Let’s say that you are outdoors and you suddenly had a bad case of poison ivy. A friend, who is no medical expert, might advise you to use calamine lotion.

This is a medical myth that you should not believe, because the only thing that will help ease the pain associated with the case of poison ivy is steroid cream like Hydrocortisone. This is just one of the many medical myths which persist up to now.

If you don’t want your condition to get worse, then it is good to check first whether there is a truth behind a particular medical myth – just to be on the safe side[women's health myths] . The same thing holds true when it comes to infertility.

Unfortunately, despite the existence of happy couples who are perfectly happy with the children that the mother has conceived over the years of their marriage – there are still those who are tirelessly trying.

For some reason or another, they have not been given the chance to bear a child out of their marriage or relationship.

Now, if you are among these couples who are still trying to have a child, what are the top misconceptions that you should not take to heart? Read on to find out.

Enumerating the Top 8 Misconceptions about Infertility

Trying to have a baby and not succeeding is bad enough – so you shouldn’t add the burden of believing in what other people are saying when it comes to the subject of infertility.

Here are the top 8 misconceptions about infertility and the truth behind them:

1. “When a couple fails to have a child, it could be because It’s all in the head.“

When you mention to a couple who is trying to have a baby that it’s all in the head, it is actually quite an insensitive thing to say.

The reason why this myth persists is that there are couples who claim that for the longest time, they have consciously been trying to procreate – and they fail.

But once they stopped trying, that is when the woman ‘magically’ conceives. There is no truth to this myth at all.

Infertility is a medical condition wherein a couple is unable to produce an offspring. The reason for this could either be the physical inability of a woman to conceive, or the inability of a man to impregnate.

Sure, there might be some psychological factors which affect the capacity of a couple to conceive – but they are usually effects of not being able to bear a child, rather than its being the root cause of the problem.

2. “There must be something wrong with you if you cannot get pregnant, because why is everyone else so fertile?“

This is a common dilemma that women who are in their child bearing age face. Basically, the optimum age for women starts at 18 and ends at about 25.

Those who are in their late 20’s do have a declining fertility – and as you grow older, the decline becomes gradual.

So essentially, even those who are in the optimal child-bearing age can experience infertility problems. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control, an estimated 10 to 15% of the female population does have infertility problems.

3.  ” If a couple has problems getting pregnant, it must be the woman who has the problem.”

This is yet another misconception about infertility that persists up to now.

Most people assume that just because it is the woman who gets pregnant, it is her who is at fault if she fails to have a child.

In a published article in the Journal of Urology, here are a couple of interesting statistics that men play when it comes to infertility:

1. In 20% of infertile couples, it is the man who is solely responsible for the problem of their inability to conceive.
2. In about 30 to 40% of infertile couples, men do have a contribution to the problem of the woman being unable to bear a child.

4. “Male fertility does not change with age.“

Although there are some men well into their 50’s, 60’s or even 70’s or 80’s who are still able to father a child, this does not mean that they will be fertile forever.

Experts say that a man’s fertility and the quality of his sperm decline as he reaches the age of 35.

Although the decline in fertility is less gradual as compared to women, it could still be the reason behind a couple’s inability to have children.

5. “Women who experienced painful or infrequent periods may be infertile.“

For this, you do need to check with a medical expert whether your painful or infrequent menstrual periods may have affected your ability to bear a child.

However, these are not necessarily a cause of a woman being infertile.

Watch out for progressively increasing painful periods because this may be a symptom of endometriosis.

6.  ” If you are infertile, it could be hereditary.“

If you have a close relative who is infertile – like your mother, sister or aunt – this does not necessarily mean that you will be infertile, too.

In most cases, infertility is not a hereditary condition –  although you do need to check with a medical expert so that there can be a complete evaluation of your particular case.

7. “Stress is a cause of infertility.“

Just like the myth which says that being infertile is all in the head, this misconception that stress is a cause of infertility is just that – a myth.

Although stress may contribute to a woman’s delayed ovulation, it does not necessarily lead to her being infertile.

8. “If you are over 35 and are trying to have a baby, you need to immediately seek treatment.“

As mentioned earlier, the fertility of a woman does decline as she ages.

However, there is no need for you to immediately seek treatment for infertility if you are trying at the age of 35.

Just keep on trying, don’t use birth control and wait for about six months.

If nothing happens by then, that is the time that you can seek the help of the medical experts.

