Aurora: Making Clomiphene (Clomid) Work For You

Aurora,

As an Ob/Gyn I am usually dismayed how many women take clomiphene citrate (Clomid) and don’t know what it does and how take it.

So let me be very clear: The most important thing to know about clomiphene citrate (Clomid) is that it is a medication to induce ovulation. Nothing else. Ovulation, the BIG O. Not fertility. Not necessarily pregnancy. Ovulation.

Clomiphene is not a fertility medication. It does just get you pregnant in and by itself. All that clomiphene does is that it is supposed to make you ovulate. Obviously, you can only get pregnant if you first ovulate and that is why women take clomiphene, but first things first: Clomid is supposed to make you ovulate.Getting pregnant is much more complicated.

If you don’t get pregnant on clomiphene that doesn’t mean it did not work. It may have worked and it may have made you ovulate but pregnancy in and by itself is not the only measure that clomiphene worked.

Getting pregnant is more complicated than just ovulation. In order to get pregnant the following has to happen:

• You need to ovulate and your egg quality has to be good


• He has to have enough and good enough sperms


• You fallopian tubes must be open for sperms and egg to meet

So how do you know that Clomid has worked? (Hint: Read above. What is is supposed to do? Make you ovulate). You ovulate on clomiphene that means it worked. You did not ovulate it did not work. Yes, it’s that simple. In fact, not every woman will ovulate on clomiphene and many women who ovulate will not get pregnant. With or without clomiphene.

Obviously if you get pregnant then you know that you did ovulate, but let’s not get ahead of this.

Women who take clomiphene (Clomid) must first know if they ovulate or not.

So let’s start at the beginning: You take clomiphene for 5 days (usually cycle days 5-9 but you can start taking clomiphene as early as cycle day 2). Ovulation is then supposed to happen about 5-9 days later. Don’t know exactly when? Check our interactive Clomid Calculator.

How do you know you ovulate? There are several ways to find out if and when you ovulate:

1. Calculation: Ovulation and Fertility Charting and Calculator


2. Temperature Charting


3. Cervical Mucus Changes


4. Ovulation Pain: Mittelschmerz


5. OPK Ovulation Predictor Kit


6. Blood Progesterone Test


7. Ultrasound Exams of Ovaries

Your menstrual period and ovulation

With or without clomiphene, your menstrual period is supposed to come 14 days after ovulation. There are 3 scenarios you must know about when trying to get pregnant:

Scenario#1: You ovulate and did NOT get pregnant: Your menstrual period will arrive about 14 days after the day of ovulation.

Scenario#2: You ovulate and get pregnant. Your menstrual bleeding, your period will not arrive 15+ days after the day of ovulation.

Scenario#3: You did NOT ovulate. If you don’t ovulate then you will usually not get a regular period. You may bleed or spot irregularly but it’s not a menstrual period.

Our recommendation

Before you start taking clomiphene to induce ovulation do the following:

1. A cycle day 3 FSH to make sure your eggs have a good enough quality


2. A sperm count


3. Make sure your fallopian tubes are open.

No matter how well clomiphene works to make you ovulate, you will have difficulties getting pregnant unless you have good enough quality eggs, his sperms are OK and your tubes are open.

Source by Amos Grunebaum

Making Clomiphene (Clomid) Work For You

Aurora: Different Stages Of Pregnancy: What Foods To Take

Aurora,

During pregnancy, as the baby negotiates its way through three different stages of pregnancy called trimesters, what foods to take becomes important. Your body too changes its shape as it makes room within itself for the baby’s growth. You need to eat a variety of foods that are beneficial to the baby. These foods also help you in maintaining health and preparing to breastfeed. Below is the list of foods that you ought to consume as you make your way through nine months of preparing for your baby’s birth.

The First Trimester: Consume Nutritious Foods Containing Folate

The first stage of pregnancy lasts for about three and a half months or 14 weeks, during which stage you may experience the dreaded morning sickness, sore and enlarged breasts, and the advice of your health care provider that you get enough vitamins, minerals and nutrients as they are essential for growth and development.

