Both mother’s and father’s smoking are dangerous for the unborn child. And if you still do not believe, Geniuspregnancy offers you the top 10 scientific facts about smoking before and during pregnancy.

1. Smoking reduces fertility in both men and women. After smoking for 5 years, a woman’s ability to conceive decreases by 14%, and that of a man reduces by 11%.
2. A male body removes nicotine faster, than that of a woman – in about 3 months. If you are planning to get pregnant, you and your man should stop smoking much earlier before that.
3. The women, who smoke, have a more difficult pregnancy, than those, who have never smoked or dropped before conception. Early toxemia, preeclampsia, varicose veins, constipation, and dizziness are consequences of smoking before and during pregnancy.
4. Vitamin C destroys much faster in the body of a smoking woman, which leads to its deficit. As a result, one suffers from metabolic diseases, low immunity, depression, and fatigue.
5. The women, who are smoking in the periconceptional period, face the 8 to10 times higher risk of miscarriage.
6. In the families, where one or both parents smoke, the children are twice more likely to suffer from pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma, and 6 times more likely to have gastro-intestinal diseases.
7. Smoking constricts blood vessels and violates the process of oxygen saturation in the blood. This is especially dangerous during pregnancy, because there must be a sufficient amount of oxygen in the blood of the mother for the proper development of the fetus.
8. The girls, whose mother was smoking during pregnancy, are more likely to suffer from infertility in the future.
9. The children of the mothers, who were smoking during pregnancy, are born with low birth weight and weak lungs.
10. As a result of the study, which had been lasting for 33 years, the scientists from the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm, Sweden) found that those children, whose mothers had been smoking more than 10 cigarettes per day before the birth of the child, had the risk of diabetes increased by 4.5 times. And the risk of obesity was 34-38% higher than among those children, whose mothers had not smoked. These diseases were found in adolescence. The doctors say that smoking produces a toxic influence on the fetus and causes fetal malnutrition. Therefore, the child develops a tendency to accumulate fat.

So, lighting another cigarette, remember that parental smoking during pregnancy not only affects the baby here and now, but reveals itself in the child’s adult life, causing entirely unwanted health problems.

Cornered at British Glamour Women of the Year awards in London on Tuesday by Us Weekly, Kim Kardashian gushed that she couldn’t wait to become a mom. She said she hoped to have some glad news “by the end of the year.”

Since it would be somewhat difficult for her to actually give birth before 2012, she added that at least after the wedding they would give it a good try – she and her lover man Kris Humphries. (She has been dating Humphries, 26, a New Jersey Nets player, since December.) Kim claims to be excited over the prospect of embarking on a new period of life as a wife and mom.

Although Khloe was heard saying that the family was set for a grand affair to bring to minds the famous April wedding in London, Kim doesn’t endorse the idea. She is thinking about something “special and intimate” with only the family and close friends attending.

One of the imminent changes will be the changing of the name. While toying with the idea to become Kim Kardashian-Humphries, Kim is firm on separating her home life and social life. Whatever the official name, she is going to be all Humphries in her private life, but will retain the Kardashian moniker for the reality shows and pother numerous projects.

Source of the image: Musicrooms.

Smoking pregnant women face higher risk of preterm birth – 27 per cent. Their smoking daughters have even higher risk – 29 per cent. Furthermore, if one’s grandmother was a smoker as well, then the risk increases to 60 per cent.

By the age of ten, a baby-girl of a smoking mother will experience disastrous consequences of nicotine effect on her body. The girl’s fertility will be negatively affected as well.

Professor Golding pointed out, that non-smoking pregnant women usually experience pleasant physical and psychological state midway through the pregnancy. On the other hand, smoking pregnant women rarely experience this state. So, if you want to be happy during pregnancy, you need to refrain from smoking when planning pregnancy, the pregnancy itself, and breast feeding period.

Source of the image: Photl.

How does ovulation decide at what time I can get pregnant?

