the loss of your mother … well … it is what we women, particularly those who struggle to conceive in the first place, mostly strive to be: a mother.

My own mother – and there is no embellishment, no exaggeration, no over-sentimental hype here – was the sweetest, most caring, attentive and loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother it is possible to imagine.

The love and affection ALL her family held her in until the end was a privilege to share and behold.

We celebrated her life in a beautiful ceremony and all of us have a million and one happy memories of her.

But … she’s gone. And there is nothing and no-one that will ever fill the hole she has left in my and my family’s life.

Never forget just how precious a life is, young or old.

Because I have just been reminded of that very fact.

As always, my very fondest wishes to you.

(This post was sent to subscribers in a weekly newsletter on December 16 2010)

You know a great deal of planning and fore-thought goes into getting pregnant, right?   And that planning and fore-thought takes on extra meaning for women with fertility issues.

But … how seriously do you take a recent suggestion from a leading reproductive surgeon who says women in their twenties should freeze parts of their ovaries so they can have children later in life?

Pretty radical, don’t you think?

Well Dr Sherman Silber, who carried out the world’s first full ovary transplant, says the controversial procedure is so successful at producing babies it is far more effective than IVF and could help millions of women delay having children until they have fulfilled their career ambitions and are ready to settle down.

The Procedure

So just what does it entail?

Well … one third of a woman’s ovary can be ‘banked’. This would capture about 60,000 eggs which could be frozen, stored and transplanted back when the woman is older and wants a baby.

The rest of the ovary would remain intact so women could still conceive naturally.

Storing parts of the ovary and putting thousands of eggs on ice increases a woman’s chances of conceiving later in life.

Dr Silber goes a step further and urges women in their 20s to take the step now. By doing so Dr Silber said: “With just one procedure a woman could freeze her ovary aged 19 and have a 19-year-old ovary when she is 40.”

The procedure takes a couple of hours under general anesthetic. By removing a third of one of a woman’s two ovaries she is left with just over 80 per cent of her total ovarian tissue.

This means that even if she was to change her mind a few months later and decide to try for children immediately she would still have hundreds of thousands of eggs.

The operation to put the thawed tissue back into the ovaries is similar to a skin graft.

The Rationale behind the Treatment

In addressing the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in Denver Dr Silber said women should give this serious consideration before reaching 30.

He said with many young women putting off marriage and children until much later in their lives because of their careers they should plan ahead now.

Dr Silber added conventional egg freezing can only retrieve five to ten eggs per cycle, greatly reducing the odds of storing and retrieving viable eggs compared to his innovative system.

Interestingly, Dr Silbert has used this procedure on cancer patients who receive the treatment before they have chemotherapy. This way they can protect part of the ovary and eggs which could otherwise suffer from the chemotherapy.

In those patients without cancer he has treated using the procedure there has been a 100 per cent success rate, compared to a one in three chance of conception using IVF.

The Cost

Dr Silber’s US clinic offers ovary-freezing surgery for around $3,000 with reinsertion costing about $10,000.

Moral and Biological Questions

On the one hand it sounds intriguing, but isn’t there a risk here that children are seen as little more than ‘consumer goods’, made to order at a time convenient to the parents?

Norman Wells of the Family and Youth Concern Group in the UK certainly thinks so. He said: “Dr Silber seems to have lost sight of the fact that a woman’s childbearing years are limited for good reason.

“As a society we have given motherhood a lower status than having a career. The result is large numbers of women are consciously choosing to devote their most energetic years to work outside the home rather than to bearing and raising children.

“All too often children are regarded as consumer goods to be fitted in when it is most convenient for their mothers’ careers, rather than as gifts to be loved and cherished.”

Tony Rutherford, chairman of the British Fertility Society, also had some reservations, saying it was too early to recommend widespread banking of ovarian tissue. “We need to see clearer evidence of its effectiveness.”

Conclusion

It is certainly an intriguing – albeit controversial – procedure.

Personally, I am uneasy at the ethics and morality of it all and the idea you can have a baby to order at a time convenient to you.

As Norman Wells commented, a woman’s child-bearing years are limited for a good reason and there is a danger here that this procedure goes against the natural order of things.

That said, although the procedure is open to abuse and manipulation for less than honorable reasons, the motivation, desire and instinct for women to have a child is overwhelming and it is hard – cruel even – to say out and out that it is morally wrong.

My remaining problem with it is … if you are already experiencing infertility in your 20s when you are supposedly most fertile, what is to be gained by freezing your eggs and trying again 15-20 years later when your body is probably even less well tuned to conceive naturally?

I think I’ll file this one under ‘interesting’, but ‘dubious’ for couples experiencing fertility issues.

What do YOU think?

(This post was sent to subscribers in a weekly newsletter on November 3 2010. Sign up to the free 30-part Increase Fertility Tips Mini-Course to be sure to receive YOUR weekly newsletter, direct to your mail box).