You require around 2200 calories a day to keep your baby in health. You need well balanced, healthy diets with adequate fiber; prenatal vitamins as prescribed; avoiding of the use of alcohol and tobacco; small, more frequent meals that will help you if you are nauseous, get good nutrition. Let us take a look at the foods you will be asked to eat during the first trimester when your diet chart is made. You might be advised to vary your intake of these foods. But they remain more or less constant through your pregnancy and when you breastfeed. Eat lots of fruit and green leafy vegetables, wholegrain breads and cereals. Take moderate amounts of low fat dairy foods and lean meats and small amounts of foods high in fat, sugar and salt. Consume dried beans and lentils, nuts and seeds, and low fat milk, cheese and yoghurt. A folate supplement should be taken prior to conception and for the first three months of pregnancy to help reduce the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida. Folate is a B vitamin that is essential for cell growth and reproduction. It is found in green plants, liver, yeast and fresh fruit.

The Second Trimester: Increase Food Intake With More Iron To Your Diet

The second stage of pregnancy lasts until the end of the seventh month and is, for many women, the easiest stage of pregnancy as they start to regain some of their energy. It is during this stage that the stomach begins to expand and that you are pregnant becomes noticeable. At this time any feelings of morning sickness should dissipate, although some women may continue to vomit well into the second stage. At this point you may experience the baby moving and kicking in the womb. This is the period when a sex determination test can tell you whether you are giving birth to a boy or girl.

What should you eat during the second stage? Well, there are several foods. During this phase you have to increase your intake by 2500 calories/day, so eat the foods mentioned above in larger amounts. Continue to maintain a well-balanced diet with plenty of fiber; take vitamin supplements if prescribed and avoid the use of alcohol.

You have to increase your intake of iron during this stage. The iron that your fetus consumes from you will last it through five or six months after birth. So eat rich sources of iron like red meat and sources of Vitamin C like oranges to help absorb the iron.

The Third Trimester: Go Heavy On Calcium

The third stage of pregnancy starts from the seventh month until the time when the baby is born, at nine months. It is marked by a surge of feeling for the baby, as also more anxiety and greater sensitivity towards the environment. This is a phase of greater pain in your lower back; with the increased size and weight of your baby causing the ache, making you feel discomfited, tired and anxious.

Your daily requirement remains at 2500 calories; you may need to resume small frequent feedings to prevent heartburn; continue prenatal vitamins as prescribed. Continue to avoid the use of alcohol; get yourself adequately hydrated and avoid overheating to protect the baby and you. You may feel like eating for two people now that you can physically sense the baby’s movements. There is no need to eat more food. You may only need to increase your intake of the same foods by about 10 per cent or so. However, you have to increase your intake of calcium during the third trimester. The baby is developing bones, if it does not find the required doses of calcium from the mother’s diet, it begins to draw from her bones. So, stock up on dairy products like milk and cottage cheese, and on soymilk, for the required calcium. You will need the calcium to make milk for breastfeeding too.

Be prepared to take on each stage of your pregnancy, armed with adequate nutrition and vitamin supplements.

Source by Alexandra Kimber

Different Stages Of Pregnancy: What Foods To Take

Aurora: Varicocele and Fertility - Will It Keep You From Having Children?

Aurora,

It is widely believed that varicoceles are the most common cause of infertility, although this is debated. 39% of males who are treated for infertility have a varicocele. Among those who have previously fathered a child but now are unable to do so, 80% have a varicocele. The good news is that fertility can be restored when the varicocele is treated.

What is a varicocele? When the veins that lead upward from the testicles toward the heart become abnormally swollen, the one-way valves inside those veins fail and it becomes difficult for blood to be pumped uphill against gravity. The blood backs up in the veins around the testicles, stretching and enlarging them, forming a varicocele. Without proper blood flow, the testicles become undernourished, polluted, and overheated.

Overheating is suspected to be the biggest culprit in male infertility. Sperm needs to be 4-6 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than body temperature. That’s why the scrotum hangs down below the body. In fact, one Japanese birth control method is simply for the man to take daily hot baths. Some studies show that an increase in scrotal temperature of just one degree Fahrenheit can impair fertility by as much as 40%.

Having a varicocele does not necessarily mean you will have fertility problems. Only 25% of men with varicoceles have a fertility problem. In fact, many men with large varicoceles have excellent sperm counts.

