Table of contents:
- Fertility myths and facts
- 1. "Taking birth control pills makes women less fertile"
- 2. "Getting pregnant is easy"
- 3. "The quality of sperm is much better after 10 days without ejaculation"
- 4. "As long as you are under 40 years old, there is still a chance to have children"
- 5. "Couples who want to have children should try for a year before doing fertility treatment"
- 6. "Women should wait until their body temperature rises before sexual intercourse, to increase the chances of pregnancy"
- 7. "If a man has ever had children, he can surely have another child"
- 8. "Fertilizers are expensive can help fertility"
- 9. "Women who take fertility treatment can have twins"
- 10. "Eating non-organic bananas can make a man infertile"
We often hear advice about how to get pregnant quickly, especially if you are a recently married couple. Of course sometimes this advice comes from generation to generation that is passed by word of mouth. In fact, some are not scientifically proven. Having children is related to fertility or fertility of a person. The concept that appears in society often considers fertility problems to be associated only with women. In fact, it is not only women who can have fertility problems. Men can also have fertility problems. So, what are the right and wrong things about fertility?
Fertility myths and facts
The following are presumptions that we may hear often and without realizing it we believe it. You can see some of the following explanations:
1. "Taking birth control pills makes women less fertile"
Many women think that when they stop taking birth control pills, it will take 6 to 12 months for the menstrual cycle to return to normal. When the menstrual cycle has not returned, they think that pregnancy is less likely to occur. Birth control pills can indeed prevent pregnancy. However, when women stop taking birth control pills, their menstrual cycles will slowly return to normal.
In a study involving 200 women who took birth control pills for a year, 40% experienced menstruation and became pregnant one month after they stopped taking birth control pills. According to dr. Jani Jensen, a gynecologist at Mayo Clinic Rochester, quoted by the Live Science website, women who have not experienced a menstrual cycle within 3 months after stopping taking birth control pills will be evaluated first whether there is a problem affecting egg production.
2. "Getting pregnant is easy"
In fact, conception is not that easy. In couples who are fertile, the chance of conception is only about 25% each cycle, and decreases with age. The process of sperm, which must pass through the fallopian tube to arrive at the egg, is not easy. Not only that it affects the conception process, other factors that affect it are the time during sexual intercourse, or certain medications that you are currently undergoing.
3. "The quality of sperm is much better after 10 days without ejaculation"
The best quality sperm is the one produced by ejaculating every two to three days. If you don't ejaculate for a long time, you run the risk of producing some dead, damaged sperm.
4. "As long as you are under 40 years old, there is still a chance to have children"
Age, in fact, is a major factor in the success rate of infertility treatment, as well as the ability of the reproductive organs to fertilize naturally. The average healthy woman who is 40 years old has only a 5% chance of getting pregnant. So, if you are over 36 and have been trying for 6 months, you need medical advice from your doctor. However, the same conclusion cannot be drawn from everyone, because everyone's body condition is different.
5. "Couples who want to have children should try for a year before doing fertility treatment"
Based on the opinion of doctors in America, infertility is not defined by the absence of conception for a year even though you have had sexual intercourse continuously. A husband and wife do not need to wait a year to be evaluated for a pregnancy that has not yet occurred.
6. "Women should wait until their body temperature rises before sexual intercourse, to increase the chances of pregnancy"
Monitoring body temperature is indeed a way for women to find out fertility. However, to have sexual intercourse does not have to wait for the body to rise. A woman's best chance of getting pregnant is when you and your partner have sexual intercourse before ovulation; the process by which a mature egg is released.
7. "If a man has ever had children, he can surely have another child"
Still according to Jensen, there are some women who are also not pregnant, and think they are infertile, because their husbands have had children before. This is not an absolute factor. It also does not guarantee that if a man has had children before, he will definitely be able to have another child. There are several factors that can affect male infertility such as weight gain, and thyroid disease (adenoids).
8. "Fertilizers are expensive can help fertility"
Maybe you can find various kinds of vitamins that claim to nourish and help the reproductive process, not to mention the pockets that have to be digested deeply to buy these vitamins. Still according to Jensen, the evidence supporting expensive vitamins can provide fertility is still weak. Consulting a doctor is the main advice after you have tried a variety of ways. The doctor will know what the root of your problem is, so that it can be treated.
9. "Women who take fertility treatment can have twins"
In general, women who succeed in fertility treatment have one child. However, there is a possibility of twins, even triplets. This is due to the transfer of several embryos to the uterus to increase the success of the treatment.
10. "Eating non-organic bananas can make a man infertile"
This claim is based on reports that chemicals used in banana growth have a negative effect on sperm, cited by the Parents website. However, there is no clinical evidence that all men who eat non-organic bananas can have the same effect.