This is unlike a younger couple who can wait for at least a year of trying to conceive before it is recommended that they get an expert’s opinion.

Many women have successfully conceived after giving up alcohol and caffeine intake.  According to Dr Emma Derbyshire, 32 per cent of those having trouble conceiving became pregnant by giving up stimulants compared to 33 per cent after IVF treatment.

“Quitting smoking is also very much important for woman who want to get pregnant and many studies confirm that smoking and unhealthy diet can delay the woman’s chances of getting pregnant”, she added.

Source: Daily Mail

The survey also revealed that 7 out of 10 childless women over the age of thirty worry about their fertility.

The survey by Red magazine found that while delaying motherhood for a variety of reasons, women have it in “the back of their minds” they can try IVF if they fail to conceive naturally.

This is despite half of women who try IVF needing three or more cycles of treatment, suggesting more difficulties than they anticipated. The average cost of fertility treatment was £6,638 per woman.

In one in six cases, would-be grand parents are helping to pay the bills, but many women said that would be willing to pay double if a baby could be guaranteed.

Source: Daily Mail

In infertile women, FSH is often used to stimulate the ovaries to produce several eggs, followed by intrauterine insemination (injection of sperm into the uterus).

Dr. Mohamed A. Bedaiwy  and colleagues from the Toronto Center for Advanced Reproductive Technologies, Toronto, took a look back at a group of infertile women aged 40 and older who had controlled ovarian stimulation using FSH alone or in combination with Femara, followed by intrauterine insemination.

The researchers reported that the pregnancy rates were comparable in the two groups with seventeen of 90 women (18.9%) in the Femara/FSH arm and 13 of 69 (18.8%) in the FSH only arm became pregnant.

Read more news at Reuters

Most common causes for secondary infertility include: ovulation problems, pelvic adhesions, polyps,  uterine fibroids endometriosis [endometriosis symptoms].

How to prevent secondary infertility?

• Keep an eye on your weight. Most women will gain weight after delivering a baby. Excess weight gain is the most common problem for women to conceive again.
• Get infections to be treated as early as possible to prevent secondary infertility. Most of the time, vaginal infection can cause infertility.
• Don’t wait longer than 2-3 years to conceive again after the initial pregnancy. Age is the most common cause for infertility problems. Waiting too longer to conceive again causes problems in conceiving naturally.
• Usually, women with children have high stress levels. Avoiding stress, a well-balanced diet, regular physical activity and relaxation are the most important solutions for preventing secondary infertility.

Finally, secondary infertility causes stress, frustration, sadness, and loss for most couples. If you or your partner is facing this condition, it is essential to learn all you can through some reputable organizations, resources and attain the support you need for making the best decisions for you and your family.

For example, most students were unaware that some sexually transmitted infections can cause infertility problems.

“About 80 percent of students said they were familiar with the term infertility,” Susan Quach, of Sunnybrook and Women’s College Hospital Fertility Center in Toronto, told.

But when asked more specific infertility-related questions, fewer students answered correctly, indicating a lack of knowledge that may increase their risk of infertility later in life, Quash said.

For example, more than 94 percent of the students did not know that sexually transmitted infections, such as chlamydia or gonorrhea can lead to infertility, Quash and co-investigator Dr. Clifford Librach at the University of Toronto report in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

The researchers asked 772 ethnically diverse high school students to complete a written questionnaire designed to determine their knowledge of and attitudes about infertility. The students were 17.5 years old, on average, and 49 percent were female.

A total of 608 students completed the questionnaire and, as noted, the vast majority did not know that chlamydia and gonorrhea can lead to infertility. About 25 percent thought fertility problems only occurred among women 40 years or older.

Read more at Yahoo News

Premature ovarian failure (POF) is the condition used to illustrate the dysfunction of the ovaries or reduction of the follicles in your body before the age of 40.

In medical terms, this condition is also called as primary ovarian insufficiency. This condition affects 1-4% of the women.

What are the conditions you experience with premature ovarian failure?

The first and the most common issue that you experience due to premature ovarian failure are missed or irregular menstrual periods. But, some of you experience the symptoms same as the women experience during their menopause state. These conditions include:

• Infertility
• Irritability
• Poor concentration
• Lack of interest in sexual intercourse
• Experiencing pain during the intercourse
• Vaginal dryness
• Night sweats
• Mood swings
• Bladder control problems
• Sleeping disorders
• Hot flashes

Premature ovarian failure keeps you at the risk of some more serious health related conditions such as:

Improper functioning of thyroid: This condition affects metabolism and leads to very low energy. Replacement of the thyroid hormone is only the treatment option.