The life of an egg after ovulation is just 24 hours. For any woman to get successfully pregnant, she should try to have a sexual intercourse during the time that ranges from one to two days before the process of ovulation and just 24 hours after ovulation. The major reason behind this is that the life of a sperm is two or three days inside a woman’s body. If during this period fertilization takes place the egg is going to survive.

Having sexual intercourse during the time of ovulation, increases the possibilities for a woman to get pregnant. In case of fertile couples, the chances for a woman to get pregnant increase by 20% in each cycle. Women who would not use any type of birth control pills have more chances to become pregnant anytime in a year. You can determine the process of ovulation, by simply observing the changes in your body that occur every month. You can even use this understanding in avoiding sexual intercourse when you are close to the time of ovulation. On the other hand, this type of method for birth control and certainly fail at times.

How can I know when I’m ovulating?

You should calculate 12 to 16 days before your next periods are about to happen. This will allow you to notice as to when you will be ovulating. For many women who undergo a 28 day cycle experience day 14 as their day of ovulation. To understand this, you should know as how long your cycle lasts.

The most efficient way to know when your body will be the most fertile is to keep your mind on the changes that occur in your body and trying to notice these symptoms that ovulation is about to take place.

Transformation in cervical mucus

As your cycle moves ahead, you will notice the change and volume of your cervical mucus. This change is a sign of the estrogen levels rising in the body. You will be known to be the most fertile when the mucus becomes translucent, smooth and elastic. The mucus looks almost like raw egg whites.

Usually, the mucus acts as a shielding obstacle, however during the time of ovulation, this permits the sperm to pass from your cervix to the uterus and finally to the fallopian tubes for meeting the egg.

A rise in body temperature

You can determine your body temperature to rise by 0.4 to 1.0 degrees and at times you will not notice the temperature shift. However, you can determine this by using and basal body thermometer (BBT). The rise in your body temperature is a sign that you are ovulating. This happens when there is takes place the creation a hormone called progesterone during the process of egg releasing from the ovary.

You will be the most fertile at least two or three days before your body temperature reaches the peak. A lot many medical studies claim that you also get an advantage of an additional 12 to 24 hour passage of fertility after you take notice of the body temperature rising.

A lot many experts recommend that you should take a note down of your body temperature rising each morning for a few months to know the pattern of your ovulation date. This will help you to plan on with your partner as to when you should have sex to conceive.

Lower abdominal ache

Almost 1/5th of the women can really get the sensations of the activity of ovulation that ranges from mild pains to cramp. This condition is called mittelschmerz and can last for a couple of minutes or a few hours.

How does an ovulation predictor kit function?

Ovulation predictor kits are easily available without any prescriptions at drug stores and grocery stores. The function of this kit is to detect the flow of luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine which is present just before ovulation. The ovulation predictor is much easier to use and more precise as compared to the BBT. These can calculate ovulation almost 12 to 36 hours before hand to take full advantage of your probability of conception in the very first month of your use itself.

Again they are not perfect. Sometimes false LH flows can happen earlier than the actual one that takes place before ovulation. Sometimes they are able to take notice of LH positively or negatively, however, they cannot perfectly determine whether you will be ovulating or not. LH has also got chances to flow even before the egg is released.

To obtain maximum exactness, follow the directions in the kit. If the instructions request you to test the first urine of the day, you should rather opt for the second urine test. Sometimes urine gets concentrated during the night and can come up with false results of “positive”.

You must start calculating your cycle on the first day when your periods begin. If you possess a 28 days cycle, you should start using the test from the 11th day and continue using it for 6 days. Or sometimes the ovulation kit manufacturer would ask you to continue the test for a certain number of days, so you should follow that. If you have a cycle between 27 and 34 days, the range of your ovulation could be somewhere in between of day 13 till day 20.

The best ways to begin and start testing is on the 11th day and continue till the 20th. If you have an irregular cycle, this is not the most suitable way for you to detect your time of ovulation. This is because the kits range between $20 to $50 that only allows you 5 or 9 days of tests. This process might lead you to buy more ovulation kits in a month.