Often a fertility problem that appears to be caused by a varicocele turns out to be caused by something else. Varicocele surgery will result in an improvement in sperm count and motility in only about 30% of patients. The people who run infertility clinics claim that controlled trials show that the pregnancy rate does not improve after varicocele surgery and therefore you are better off spending your money at their clinic for “assisted reproductive techniques” than wasting your money on varicocele surgery. I am skeptical of their claims.

I found this gem on an infertility clinic web site: “Today, most infertility specialists would advise infertile men with varicoceles to consider going in for IVF, rather than for varicocele surgery.” IVF is a service offered by infertility specialists. Varicocele surgery is not. Basically what they are saying is “We advise you to spend your money on our services rather than somewhere else.”

The surgeons claim that after varicocele repair, semen quality improves in 67% of patients with the most improvement seen in sperm motility rather than in sperm count. The pregnancy rate is as high as 40% after the first year and 60% after the second year, as compared to a 10 percent pregnancy rate for uncorrected varicoceles. The average pregnancy occurs 6 to 9 months after surgery.

The improvement in sperm count following surgery may not be immediate, because it takes 3 months from the time a sperm is born to the time it is ready for action (70 days to mature and 15-20 days of transit through the ductal system). It takes a year to create a child. Three months in the sack, then 9 months in the womb. The egg that the sperm fertilizes may be ten years old at the time of fertilization.

Several studies have shown a decrease in the testosterone levels in men with varicoceles, however it is often still within the normal range.

For infertile men with low serum testosterone levels, removal of the varicocele has been shown to improve serum testosterone levels.

Varicoceles usually appear on the left side of the scrotum, but can involve both sides. Varicoceles are not a health risk and do not require treatment.

If you’ve been diagnosed as having a low sperm count, you should know that semen quality and quantity are not constant, and tend to vary widely over a short period of time. Therefore you should have several tests over a period of time before accepting the diagnosis as valid.

Source by Bob Maloney

Varicocele and Fertility - Will It Keep You From Having Children?

Aurora: 6 Ways To Predict The Gender Of Baby

Aurora,

These days, people are spending tons of dollars to buy what some people call “designer babies”, it is therefore normal for parents to ask for ways to predict the gender of baby. Some methods are damn expensive, while some are very cheap. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) for example, goes for more than $20,000, while the natural methods cost little to nothing. Hereafter are 6 of the options open to you to predict the sex of your baby.

Ericsson Method

Patented by Dr Ericsson, this method in use since the seventies relies on the principle that the X-chromosomes are slower than the Y-chromosomes. Remember that the Y-chromosome is responsible for a baby boy, while the X-chromosome is responsible for a baby girl. The method allows the sperm to flow for a period atop a column of albumen. They are then separated to slow and fast swimmers. If a couple wants a baby girl the slow sperm is utilized to fertilize the eggs. Faster sperm is artificially inseminated to get a baby boy. Users of this method claim it has about 85% accuracy particularly with baby girl.

PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis)

The PGD method involves In Vitro Fertilization (IVR) and is very expensive. Mother’s ovarian eggs are fertilized by the father’s sperm in a “baby lab” The fertilized eggs are allowed to incubate for some days and later transferred to the woman’s womb. The success rate is very close to 100%

Microsoft

Centrifugal force is employed to separate the Y and X chromosomes of the sperm. Depending on the baby gender desired (Y for boy, X for the girl) one of them is selected and used to inseminate the egg. Its success rate is just about 75%

Ultrasound Technique

Primarily, ultrasound is not meant to predict baby’s gender, rather to check fetal development. However, along the line, medics use the method to predict the gender of the baby. The method involves a technology which views the fetal scan on a screen. The picture is then read, interpreted and used to predict baby gender. Simply, the technician, the Ulltrasosnoprapher that is, looks for the genitals. When male genitals are discernible, a baby boy is predicted. The absence of male genitals means a baby girl is coming. Accuracy of ultrasound technique of baby gender prediction depends also on the competence of the technician and the equipment used. Though reliable, it is not 100% correct. The older the pregnancy, the more accurate the prediction.

Amniocentesis. (AFT or Amniotic Fluid Test)

Usually used for older women when chromosomal disorder is suspected. Just like ultrasound, it is not primarily used to predict a baby’s gender. A sample of amniotic fluid is removed from the amniotic sac near the fetus and examined for genetic and chromosomal abnormalities.

