As we talked about last time, fertility treatments are extremely expensive and insurance companies often won’t pay for them. In Vitro Fertilization, for example, can cost a couple as much as $12,000 or more. Unless you’ve got that kind of extra money to spend, chances are pretty good you’re going to need some help in paying for fertility treatments.

The good news is that there are a number of different ways you can handle paying for fertility treatments. Here are some places you can consider looking for the cash to fund yours:

1. Check your insurance options. We covered this last time, so we won’t go into it here. The main thing is to make sure you’ve been thorough when it comes to checking whether your health insurance policy will pay for the treatments or not.
2. Save up. Depending on your age and other factors, you might be concerned about waiting too long to get your fertility treatments. Still, some folks may find that they can save up to pay for those fertility treatments over a few years. This isn’t an option for everyone, of course.
3. Consider financing. Many fertility clinics will offer their customers a way to finance their fertility treatments. Usually, this involves making payments to the clinic on a monthly basis for the duration of your treatment. This kind of financing is often interest-free, or at least will have a much lower interest rate than many of the other borrowing options.
4. Look into other loan options. If your fertility clinic won’t finance your treatments, you may be able to get financing through a bank or credit union. You might be able to get a personal loan, for example, or you might need to look into a secured loan such as a second mortgage.

Finally, it’s worth looking into results-based insurance, too. In some cases, you may be able to purchase an insurance policy that essentially will help you recoup your costs if your fertility treatments are unsuccessful. Very few fertility doctors guarantee results, so this is one way to make sure that the money you’ve spent isn’t lost entirely.

If you’ve done any amount of research, you know that there are literally dozens of things that can factor in to whether or not you’re able to get pregnant. From your diet to the sexual position you choose when trying to conceive, all of these little issue can add up. While some fertility struggles are more complex and might require medical advice, in some cases making a simple change can drastically improve your chances of becoming pregnant.

Here are some quick tips that may help you get pregnant:

• Quit smoking, drinking or using drugs, and get your partner to do the same. Alcohol and tobacco both have components that can affect your odds of getting pregnant. Many illegal drugs will make it next to impossible for you to get pregnant.
• Talk to your doctor about your prescription medications. In some cases, prescription medications can affect your ovulation cycle, which can keep you from getting pregnant.
• Know your cycle. Learn about ovulation, and know what signs to look for that indicate you’re ovulating. Time your conception attempts around your ovulation.
• Consider having sex in positions that involve deeper penetration. The missionary position, for example, is thought to be especially helpful. Avoid positions where you’re sitting or standing.
• After sex, prop your hips up with a pillow for half an hour or so to give the sperm a little bit of help swimming towards the cervix.
• Keep your diet healthy. A balanced diet will help your body work the way it’s designed to work. Make sure you’re not getting too much in the way of saturated fats, and try to make sure you get enough vegetables, especially leafy green vegetables, as well as fruits.
• Get some exercise. Mild to moderate exercise several times a week will not only help your body work better, but it will help your body be more prepared for the strains of pregnancy when you do get pregnant.

photo credit: Esparta

We know that you’re excited about the possibility of becoming pregnant. Even if you’re trying to conceive a second child or beyond, the prospect of becoming pregnant is thrilling in so many ways. Because of this, it’s easy to want to jump the gun when it comes to pregnancy tests. You want to know as soon as you can that you’re pregnant. You want to be able to shift out of “trying to conceive” mode and into “I’m gonna have a baby mode.” We understand, we really do.

But here’s the thing to remember: it takes time for your body to actually know that it’s pregnant. Once you have sex, the sperm still have to travel to the fallopian tubes and fertilize an egg. That egg then has to travel to the uterus and implant. It takes some time for that to happen, and until it does there’s no way to really know if you’re pregnant.

So, how soon can you take a home pregnancy test? Usually, it’s best to wait until you’ve missed a period. Technically speaking, a home pregnancy test might be able to register a positive for you right around 10 days after conception, which will be a day or two before you miss your period. However, the results at this stage are more likely to be negative, even if you’re pregnant.

A pregnancy test measures something called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). This hormone is produced by your body when you’re pregnant. It usually doesn’t reach levels that can be measured by a pregnancy test until around day 10 after conception. At the very earliest, you could possible have high enough hCG levels at about 8 days.

In short, unless you want to spend a bunch of money on pregnancy tests that are going to disappoint, you should probably wait until you’ve actually missed your period before you take a home pregnancy test.

photo credit: kevin dooley

Fertility trends change over time. While it was once common for women to have their first child before the age of 21, today many women are waiting longer. The advent of birth control has allowed women to take charge of their own fertility, and to wait until a time when they’re more comfortable with the idea before starting to have kids.