Source of the image: Herdaily.

Take Folic Acid

The most important of all is that you must start taking folic acid supplements soon. Folic acid reduces the chances of neural tube defect in your baby by 50% to 70% only if you begin to take no less than 0.4 mg of folic acid every day for at least two to three months before you start making attempts to conceive. The neural tube defect could be like anencephaly or spinal bifida.

Sexual Life

You should try and make your sexual life a little more interesting by trying to make love in other rooms than your bedroom. Also, making love during odd times of the day could be really a thrilling experience.

Behavior after Sex

You must avoid running to the bathroom as soon as you make love. You should lie down for a minimum of five minutes which increases the chances of the sperm to meet your awaiting egg. This will surely help you attain a proper conception.

When is the Most Fertile Period?

Just five days after ovulation is your fertile period. So you should make love quite often in this period. If you have the resistance to make love every 48 hours, there is one guarantee that a fresh sperm will want to meet you egg.

Chances of Conceiving a Baby

Making a baby is the game of numbers. Even if you are trying to do everything right, there are chances of just 25% to 30% of conceiving in a periodic cycle.

Quit Smoking

If you are trying to conceive, and have not quit smoking yet, this is the right time. A scientific study determined that odds of a woman conceiving are reduced by 50% if she is still smoking.

Cut Down on Caffeine before Pregnancy

Caffeine is yet another enemy for your conception process. It is time you should consider the option of decaf. Caffeine hampers the developing baby’s growth by contracting blood vessels and dropping the flow of blood towards the uterus. If a woman drinks more than three cups daily, it is yet another problem that causes infertility amongst many.

Job and Health

If you or your partner is exposed to hazardous substances such as harmful chemicals, then you should think about changing your job before you begin to plan for a baby. Certain chemicals or harmful rays have an effect on the quality of sperm and the progress of the embryo.

Medical Checkup

Before jumping on the bed with your partner for having a baby, you must first visit a doctor for a preconception checkup. Let your doctor know about your medical history and your willingness to conceive and have a baby with your partner.

You need to be certain that you have been thoroughly screened for STDs. Millions of women in North America are affected by pelvic inflammatory disease every passing year. The major reason behind this is untreated sexually transmitted disease.

Taking Medications

If you are taking any sort of pills or over-the-counter drugs for anything, you need to tell you doctor about it. You doctor will certainly tell you to either stop the medication or will tell you to continue if it is safe for the baby.

Diabetics Getting Pregnant

If you are a patient of diabetes, you should make sure that your blood sugar levels are under control before you conceive. A scientific study determined that women who have badly restricted insulin-dependent diabetes are at higher risk to give birth to babies with birth defects four to six times more than a non-diabetic woman.

Healthy Diet for Getting Pregnant

If you are searching for a very good resource of folic acid, you can do it by simply having a glass of orange juice or a fresh orange. Orange is the finest source for folic acid. It is a very vital nutrient for any woman who is willing to conceive.

Learn how to make your Vagina Sperm-Friendly

1. Avoid vaginal sprays.
2. Get rid of scented tampon (these will cause pH imbalance)
3. Don’t use artificial lubricants
4. Never use vegetable oils
5. Avoid glycerin – it kills the sperm
6. No saliva – it’s another sperm killer.
7. Don’t douch right after the sexual intercourse. Douching modifies the general acidity of the vagina. Douching can also cause vaginal infections and or pelvic inflammatory disease. It can also sweep away the cervical mucus which helps the sperm to travel.

Physical Activity and Healthy Way of Life before Conception

Exercising is surely good for help, but if you overdo it, it can cause issues of fertility problems like irregular menstruations, anovulatory cycles in which ovulation is absent as well as luteal phase deficiencies. A luteal phase happens when the second half of your cycle is not lengthy enough for the proper implantation of the fertilized egg.

