Menopause

Have you started menopause? Perhaps you`ve been suffering from hot flashes, excessive wind and bloating for quite a while. How do you think this affects your fertility?

If you are under the assumption that you are now infertile and that it is impossible to become pregnant during menopause - you`re wrong.

On the other hand, if you believe that fertility does indeed decrease as we progress through menopause but that however unlikely, menopausal pregnancy is possible - you`re spot on.

Unfortunately, many women believe that menopause is a process that has a start and a finish and on the day that the first symptoms appear, her childbearing days are over. But, that is simply not true and our menopausal term can last for ten years or more. Usually beginning in our early fifties - although there are women who experience premature menopause many years prior to their 50th birthday - as long as there is still a monthly period, a woman can theoretically become pregnant. All that the symptoms mean is that our hormone levels are becoming unbalanced, but this does not mean that we are unable to conceive.

If you`re wondering how pregnancy can possibly occur at the same time as menopause, it`s because eggs are still being released and, providing there is an adequate supply of the necessary hormones such as estrogen, the lady in question can indeed become pregnant. Quite often, the signs of early pregnancy have been confused with menopausal symptoms. After all, when you`re in your 50`s and experience bloating, weight gain and erratic periods, the chances of it being due to menopause are a lot higher than the chances that you are pregnant.

Now apart from the emotional and psychological challenges that a menopausal pregnancy would inevitably bring to the table, the physical risks cannot be ignored. Pregnancy puts an enormous amount of strain on the body and medical research has shown that with every passing year over the age of forty, the risk of complications increases.

Possible health considerations are:

* An increased risk of infection
* Higher chances of suffering a miscarriage
* Possible bleeding
* plus several other potentially dangerous medical conditions.

Of course there will always be some older ladies who would love the chance to become pregnant - whatever her age. Perhaps she is with a new partner or maybe she feels that she would like to extend her family. Whatever the reason, every good wish to those ladies.

But for most women who are about to start menopause or already going through it, a late addition to the family would not be the most welcome news.

Menopause often signals the time that women and their partners have brought up their families and are looking forward to spending quality time together.

If you would not welcome the idea of a newborn baby to your family, it is advised that you continue with your birth control until there has been no sign of blood for twelve consecutive months. After this time, it is safe to discontinue the birth control. There is now no chance of becoming pregnant naturally.

If you have enjoyed this articles, visit the Complete Menopause for more great information on Menopause & Pregnancy and all things menopausal

View the original article here

Imagine the scene if you will.

Marjorie and her husband Ken (not their real names), were settling down for a romantic night in front of the television, when Marjorie quietly leaned over and informed her husband that they were expecting the pitter patter of tiny feet! Apparently Ken almost fell off his chair.

Now normally, this would be a cause for celebration, but what if I told you that Marjorie and Ken were both in their early fifties and they had brought up three children, prior to taking early retirement? This was supposed to be 'their' time, when they had no-one to please but themselves.

You would probably be shocked and then surprised at this story, I know I was when my friends told me. You see, I didn't realise that a woman could become pregnant once she had started menopause. Unfortunately, neither did Marjorie. She had taken birth control right up until she began suffering from hot flashes and 'spotting' and then she stopped. You see Marjorie, as many women do, had wrongly assumed that because she was displaying menopausal symptoms, that she was now infertile.

Many of us believe that menopause is an event with a start and a finish that signals the end of fertility from day one. But, that is incorrect and it is a process that could potentially last for ten years (yikes) usually beginning somewhere in our early fifties. Although some women do suffer from premature menopause and they can go through it many years earlier than this. All that the symptoms mean is that our hormone levels are becoming unbalanced, but this does not mean that we are unable to conceive.

It's true that as a woman ages, her fertility decreases and so it becomes less likely that she will fall pregnant naturally - but it is not impossible. In fact there are many stories available to read online of ladies over fifty giving birth naturally.

That's all well and good, providing you are ready to welcome a new born baby into your life, but this article is for those menopausal women who are looking forward to the freedom from child rearing that age and maturity usually brings.

So, how can it happen that a woman is going through menopause and yet she is still fertile? Easy, while eggs are still being released and there is an adequate supply of the necessary hormones, she can still become pregnant.

It doesn't matter that her periods may be all over the place or she is so bloated that she resembles a small planet, providing that she is still having her monthly period, pregnancy is possible. In fact, it is wise to continue with birth control until there has been no show of blood for twelve consecutive months. After this time, it is impossible to become pregnant naturally as there would not be an adequate supply of estrogen to facilitate the process.

Apart from the psychological aspects of a late pregnancy, there are of course health considerations to think about for those women who become pregnant in menopause.

This list is by no means comprehensive, but it will give you an idea of the dangers.