There are, of course, pros and cons to having children at any age. There are both social and physical implications of when you decide to have a child.

Going back in time

If you go back far enough, and for the vast majority of history, women have become pregnant when they were in their teens or early twenties. Now, we’re not talking about the latest episode of Teen Mom 2 on MTV; this is the way things have been for thousands of years.

In some ways, this can be a boon for the young mom. They’re more sympathetic to their children’s position, because they can remember what it meant to be a child. You could make a case that having a child builds character and forces a person to mature quickly too.

Not to mention the fact that, if your children are all born before you’re 20, by the time you’re 40 you’ll have your house back.

Today, however, there are some compelling reasons not to have a child that early. Financially, it can be a big challenge. Young moms tend to be in a worse economic position. There are some health risks, too, for moms that are too young.

Starting a little later

Most women today start their families in their late 20s and early 30s. This lets you complete college, be more financially secure, and be more secure in your relationship with your partner.

On the other hand, this can be exhausting. Many women with careers choose to turn parenting into their full-time pursuit when having children at this stage.

Over 35

About one in five women wait until 35 to have their first child. This means that parenting is a definitive choice, and that you do so without the economic problems that tend to plague younger women.

That said, 2 AM feedings can be a real problem as you get older, and you’re not sure you want to coach little league in your mid-50s.

How old were/are you when you became a mom? Do you wish you’d have started earlier or later?

You might not realize it, but there’s a strong connection between what’s going on in the economy and fertility rates. According to research from the Pew Research Center, fewer people decide to have children during times of economic recession. This is especially true in states where there has been significant joblessness.

How far is the fertility rate dropping?

In 2010, the fertility rate fell to just under 65 per one thousand women in the population of childbearing age. Just three years prior in 2007 – before the recession hit – that rate was just under 70 percent. That’s a significant change.

One important factor to understand, however, is that people don’t necessarily wind up having fewer children overall; rather, they wait until the economic troubles are over and then “catch up” on having children.

Hardest-hit states having fewest children

The largest decline in fertility occurred in Arizona. Arizona was hit particularly hard by the bust in the housing market. Nevada, which had one of the highest rates of unemployment in the entire country in 2009 (coming in at 12.5 percent) saw the second-largest decline in fertility.

Compare Arizona and Nevada with other states that haven’t been as hard-hit, and you’ll see the trend. Nebraska and North Dakota are two states that actually saw fertility increases during the recession. In fact, they were two of only three states to do so. North Dakota’s unemployment rate was 4.2 percent, and Nebraska’s was 4.8 percent.

Ethnic groups impacted most

Those ethnic groups that have been impacted most by the recession also felt the biggest impact in terms of fertility. The Hispanic community has been hit disproportionately hard in terms of economics, and they’ve seen a 5.9 percent decrease in fertility (compared to 2.4 percent for African-Americans and 1.6 percent for whites).

So, what do you think about all of this? Have you delayed having children because of financial concerns? Given that a delay in fertility can sometimes mean missing a window of opportunity, is this always for the best?

photo credit: CarbonNYC

Most of the time, we’re too quick to assume that fertility problems are directly related to the woman’s inability to conceive. Recent studies suggest, however, that as much as 50% of the time, the problem has nothing to do with the woman’s reproductive organs and everything to do with the man’s.

After trying to conceive, many couples go in for fertility testing and (if appropriate) treatments. In most cases, it’s only the woman who is being tested. It would be more effective, however, if both partners were tested for fertility issues.

Having both of you tested right from the start can save time and frustration. The sooner doctors can figure out where the snag to your fertility lies, the sooner they can treat it and the sooner you can have a baby.

Call the urologist

Men’s fertility issues are tested by an urologist. When seeing his urologist, a man can expect:

• A full medical interview
• Discussion about family reproductive history
• Discussion of any surgeries he’s had
• A physical examination
• Questions about smoking, alcohol and drug use
• A semen sample

Several Potential Fertility Problems to Test For

There are a number of possible issues which lead to male infertility. Most of them are treatable. Your urologist will check to see whether any of them affect you. Some of the more common causes of male infertility include:

• Antibiotic abnormalities. Some men have antibodies which actually attack their own sperm, causing infertility.
• Lack of sperm pipeline. This is a genetic disorder which leaves a man without the pipeline through which sperm are supposed to travel.
• Sperm release problems. The most common is retrograde, in which the sperm releases into the bladder instead of into his partner. This problem is sometimes caused by prior surgery.
• Sperm obstruction. Sometimes, there is a blockage between the penis and testicles. Fortunately, this can be treated by surgery.