Another method similar to Amniocentesis is Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) which is also used to check for chromosomal disorder primarily but could also be used to predict baby’s gender. Both methods are invasive and take with them a lot of risk of miscarriage but they also have a high degree of accuracy, about 99%

Chinese Predictor Chart

Then you have the ubiquitous 700 years old Chinese chart. Age of woman is traced on a chart against the month of conception. If they meet at B, it is a Boy and if they meet at G,you predict a baby girl. There is no scientific backing but since the choice is between a baby girl and a baby boy, chances are that it will be correct 50% of the times.

In addition to the above you have the old wives tales which also do not have any scientific basis as an example of ways to predict the baby’s gender.

Source by Jide Omiyale

6 Ways To Predict The Gender Of Baby

Aurora: Does Having Sex Exactly Two Weeks After Ovulation Give You A Boy Or A Girl?

Aurora,

I sometimes hear from people who are certain that, if they have become pregnant, they will be able to pinpoint the exact day on which they conceived. And they are often left wondering if this day of conception is going to yield a boy or girl baby. And many people will measure this day in terms of when it occurred after their menstrual period.

I might hear a comment like: “I know for a fact that I had sex fourteen days after the last day of my period. Because my husband was traveling, this was the only time that we had sex when I suspect that I was ovulating. So, if I was successful and able to become pregnant on that 14th day, will I get a girl or boy baby?”

Pinpointing Exactly When Ovulation Occurred Is Vital: There really isn’t any way to tell baby gender for sure until you see this on ultrasound. However, many believe that your timing can affect baby gender. The problem is that this timing often corresponds with your exact ovulation day and there was no information here as to when ovulation occurred. While it’s very common for many women to ovulate somewhere around day 14 after their menstrual period, there are tons of variations on this. Some women are earlier and some are later. And the precise day is important. Because boy babies are a little more likely if you conceive after ovulation. But frankly, in this case, ovulation could have occurred on day 15 or later, which would have made a girl more likely.

Two Other Factors: So without knowing exactly when ovulation occurred (and whether it occurred before or after the intercourse,) it would be very difficult to say. Not only that, but timing is not the only thing that can influence whether you have a boy or girl. Timing as it relates to your ovulation date is only one variable out of three. You also need to consider your vaginal PH and your sexual positions.

I wish I could give you more information. But, I would need to know the exact ovulation day, the PH at the time of conception, and the sexual positions used. And even then, I could tell you which baby gender was more likely and not which one was definitely going to happen.

Hopefully, that one attempt at conception will be successful and you will know the baby gender soon enough. But if not, the next time, it would be advantageous to test for ovulation so that you know exactly when it happens. For a girl, you need to have sex before that. For a boy, you can wait until you get a positive reading. But you should also turn your attention to your vaginal PH as well as the sexual positions that you use. Because these variables matter just as much.

Source by Sandy Dean

Does Having Sex Exactly Two Weeks After Ovulation Give You A Boy Or A Girl?

Aurora: How to Look After Min Pin Pregnancy

Aurora,

Min pin pregnancy should be handled with care. For one, the small size of the min pin and its temperament may lead the dog to become overly playful. After all, the dog is curious and playful in its surroundings. The most ideal time for breeding is when the dog is already about 2 ½ years old. By this time, most, if not all of the necessary tests have been performed on the min pin.

The mini pincher is small. As such, you need to look after it very carefully. When you have consulted your vet about the min pin pregnancy and the due date has been set, you need to take the temperature at least once everyday. The reason behind this is that labor is usually preceded by a drop in the the dog’s temperature. When the due date has arrived, choose a whelping are for her that is quiet and cannot be easily disturbed. If people came and went from this area, the delivery of a min pin may be severely affected. The puppies that will be delivered need heat because they do not have fat reserves yet and their coat can barely keep them warm. You need to heat the room for this purpose.

Inform your veterinary about the labor of the the dog’s pregnancy so that if anything happens, the vet can come over right away. Because of the small size of the dog and their small pelvis, they may have to be brought to the caesarian section. Otherwise, the heads of the puppies may barely get out of the birth canal. If it is your first time to breed one, don’t attempt the whelping by yourself as you might commit fatal mistakes. So call your friend or your vet who has experienced whelping before.

