Here’s the story: Girl meets boy, falls in love, gets married, and gets pregnant right away… and perhaps pregnant again a few times more. But most of us know that’s not how it often goes.
Couples Dealing With Infertility Issues
A couple without fertility issues has a 20 percent chance of getting pregnant during a woman’s (approximately month-long) cycle, according to an article by Mosher and Pratt in “Fertility and Sterility.” The technical term for that probability is “cycle fecundability,” and it goes even lower than 20 percent for couples with hormonal or structural challenges.
But don’t despair. Couples – troubled or not – can often boost their chances substantially by fully understanding the timeline of what’s going on in a woman’s body is helpful – and often crucial – in perfecting that. Here’s a quick primer on the process:
- After a menstrual period, your body sends a recruiter (FSH) to the ovaries to recruit potential follicles.
- The recruited follicles race to become THE one follicle that dominates the rest and matures the quickest.
- By natural selection, one follicle wins to become THE one dominant follicle.
- Estrogen sends a message to the body to stop producing the FSH, and soon after, the LH hormone surges. This makes the follicle rupture with gusto to release the mature egg. This is called ovulation. It’s very dramatic.
- The egg travels down the fallopian tube and waits to meet sperm. If sperm is present and fertilization occurs, then congrats! You’ve conceived. If the egg doesn’t join with a sperm cell, it’s either reabsorbed or shed with the uterine lining during a menstrual period. And after a period, the process repeats (or should repeat)
During this complicated process – complicated being the operative word here – just one minute glitch can cause a BFN (Big Fat Negative)! So, what’s a girl gotta do to get that BFP (Big Fat Positive)? Enhancing health is key. For starters, I can help you with my Practically Fertile Methodology. I offer a step-by-step process to help you discover the true underlying causes that are preventing you from getting pregnant, and create a personalized fertility plan. To help improve your chances of getting pregnant.
Holistic Medicine for Infertility
Also, try acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. In conjunction with lifestyle improvements, this holistic medical system helps increase blood flow to the pelvic region and greatly improves ovarian and uterine function! It also helps to optimize other facets of your health, which then creates the best possible environment for little embryos to find a comfortable home. Plus, did I mention that acupuncture is a great stress zapper? Stress, by the way, is a big ovulation foe.
There isn’t always a simple answer to getting you the BFP. But when the details mean everything, even one simple change can mean a world of difference!
Stay tuned for a post about ovulation and how to know when you are most fertile and most likely to get pregnant.
