Here are the most common misconceptions and myths I often we hear:

1. 'I am 35 years old and there is no need to worry about getting pregnant until much later on."

No matter how you look at it, from a biologic point of view the best time to get pregnant and havea baby is well before the age of 35. At birth, a woman has 7 million eggs, and at puberty around age 13-14, when she starts to ovulate, about 95% of these egs have already disappeared. At puberty there are about 350,000 to 400,000 eggs left. Over the next 30 or so years, about 400 to 500 eggs will be released, but many more disappear each month and every year a woman will have significantly less eggs, which means her ovarian reserve declines and so does her egg quality, in the late 20s, again in the 30s and then most notably after age 35. 

2. 'I am 42 years old and should be fine because all the women in my family had babies well into  their 40s.'

Family fertility is part of taking the history during treatment.  it can neither help nor hinder fertility potential. Previous successful pregnancies also do not signify a bump-free conception route.

A woman's fertility decreases after 35, and when she turns 40, there is a less than 5% chance she will get pregnant in any given month (compared with 20% at age 30). Her ability to get pregnant decreases because there are less eggs available as a woman gets older and her eggs have a lower quality and they are less likely to be fertilized and implant.

3. 'Why should he get tested? He is already a dad.'

About 50% of infertile couples have a male fertility issue. So the very first infertility test done on her and him should be a spermanalysis.
As men get older, their fertility decreases too and as men get older healthy sperm and volume overall will decrease. In addition, researchers have reported a direct link between a father's age and an increased risk of autism and schizophrenia.

4. 'I may be a little overweight, but that should be fine.'

Your are overweight if your BMI is between 25 and 30, and you are obese if the BMI is over 30. Check your BMI HERE. When a woman or a man is overweight or obese hormones change in the body and that can affect ovulation in women and and semen production in men. Losing weight before pregnancy improves your chances getting pregnant and have a healthy baby. 

5. 'A little smoking before pregnancy is OK as long as I stop when I am pregnant.'

Smoking negatively affects his and her fertility, even if you smoke as little as five cigarettes a day. And it increases your chances of lung disease and cancer. So better stop now before you are pregnant.

6. 'Our chances getting pregnant improves if we have sex several times a day 24 hours before or after ovulation.'

Your chances getting pregnant are nearly zero if you have sex after ovulation. Ovulation usually happens about 14 days before your next period, and to improve your chances getting pregnant you should have sex no more than once a day every 1-2 days during the 6 days before and the day of ovulation. Calculate your fertile days HERE.

7. 'I will start folic acid and my supplements as soon as the pregnancy test is positive.'

Women should take folic acid to prevent certain birth defects, but it only works if you start taking it at least 1-2 months before you get pregnant. It's too late to prevent birth defects if you start taking it after a positive pregnancy test. In addition, men can boots their fertility  by taking supplements too, especially coenzyme Q10 has also been found to increase sperm count and sperm motility, and vitamin E which improves low sperm count.

 

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