During pregnancy, make sure that your dog is not obese as this may cause complications during labor. It is important, however, that your min pin is a little fatter than they are that are not pregnant because she is also nourishing puppies inside her womb.

If everything goes well and the puppies shall have come out, you will have to secure food designed for breeding dogs. After min pin pregnancy, your dog will also need more meals everyday to compensate for the milk she gives for her puppies. If the number of puppies she has is more than three, then she needs help in feeding other pups. Every 24 hours, the pups should be fed to ensure that they grow healthy and strong.

You can consult your friends who also love min pins or better yet you can always visit your vet and consult about the pregnancy. You may have trouble in setting up the whelping area and in actually whelping your dog. But after all the trouble and difficulties you went through, when you see the pups as a result of the min pin pregnancy, you will realize that the efforts are all worth it.

Source by Jes B

How to Look After Min Pin Pregnancy

Aurora: Factors That Determine the Sex Or Gender of a Baby

Aurora,

The other day I got an email asking me to list the factors that go into determining a baby’s gender or sex.  Specifically, the reader wanted to know if the male (dad) or female (mom) determines the baby’s gender or if other factors such as diet or timing / time of the month go into play.  I’ll discuss these things in much more detail in the following article.

The Dad To Be (Male) And His X / Y Contribution:  A male’s sperm contains chromosomes that produce both sexes or genders.  Specifically, a Y chromosome that fertilizes an egg will get you boy.  An X sperm will get you a daughter. Most men have roughly equal numbers of each.  But, it’s typically what happens to these chromosomes once they leave the man that can effect which ones are actually able to do the job.

The Mom To Be (Female) and Her X Contributions: For her part, the mom to be only contributes X eggs to this equation.  She has no Y (boy) eggs.  So, to be really specific about it, if the dad contributes a Y, you’d get XY which is a boy baby.  If dad gets you an X, you’d get XX, which is a girl.

Don’t Count Mom Out. She Actually Has A Big Role To Play In Her Baby’s Gender: Sometimes, when I explain this to women, they’ll sigh and say something like “well, then I guess this is really out of my hands and really up to my husband.  I guess I’ll just hope for the best since there isn’t much I can do.”  This is really not true at all.  The female actually has quite a bit to do with baby gender.  I’ll explain.

Although X and Y are roughly present in equal numbers, they are very different from one another.  The Y’s (boy’s) strength is speed, but it’s weakness is it’s hardiness (it’s not very long lived.)  The X (girl’s) strength is a long shelf life (it can live for days longer), but it’s also quite a bit slower.  These differences are meant to balance out the scales of nature, but you can use them to your advantage if you have one preference over another.

So, if you want a boy, you’ll want to do whatever you can to downplay this short life span.  How can you do that? In a couple of ways.  A woman will a high PH or high acidity will not be as likely to get a boy because this high PH shortens this life span even more.  So, you can change your PH for one thing. 

If you want a girl, you’ll need to go the opposite way and go for the high level PH.  Women will often ask me if these things are really in their control and the answer is a resounding yes.  You can start out by getting PH testing strips and using them as directed.  Then, depending on what you want to accomplish, you can go on an acidic or alkaline diet.  Of course, you should continue to test every few days to check your progress. If you do, you’ll likely see very concrete evidence of the changes you’ve been able to make in a few days or so.

Alternatively, you can douche as well with solutions that are going to depend on your reading and the gender that you want. Again, you can test to make sure that you’re making the progress that you want.

The Woman Or Mom To Be Can Control Timing And Positioning: Another thing that you can control is when you conceive.  For a male infant, you’ll want to hit the tale end of your fertility window.  This is often the day of ovulation and shortly after.  Remember the short life span? Well, this is very important right now.  You can’t dive in too early because by the time you ovulate, no Y’s will be left.

The opposite is true if you’re trying for a girl.  You want to start trying as soon as you’re fertile – three to four days before the egg is ready.  You can gauge this using ovulation predictors since you often can’t afford to guess.

Sexual positioning is another thing within your control. You want to give the Y’s a short trip if your goal is a son (deep penetration.)  You’ll want to do the opposite for a daughter  (shallow penetration.)

Source by Sandy Dean

Factors That Determine the Sex Or Gender of a Baby