The Doctors’ Lisa Masterson, M.D., Gives Us the Facts About Getting Pregnant

It’s tough when you feel as if you’ve tried everything – and still no baby. I’ve talked with more than one couple about this during my years as a health writer, and heard their desperation as they search for reliable information and answers. To help light the way, I decided to run a few common fertility myths by Lisa Masterson, M.D. She’s an OB-GYN and fertility specialist on staff at Cedars Sinai and UCLA, and a co-host of the popular daytime television show The Doctors. She helped clear up a few misconceptions.

If your period is regular, you’re fertile. It’s true that a regular menstrual period is a good indicator of overall health, and likely means your hormones are in good balance and that you’re ovulating. “A woman’s period is a vital sign for her,” says Masterson. But she’s quick to point out that there are many other factors involved in fertility, including whether your fallopian tubes are working properly, egg quality (especially in older women), and male factors.

If you haven’t become pregnant after three months of trying, something must be wrong. “That’s absolutely a fallacy, because we know usually it takes a year,” says Masterson. If you’re under 35 and don’t have any underlying health conditions, the breakdown goes like this: 30% of couples trying to conceive will be pregnant within three months, 50% within six months and 90% within 12 months. But remember that fertility declines with age. “Over 40, you’re behind the eight-ball,” Masterson says, adding doctors will often have women ages 40 and up start working with a fertility specialist right away.

You can only get pregnant on the day you ovulate – day 14 of your cycle. Yes, you can only get pregnant on the day you ovulate, but because a woman’s monthly cycle can run anywhere from 21 days to 35, ovulation day is different for everyone.

You should have sex as many times as you can on the day you think you are ovulating. Because sperm live from three to five days, your best bet is actually to have intercourse a couple of days before ovulation. “You want the sperm there ready to meet the egg,” says Masterson. “I call it a plan of attack.” She then prefers to have the couple take a day off to let the man’s sperm count replenish, then try again on ovulation day as a backup.

Some sexual positions can increase the chances of conception. Masterson says that while the “missionary position” technically does the most to bring the sperm close to the cervix, there is no clinical evidence to show that this makes a difference in fertility.

Orgasms cause women to release eggs or otherwise help them get pregnant.? Orgasms absolutely do not cause a woman to ovulate. And we have only minimal evidence that the contractions caused during orgasm help draw the sperm toward the egg.

Stress and fertility aren’t related. There is clinical evidence to show that stress can have enough impact on a woman’s hormones to keep her from ovulating. “That’s why in fertility clinics they have therapists, they have acupuncturists, they have massage therapists, to help bring a woman’s stress level down,” says Masterson.

Infertility is primarily a female problem.? “It takes two to have a baby,” Masterson says, and at least 30-40% of the time there’s a male factor involved when a couple struggles to conceive. Many women are surprised when they come in for a fertility workup and Masterson suggests a semen analysis. But this is a non-invasive test, and could even help the doctor spot a serious health problem. “I’ve actually found testicular cancer doing semen analysis,” she says.

Birth control pills reduce fertility. In fact, oral contraceptives decrease a woman’s risk of pelvic inflammatory disease and ovarian cancer, both of which can render women infertile. And this is true whether you’re on a schedule with a monthly cycle, or one that limits your menstrual period to three or four times per year. Longer acting medications like Depo-Provera, however, take longer to allow ovulation to resume once you stop using them. So while they don’t reduce fertility, they can delay it.

A woman is more likely to become pregnant if the couple adopts a child.? Masterson has heard stories of women who struggle for years to conceive, then become pregnant after they’ve adopted a child. “It’s not the adoption that improves the fertility,” she says. “It’s probably the fact that the couple has relaxed.” Still she wouldn’t advise people to adopt babies as a form of fertility treatment.

A doctor won’t see you until you have been trying for one year. The doctor will see you, she just might not do a fertility workup right away. She’ll start with a pre-pregnancy consultation, taking a family and personal medical history, making sure you’re in good health, and starting you on prenatal vitamins and/or folic acid. Then, based on this information and your age, she’ll decide at what point a fertility workup makes sense. If you’re under 35 with no underlying problems, that could be up to a year away – or sooner.

Fertility techniques can cure everything. Yes, technology has come a long way. But even with the help of the latest techniques, your chances of getting pregnant decrease as you age. So Masterson urges women of all ages to start with a pre-pregnancy consultation to make sure all is well. “That’s the best thing you can do for your pregnancy and your baby,” she says. And this is especially true if you’ve left your 20s behind but still want to become a mom. “If you’re over 35, get in to your doctor as soon as possible,” says Masterson. “Age is really the biggest factor.”

Tags: fertility, infertility, pregnancy

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 am and is filed under Baby Talk, Health Notes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.