If your man is into too much of cycling, ask him to walk on the treadmill instead. A study conducted by the University Of California School Of Medicine proved that men who are prone to cycling more than 100kms per week are putting their fertility in danger. This happens because the groin keeps hitting the bicycle seat which can harm the essential arteries and nerves.

There is no need for you to go on a diet thinking that you will conceive a baby easily. If you start starving yourself, or are over-eating would surely affect your ovulation and in return your fertility.

If you are not physically active, consult your doctor whether you should opt for anything that would boost your stamina, develop your strength and your cardiovascular health. Don’t do anything active without the consent of your doctor.

Pregnancy and Prenatal Vitamins

If you regularly take vitamin supplements, then at times large doses of some kinds of vitamins possibly will be hazardous for your developing baby. At this point, you must change your course towards prenatal vitamin previous to you conceive.

Measuring Basal Body Temperature

If you are worrying about your basal body temperature (BBT) to keep a record of your most fertile days, you should get a hold of a digital thermometer instead of a traditional mercury one. The digital thermometer is easier to read and it beeps to remind you for recording your reading just in case you are not aware of it.

Eating, drinking and even moving out of the bed can affect your body temperature. Put a hold on these activities before you take your reading.

If you did not have enough sleep any night, you should note it down in your temperature chart. If you are not able to get sleep for at least three continuous hours, then your BBT reading can still be untrustworthy.

Sometimes, you will not be able to notice any difference in your BBT chart. This is normal for a lot of women who are regularly ovulating and there is no sudden temperature rise in their bodies after ovulation. A constant BBT throughout the menstrual cycle is perfectly normal.

Am I Pregnant?

To know you baby-making moment, here it is. The most fertile time for a woman is when the cycle is leading five days up to ovulation. If you are getting any signs of ovulation, you are at the right spot.

If your menstrual cycle is longer or shorter than 28 days, there are possibilities that you will not ovulate on day 14. The process of ovulation begins 14 days before the next menstrual cycle.

After the ovulation, you just have to patiently wait. At times, there is not sufficient human chorionic gonadotropin present in your urine for testing even after 12 days after the ovulation. Sometimes it takes a little longer time.

When Does It Make Sense to Make a Pregnancy Test?

If your period is late as compared to your natural time, you can simply note down whether your number of days since ovulation are longer than normal. If you’re results of elevated temperatures are at least 18 times in numbers, or if your temperature stays elevated for more than 3 days than your longest luteal phase to date, you can come to the conclusion that you are pregnant.

Signs of Pregnancy

Usually hCG begins to produce in the body just a week after conceiving. The combination of hCG with growing progesterone levels make the blood flow increase towards the region of your pelvis. This will make you run towards the bathroom a lot many times as your pregnancy advances.

Spotting during Pregnancy

You should not be afraid if you find some small amount of spotting on your inner wear. A lot of women undergo this implantation bleeding for nearly a week after conceiving. This is the time when the fertilized egg gets attached to the uterine wall. A lot of women commit a mistake in thinking that this is the beginning of their menstrual cycle which can cause them to panic.

Source of the image: Photl.

Almost half of those interviewed said that they want to postpone pregnancy or have fewer children because of their financial problems. 31 percent said they don’t want to have children at the moment, 28 percent want fewer children than previously planned, and 7 percent said they don’t want getting pregnant at all. About two thirds (64 percent) agreed with the statement that As long as the economic situation remains the way it is now, I can’t afford having a baby. The researchers also found that every fourth woman (or their partner) has lost jobs or health insurance over the past year. Besides, 52 percent said their financial situation got worse compared to what it was a year ago. Over half of the women are concerned if they could take a proper care of their baby.

These findings are raising concerns among scientists. Such changes in childbearing attitude and related behavioral changes can stay on after the recession is officially over. Men obviously share their partners’ attitude.

Earlier this year, doctors reported a surge in the number of vasectomies (male sterilization) since the economy stumbled.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/hamletnc.

Birth size, the study says, is in direct dependence on the development of the nervous system. A smaller child was discovered to be more prone to having breath difficulties during sleep which will lead to disturbed sleep and maybe nightmares in later life.

