LilSugar

Would You Take a DNA Test to Determine Your Fertility?

babysugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:00:40 -0800

It is a fact of life that women are more physically able to have children at a younger age - hence the biological clock talk. However, today's women are less likely to fall into the role of Donna Reed and take on the homemaker tasks in their early 20s. Instead young ladies are out getting degrees, making a name for themselves in the corporate world and taking the time to enjoy a jaunt or two around the world. While it's wonderful that many women are having fulfilling lives before starting families, it does leave some worried about the future of their fertility because even though the times have changed, biology hasn't much. What has changed is the ability to test one's fertility.

Fearing they may miss out on the window of babymaking opportunities, some ladies are choosing to test their eggs as a sort of crystal ball measurement of their mothering capabilities. While tests like that may offer a glimpse into one's parenting days, there is a decent chance it provides false hope for some while dampening free spirits.

So tell us, would you take a test like this knowing it could change your perspective on life or would you rather go with the unknown as we've done since the beginning of time?

Test Your Knowledge of Common Infertility Mistakes

LilSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:00:00 -0700

The desire to conceive a child can be all-consuming. When it doesn't happen fast enough, many couples' thoughts quickly – and often erroneously – turn to the possibility of infertility. Advice from family, friends and the Internet can send a couple into information overload, often leading to fixable mistakes that will put them back on the path to pregnancy. Take this quiz and see just how much you know about common mistakes couples make when trying to conceive.

Take the quiz

Are Céline Dion and René Angélil Too Old to Have a Baby?

LilSugar — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:44:01 -0700

Céline Dion and René Angélil are expecting an addition to their family! The couple who are already parents to René-Charles, 8, and René's three other children from two previous marriages, are said to have used the same fertility doctor that helped them conceive their lil boy. The singer, 41, and her manager/husband, 67, have long been vocal about their intention to give their son a sibling.

Fifty-seven percent of lilsugar readers said that it is selfish for women to get pregnant past a certain age, while 39 percent voted that having an older dad doesn't matter as much as having an older mother. What do you think of Céline and René's situation?

Is There a Sexist Double Standard For Older Moms and Dads?

LilSugar — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 05:00:40 -0700

Mother Nature made it so females can only reproduce between menstruation and menopause. In many cases, science allows males to procreate at an older age. Fertility and medical advancements have made it possible for both sexes to have children later in life. While 56 percent of lilsugar readers believe it's selfish for women to get pregnant past a certain point, do you believe the same is true for men? Or is there a double standard when it comes to hopeful mothers and fathers?

Celeb Look-Alike Sperm Donations Take Off

LilSugar — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 05:00:09 -0700

I'd like my son to look like Brad Pitt please. A Los Angeles-based sperm bank is stretching the potential of star power by listing the celebrities that donors look the most like. They also link to pictures of the actors, singers and designers in their donor profiles. According to California Cryobank, the question most frequently asked by female clients is who the donor looks like and through their Look-A-Like program, potential mothers have a better idea of what characteristics their child may have. Since beginning the program, web traffic has increased significantly. I'm curious who and what decide the resemblance factor.

If you could choose, which celeb would you want your child to look like?

Fertility Myths Versus Reality

LilSugar — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:00:02 -0700

It's time to separate the myths from reality. Couples trying to conceive a child are often willing to believe anything they are told to increase their chances of becoming pregnant. Let’s see how well you can sort the facts out from much of the fiction that is floating around the Internet.

Take the quiz

Less Attractive Men Are More Fertile

LilSugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:00:32 -0700

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life never make a pretty woman your wife, or so the song goes, but if a woman wants children should she sleep with an unattractive man? Researchers at the University of Oxford and University College London have determined that men deemed handsome produce less sperm during sex than their not-so-hot counterparts.

According to their study, good-looking guys tend to release fewer sperm per romp in the sack to increase their chances of spreading the wealth among more women. Less-attractive men release more sperm per sexual encounter due to their assumed less frequent fertilization opportunities. Other species, like chicken and fish have been found to have similar characteristics as their human counterparts.

How a male negotiates this trade-off depends on how easy he finds it to attract females. The more attractive a male is, the more females will be willing to mate with him, reducing the value of each mating to him. This means it is optimal for him to contribute fewer sperm per mating. Although this reduces fertility per mating, it maximizes the number of offspring he sires overall.

What's your opinion on these findings?

New Regimen May Reduce Infertility Costs

LilSugar — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:00:39 -0700

Good news for couples faced with undergoing fertility treatments in hopes of conceiving a child. Though the cost of assisted reproduction can exceed $100,000, a new study shows that a faster treatment regimen may help women conceive in a shorter amount of time, and reduce their overall costs.

The study, just published in the journal of Fertility and Sterility, followed two groups of women. Those who used the traditional fertility path of three cycles of pills combined with intra-uterine insemination (IUI) and three cycles of injections with IUI before moving on to up to six cycles of in-vitro fertilization (IVF), and those who eliminated the use of injections and went straight from the three cycles of pills and IUI to IVF.

Those who followed the shorter regimen had an implantation rate of 37.5 percent, while those who used the traditional path had an implantation rate of 27.6 percent. Participants in the shorter regimen also conceived in three fewer months than the others. The cost savings of such a faster plan are significant totaling more than $2,000

Getting Busy More May Improve Chance of Conception

LilSugar — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:00:56 -0700

Wanna-be-parents who have limited sex on schedule to improve their chances of conception might want to toss their thermometers and hop into bed! New research shows that couples engaging in daily sex prior to ovulation may have increased chances of seeing two pink lines on the pregnancy stick. One report said:

Reported Tuesday at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) meeting in Amsterdam, the study involved 118 men suffering from "higher-than-normal" genetic damage to the sperm. The study led by Australia's David Greening of IVF Sydney in Wollongong found that after a week of daily sex, genetically damaged sperm dropped by an average of 26% among the men.

The sperm's shortened exposure to oxygen could have also factored into the results.

Would You Marry Someone Who Is Infertile?

babysugar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Things get more intense as couples get closer to slipping rings on each other's fingers. When we posed the question, "Would You Tell Your Significant Other About Infertility?" a whopping 97 percent of lilsugar readers said they'd be honest about fertility issues should things get serious. While many people practice full disclosure prior to matrimony, others might withhold facts for fear of losing their beloved. For better or worse, would you stay with someone if he told you he couldn't bear children of his own?