There is an increased risk of infection, miscarriage, bleeding and several other potentially dangerous medical conditions. Furthermore, medical research has proven that the risk grows even higher with every passing year over the age of forty.

So, if you are coming up to an age where night sweats and hot flashes beckon and you don't fancy the idea of early morning feeds and dirty diapers - don't take a chance and hope for the best. Make sure that you continue with the birth control.

If you`re hating your menopause and want to discover great ways of handling menopause signs, or if you just want to feel normal. Visit us today.

Find out more about menopause and pregnancy

View the original article here

Are you one of those desperate women who are hopeful 40's, looking forward to donning a maternity dress, eager to flaunt a baby bump and thrilled to see a healthy, kicking, bundle-of joy at the end of nine months pregnancy? Well, if you are, do not be disappointed to find out that pregnancy at an advance age is not as easy as finding a nice, comfy maternity dress. You need to consider first how to get pregnant at 40 and decide if you can take the first challenge towards motherhood. Will you be willing to undergo routines, procedures and braved the knife, needles and blades, to finally get hold of that desperately hoped-for baby? So, why this late years of pregnancy?

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine enumerates the reasons why most women get pregnant late in their 30's or 40's:

The availability and accessibility of contraceptive in the market encourages couple to delay pregnancyMore women are engaged and preoccupied with their career; work comes first before child-bearing.Women were more cautious in preparing for a life in marriage and child-bearing, postponing pregnancy or get married at an older age.Couples opt to be financially secure delaying marriage or pregnancy at a later age.Many women are unaware that their fertility declines in their late 20's and early 30's.

Unlike men who continue to produce sperm their entire life, women are born with specific number of eggs in their ovaries--say, millions at birth-- but only 300,000-400,000 ova or eggs remain in the ovary after reaching puberty. Of the hundred thousand eggs left during puberty, only 300 eggs will be counted for ovulation in woman's entire reproductive years.

So, where do the rest of the eggs go? Forget the eggs-the eggs are bound to undergo Atresia (sounds like Amnesia, so you really have to forget them), a degenerative process by which the ova or eggs age and are naturally loss regardless of whether the woman got pregnant, has normal menstrual cycle, undergoing infertility treatment or use birth control. As a woman advances in age, fertility declines due to normal, age-related changes in the ovaries. Although age is not the only factor affecting fertility, it should be one of the major considerations if a woman aspires to get pregnant. Women in this era and time are more aware in taking care of their health, but an improved health and lifestyle does not offset the natural, age-related decline in fertility.

Conscious of the egg count, advancing age and the threat non conceiving at all, a woman might ask, how to get pregnant at 40?

First requirement: a man who can provide and guarantee a healthy, viable sperm (he can be a husband, a partner, a lover, an opposite sex for that matter). Sperm health and viability can be determined through infertility evaluation which the woman and her conception partner should undergo. For the woman, this would help in ruling out possible infertility issues including medical condition affecting her ability to conceive, while the man should undergo semen analysis to determine number of sperm, its volume, shape and mobility. The testing process should take no longer than three (3) months, and if treatment is necessary, it can be done immediately. Ensuring fertility of both woman and man is a must before trying any other methods and procedures.

Maintaining an ideal weight could also help in ensuring fertility. Overweight women have higher estrogen level which may suppress ovulation. Cigarette and alcohol consumption should be minimized or avoided since both increase the possibility of infertility.

When fertility is ensured, yet good, old-fashioned sexual intercourse does not result to conception and pregnancy, doctor- prescribed fertility method should be sought. Doctor may advise an Ovarian Hyper-stimulation, a first line treatment which includes medication or a combination of tablet administration and injection. This will stimulate ovum production.

Micro-surgery may also be recommended by the physician for women who have problem with their fallopian tube; this will help transport the ovum from ovary to the uterus.

In Vitro Fertilization is another alternative if medication, injection and surgery failed to deliver the desired result. It stimulates mature ova with medication and using fine needle guided by an ultrasound, egg are to be fertilized with the sperm outside the woman's body, after which, the resulting embryo will be injected back to the woman's body via cervix and released to the uterus where it can attach and grow.

Finally, if all the above methods fail, the doctor may recommend Egg donation which involves a female egg donor, preferably from a much younger woman. The donated egg is to be fertilized in the laboratory with the sperm, and transferred to a woman's uterus in a form of an embryo. This method proved to have a higher success rate in providing women over forty years old an opportunity to conceive, get pregnant and bear a child.

Forty- something- aspiring mothers can still look forward to the day when shopping for maternity dress and baby cribs are no longer a wish for the desperate, hopeless- pregnant- romantics, but an option medically available anywhere.

View the original article here