Lead researcher Anu-Katriina Pesonen is sure about the dependence of good sleep on the weight and length of the child at birth. “We showed that even within children born healthy and at-term gestation, smaller body size at birth increases the risk for poor sleep.”

The birth size of the child is mostly governed by the genetic factor, but the child may be born smaller for several other reasons, including prenatal drinking even in moderate quantities and chronic depression.

No connection between prenatal smoking and sleep disturbances in the child has been discovered.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/bonesdog.

What Causes Anovulation?

There are quite a lot of reasons to know why a woman is not ovulating regularly. If you consult a doctor, he/she would prescribe certain drugs that will cause ovulation. A woman who is not experiencing any bleeding at least once in a month will not be able to notice that she does not ovulate unless she is monitoring her basal body temperature. The chart would appear to be very irregular with either the temperature shooting up constantly or no temperature rise notification in it at all.

There are various reasons for anovulation. Some of them include:

1. Breastfeeding
2. Pre-menopause
3. Illnesses
4. Stresses
5. Coming off the pill
6. Hormones like Depo-Provera
7. Traveling
8. Vigorous Exercise
9. Extreme weight loss or weight gain
10. Other medical conditions – like pituitary gland problems and polycystic ovarian disease.

Anovulation and Getting Pregnant

Anovulation could be very discouraging when you are planning to conceive. However, you should not worry about it as there is help available. If you notice that you are not ovulating, you should consult your doctor. There will be a chain of tests undertaken to recognize your levels of hormones and a few drugs will be prescribed for fertility and ovulation.

What Medicines Are Prescribed to Treat Anovulation?

The widely prescribed drug is Clomid or Pergonal. These drugs are prescribed with small doses initially to offer a chance to your body to ovulate and then the doses increase in anticipation of the ovulation. Quite a few women will surely ovulate after taking these drugs. However, Clomid is only prescribed when the origins of infertility are unknown.

If there is no regular menstrual cycle, the drug Provera, or something similar to it is prescribed to encourage menstruation. Just the once ovulation occurs, the doctor can then better inform you if there is any additional help required.

What Natural Ways Can Encourage Ovulation?

There are a lot of natural herbs that can also bring about ovulation. That is the reason why we recommend you to meet your doctor first and take their advice. Vitex provides help to control the estrogen and progesterone hormones which helps in ovulation. You should check the bottle to know the dosages. Vitex should not be taken if you are already prescribed Clomid.

You can try to increase your chances of conception by 50% by drinking tea. To lengthen the leuteal phase and fertility, a dose of 25 mg – 100 mg of vitamin B6 can help. Consumption of evening Primrose oil before the expected ovulation can help in the production of the white cervical fluid, which is known as the most fertile fluid.

There is no need to worry about anovulation as it is not a major reason for infertility. Science and technology have moved to greater heights and things can be done to help nature. Anyway, first of all you should begin with charting your basal body temperature and seeing your doctor.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/bies.

Nadya’s mother is absolutely against such a large number of children. The grandmother points out that Nadya is not married and all of her children were conceived artificially. Nadya’s gynecologist diagnosed her with tubal occlusion, which means that the woman can not have children, but Nadya found a solution, namely IVF.

A number of embryos were obtained through this procedure. Usually, only one or two are selected for future development, while the rest are destroyed. However, Nadya decided to freeze her embryos. She gave birth after successful transfer of the embryo into her uterus. Later on she repeated the procedure and eventually became mother of six, who are those days between 2 and 7 years old. The woman still had some frozen embryos, so she decided to give birth again. According to Nadya, the number of embryos that were transferred to her uterus originally was less than eight, but she gave birth to eight due to division.

Chronic Diseases

Remember emergency instructions on the plane telling you to first put an oxygen mask on yourself before putting a mask on a child. If you breathe, you are able to help your child. The same is true about the health of your future baby. Your own health is a priority! Nobody’s going to get pregnant, bear and give birth as well as to provide care for your child for you. Future mother is more important than her future baby, if you think about it.