Time to man up

It can be difficult to get a man to see any doctor. Getting him to admit the fertility problem might be with him and see an urologist can be especially difficult. After all, no man wants to admit that that might not be functioning up to par.

If you both want to have a baby, though, it’s important to rule out all any possible hindrance to conception. Some men are more willing to see an urologist to get checked for fertility issues at the beginning of the process, while you are also being tested. How about your partner? Have you had his fertility tested?

Over the years, women have tried just about everything to conceive. Some of the treatments used have wandered off into the superstitious and even silly. Other treatments are more grounded in science (and more effective). We’ve found one that’s worth trying whether it works or not: Fertility massage.

Believe it or not, there’s actually some fairly sound science to back up the idea. If nothing else, it is widely believed that stress can play a role in infertility. Since there’s nothing quite like a good massage to reduce stress and help us relax, fertility massage should be chalked up in the “nothing to lose and everything to gain” category.

Reflexology and Reproduction

There’s more to the art of fertility massage than simply helping us relax so we can get pregnant, though. The technique, which typically takes around three to six months, uses acupressure technique and the principles of reflexology. The idea is to stimulate the reproductive organs.

The technique, which can be used while trying to conceive naturally or through IVF, addresses:

• Hormonal imbalances
• Stress
• Endometriosis
• Fibroids
• Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Reproductive Endocrinologists Give It a Thumbs Up

Support for the technique amongst doctors is fairly wide spread. While there needs to be more research into the actual effects of fertility massage on the ability to stimulate reproductive organs, the technique isn’t invasive and poses no danger to women who are trying to conceive.

At the very least, fertility massage (like most other kinds of massage) is relaxing and reduces stress. Even if the technique were found to be ineffective in treating the other conditions it claims to address, this would still make it worthwhile.

Mix with a healthy lifestyle and shake

As with other alternative treatments, fertility massage should be seen as being only a part of your larger efforts at fertility. When used in concert with a healthy lifestyle, the right diet, exercise and sound medical techniques, it can be beneficial.

For many women, the most difficult part of fertility massage is finding someone who offers the service. Even in progressive Greenwich Village, there is only one massage therapist known to offer fertility massage. Greenwich massage therapist Sergiana Bruno claims to have started offering fertility massage mainly because no one else in the area was offering it.

In most cases, your best bet for finding a fertility massage therapist is to ask your fertility clinic for a recommendation. If someone in your area offers the service, they would be the ones who are most likely to know about it.

What do you think? Would you try massage for fertility?

photo credit: Symic

It has long been established that diet and overall fitness play a role in a woman’s ability to conceive. It has been suspected that the same or similar factors also affect fertility in men, though there has been less research to back up the theory.

A recent Brazilian study, conducted in Sao Paolo, suggests that there are direct ties to a man’s diet and the concentration of his sperm. The study was conducted using over 200 men who were trying to father a child using a form of IVF treatment.

The study confirmed the established fact that obesity negatively affects sperm concentration and quality. Beyond that, it showed that certain foods impact the concentration of a man’s sperm.

Dietary Habits Which Negatively Impact Fertility

If your man is eating certain foods, especially in excess, they could be negatively affecting his sperm concentration. The biggest offenders included:

• Coffee
• Alcohol
• Red Meat

There’s nothing wrong with your guy having a glass of red wine with his steak once in a while. If you’re trying to conceive, though, he may want to make that a very occasional habit for now.

A poor diet can cause a man’s sperm to have difficulty making the swim to your eggs and may further decrease the likelihood of fertilization if they make it. It’s unclear exactly how much is related to dietary choices, per se, and how much is related to body mass. The bottom line, though, is that his dietary and lifestyle choices can affect your ability to have a baby, either naturally or through IVF.

Dietary Changes Which Aid Fertility

The first step to improving a man’s diet to aid fertility is to reduce or eliminate the foods which are causing the problem. After that, there are some foods which have been shown to improve the concentration of his sperm.

The most notable foods which improved sperm concentration include:

• Fruit
• Grains, especially cereals

In addition to eating better types of food, the study found that men who ate several small meals per day had a higher sperm concentration than those who ate two or three large meals.

Changing his diet won’t guarantee a baby, of course. Still, anything that helps is good, right? How about it? What dietary changes would you and your partner be willing to make to improve your chances of conception?