DNA damage in sperm

When a couple is unable to become parents, it is a good idea to do some tests to detect fertility problems. While women over 40 have a difficult time getting pregnant due to advanced age, men may often be the ones to be responsible for infertility because of low sperm count or poor sperm quality.

Now, for any couple trying to make a baby, it is common sense to be very active in the bedroom (the more you do it the more the chances of a good sperm hitting an egg), now there is scientific research done by Dr David Greening of Sydney IVF that daily ejaculation for a week cut the amount of DNA damage seen in sperm samples.

I am sure it will make a lot of men very happy, but on a more serious note, fresher semen also showed higher motility even with a drop in sperm count. So ladies, get ready for a bed workout every night.

Mobile phone dangers for sperm

I had reported earlier that men who use cell phones may experience lower sperm quality. It appears that more evidence is coming that cell phone radiation may do a lot of harm to the reproductive organs.

In another study conducted by the Cleveland Clinic, they have found that simply keeping a mobile phone turned on and kept in your pants pocket may lead to excessive damage to sperm production.

Obviously, the cell phone companies are not even discussing this because it will hurt their business, but till the debate is settled, here is a word of advice for all those couples trying to get pregnant: keep your cell phone away from your body. You can always put it in your handbag or on your desk while you are working but definitely several feet away from your body to the extent possible. It is also possible to use one of those bluetooth headsets that minimize radiation.

Naomi Campbell pregnancy

One of the biggest challenges that college-educated, ambitious women face is that they have to balance work and life and have to make choices that can come to haunt them later. While the best time to get married (the right age to get married, according to several studies, is late 20s) and have children is in your late twenties to early thirties, career-minded women do not have that freedom.

And with all the commitment phobia among men, long-term relationships and marriages ending up in divorce 50% of the time, is not rare to see a woman end up close to 40 with no child.

And we all know that pregnancy after 40 is nearly impossible without IUI or IVF or some other kind of fertility treatment, and even if that happens, there are higher possibilities of genetic disorders.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell is one such woman who is now 38 and realizes that she does not have children. It turns out that while she was not actively trying to get pregnant, though, the Russian billionaire Vladislav Doronin will definitely prove to be a rich father the way Salma Hayek landed a rich father Francois-Henri Pinault for her daughter. What she learned recently that she was technically infertile until a surgery corrected it. Now she is saying that she is ready to start a family.

The message here is that if you are not getting pregnant after trying for 12 months, it is time to seek fertility treatment.

Older fathers responsible for bipolar disorder in children

If you recall, previously I wrote about poor sperm quality and infertility in men, in many cases due to advanced age. Many couples wrongly assume that it is difficult for a woman to get pregnant after 40 but men can continue to procreate well into their 60s and 70s without any consequences.

New research from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm says that "Children whose father was 55 years old or more (at the time of conception) run about a 37-percent greater risk of suffering from (bipolar disorder) than children whose fathers were in their 20s," according to lead researcher Emma Frans. In case you do not know what bipolar disorder is, it is enough to understand that these individuals go through severe mood changes that can make them severely depressed to the point of becoming maniacs and committing suicide. They are also more likely to suffer from schizophrenia and autism.

The reason is the same as it is for women: degradation of DNA in sperms.

So what does it mean?

A couple with any partner being of advanced age really has to think if they want to bring a child into the world. Of course, genetic testing is helpful, but if one partner is really old, it is best to consider adoption.

Poor sperm quality

Right now if you do not know that being fat is bad, you are either a moron or living under a stone. This is not the place to discuss all the complications associated with being overweight, but I want to highlight one major problem for men who want to make a baby but are fat. It is widely documented that pregnancy for obese women is a huge risk and fertility of overweight women is much lower than that of physically fit ladies.

New research from University of Aberdeen by Ghiyath Shayeb says that obese men have lower sperm count than normal-weight men, their sperms are also of poor quality and could have damaged DNA raising the risk of birth abnormalities. In other words their sperms do not move fast and far enough, and are therefore, incapable of fertilization, and are thus a major cause of infertility in men.

The net result is that unless the woman is very healthy and could compensate for a man's sperm problems, it is best that obese people first get on a weight loss program before considering to become parents.

Raise sperm count by avoiding soy foods

When a woman tries to get pregnant, especially in her 40s, and it is difficult to conceive, the couple might not approach a reproductive specialist. Technically, after 12 months of trying, a couple may be able to seek infertility treatment. In that case, a series of tests will be done and the doctors will tell you what to do.

While couples can choose to do an in-home fertility test called Fertell, it may not give you all the answers. For instance, the sperm count can have a big role to play. Alcohol or drug abuse, obesity, unhealthy diet, stress, and depression are some of the reasons that lower sperm count, a latest study suggests that eating soy products may also drastically lower sperm count.

For obvious reasons, it is a controversial study. Asians consume a lot of soyabeans but to the best of my knowledge there is no fertility crisis in Asia. On the contrary, that is still the region with the fastest growing population.

So should you stop eating soy?

Unless you have strong reasons to eat it, I would suggest that it is a minor dietary change that you can easily make. If you eat animal products, you can get your protein that way. If you are a vegetarian, you can get your protein from beans.

How to get pregnant after 40?

Getting pregnant after 40 is not easy, if impossible. A woman's fertility drops significantly chances of miscarriage and birth defects explode. While there are some cures for infertility, and doctors can try assisted reproductive therapy (ART) procedures like IUI and IVF, the probability of a live birth is low.

One woman who has beaten the odds is Halle Berry (It seems that Nancy Grace did not get pregnant naturally). A negative pregnancy test is a very emotional moment for any woman trying to get pregnant but she saved all of them for some strange reason. After 35 tests, she got a positive test.

So what is the takeaway from the story of Halle Berry?

"While I was trying to get pregnant, we tried really hard, so it was a lot of staying home and just doing what you do," she told Oprah. In other words, since the probability is low, the best way to increase it to have sex more often and monitor your ovulation closely.