Don’t disregard any ailments, especially those relating to the reproductive system. Delays in menstrual cycle, painful menstruation, hair growing where it shouldn’t all direct you to a gynecologist’s office. Thinking that the problems will disappear after childbirth is misleading.

Stress and Conception Problems

If you have strained relationships with your parents and colleagues, if you cry yourself blind and can’t forget the love affair that failed like ten years ago, if there are some taboo topics among your family, etc, – give it a thought. Motherhood is a serious matter, and you should make a self-confident decision. It might be helpful to go to a psychologist, alone or with your family.

Is Pregnancy a Challenge?

It often happens that girls who were raised in families where pregnancy was always a challenge expect their own experience to be as frightening and heroic. There are often no hereditary diseases involved, but the anxiety is enough for them to make problems out of nothing. And stresses work just like the Pill. Gynecologists can do nothing to ease your stress. That’s a psychologist’s job.

Eating Healthy

“Starvation” isn’t synonymous with “vegetarianism”. Experienced dieticians create vegetarian diet plans able to provide an adult with all essential proteins, vitamins, fats and microelements. Keeping this kind of diet requires much effort.

Some women think it is ethically wrong to eat food of animal origin because they don’t want to hurt other living creatures. To each it’s own, but your baby needs some amino acids and fats that are found only in fish, meat, milk and eggs. So if you plan to have a baby, decide which of little helpless creatures is more important for you.

Don’t Smoke

Smoking affects fertility both in men and in women. According to studies, smokers are more likely to have less active sperm. The study in Britain involving 17 032 women showed the link between the number of smoked cigarettes and infertility.

Use Birth Control Pills Smartly

Choosing the right time for the baby is crucial. But contraception may put your future fertility at risk as well. So you need to talk to a health specialist about choosing the right birth control pills. For example, women with liver disorders or pancreatic gland problems should avoid oral contraceptives.

Never listen to what your friends are saying about contraception pills. Neither your friends nor a druggist are able to give you’re a professional advice. You should seek a consultation from health specialists. “Emergency contraception” is not a female trick, it is a powerful hormonal blow. Therefore, don’t jeopardize your fertility and learn about all the risks of contraception.

Think if Your “Healthy” Attitude Helps

Are you going to buy only Organic baby food? Are you going to give your baby only filtered water? Are you going to put on your baby only cloth diapers because you think paper ones are toxic? Is this what you are absolutely going to do?

If you confine yourself into the rigid limits, it indicates emotional ill-being. It goes hand in hand with the stress that prevents you from getting pregnant and may harm your future baby.

It goes without saying you don’t have to buy cheap food of suspicious origin. Just keep eating what you’ve always eaten and live your life the way you’ve lived it if you feel good and happy. Why change anything and stir up anxiety? Without anxiety, you body focuses on what it should normally do.

Preventive Care

Focus on your health and visit a hospital for examinations regularly if you are an athlete or work under “abnormal” conditions – you often fly on the plane and change time zones, you contact chemicals (in a lab or printing works), you spend a lot of time on foot, or in heat and sultriness. Don’t neglect injuries and ignore uncomfortable sensations. You may feel the consequences of injuries of the locomotor system or intoxications later when it’s time to be in great shape and bear a child.

Getting Slim

Acute weight changes and nonstop succession of slimming diets and fast-food comebacks is worse than having natural fold of fat on your waist, ample breasts and large hips. Excessive weight is what really can harm you, but not the one that makes it hard for you to fit XS size.

If you’ve ever gained weight rapidly or ever lost many pounds without any efforts and dieting, you absolutely have to tell about it to your gynecologist or endocrinologist.

Don’t be Afraid of Dentists

Neglected focuses of inflammation are a ticking bomb in your body. Most often, the focuses are in our teeth, and we are so afraid of dental treatment that we simply take painkillers to delay the visit to the dentist’s. But for your future baby’s sake, try to understand what is so dreadful about dental treatment and fight your fears.