Heart disease: This is also one of the health concerns related to premature ovarian failure. In order to treat this condition, you need to undergo hormone replacement therapy and regular moderate physical activity.

Osteoporosis: This is loss of bone strength and bone density. Proper intake of vitamin D, calcium, and regular physical activity can help in reducing the risk (osteoporosis prevention).

Premature ovarian failure and infertility:

POF can affect the women at any stage of life. This may be after birth of a baby or even before you start getting your menstrual periods. So, the most irresistible part of this issue is the factor of infertility or becoming pregnant. POF leads to the cessation of your periods and it is almost impossible to become pregnant without proper treatment.

Here are the treatment options for treating premature ovarian failure:

The treatments for POF mainly include fertility treatments like the usage of fertility drugs, donor eggs or child adoption. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is the most common choice for POF as this can help in balancing the hormones and inducing ovulation.

HRT is the combination of hormones progesterone and estrogen. You can take them in the form of pills. The dosage varies from person to person.

Assisted reproductive therapy (ART) or usage of donor eggs is also a good choice to have a baby. In vitro fertilization procedure is a good option for getting pregnant. In this procedure, a donor egg is fertilized in the lab with your partner’s sperm and it is placed inside your uterus for getting pregnancy. But, this method has its own pros and cons.

Also, adopting a child is a very rewarding experience and a most natural method of looking beyond premature ovarian failure.

So, there is no need to worry if you have POF. There are various treatment options available for your condition to have a healthy baby.

Then it is very important for you to ensure good health before you start trying to become pregnant successfully.

It is also important for you to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

This makes you to ensure that the off spring, to which you are going to give new life, will be free from all kinds of dangerous infections caused due to STDs.

Be aware of all potential causes of STDs!

Sexually transmitted diseases are potentially dangerous infections which can be easily transmitted from one person to other through sexual, oral or anal intercourse.

They can also be transmitted through sharing needles, direct contact with infected body fluids or even due to mutual masturbation.

These sexually transmitted diseases can cause various symptoms of infections in your body and potentially leads you to many health complications, including infertility.

Even constant remainders which mainly insist you to engage yourself only in safe sex have not eliminated the prevalence of these sexually transmitted diseases. Apart from life-threatening medical conditions, these STDs play a critical role in causing infertility problems in both women as well as men.

Never ignore STDs as they can considerably cause infertility!

As a result of the infections caused due to STDs, most of the women usually suffer with various health conditions. If you have any infections of STDs, then you can possibly get affected with pelvis inflammatory diseases, which can mainly lead to infertility.

Pelvic inflammatory disease significantly causes scarring on your fallopian tubes. Due to these scars, the fallopian tubes either gets obstructed or can majorly injure the mucosa and cilia, the main parts of fallopian tubes responsible for proper functioning. If this specific condition of fallopian tubes is left untreated, then the risk of getting infertility problem will be eventually doubled.

Gonoccocal (gonorrhea symptoms)and chlamydial cervical infections (facts about chlamydia) are the most specific sexually transmitted diseases which can directly cause pelvic inflammatory diseases. When these particular infections are left untreated, they can easily reach your pelvic regions and potentially infects your uterus, ovaries and also fallopian tubes. These organs are the most important reproductive organs in your body, which actually plays a vital role in your pregnancy. If these organs are infected, then it can possibly increase your risk of infertility.

So, try to be aware of all those potentially dangerous infections of STDs and try to take necessary precautionary steps to avoid them. It is always recommended to get tested for STDs regularly.

Particularly, if you are trying to become pregnant, it is very essential for you and also for your partner to confirm whether you both have sexually transmitted diseases. It can become a wise decision in your life, as it can ensure safety for you and also for your unborn off spring. So, try to get it done and give a healthy and wonderful life to your unborn offspring.

Whenever you have any ovulation or cervical problems or even if your partner has a very low sperm count, then your doctor can recommend you gamete intra-fallopian transfer in order to increase fertility.

What is the exact procedure involved in GIFT?

Gamete intra-fallopian transfer is one of the most assertive methods involved in assisted reproductive procedure. The most crucial steps involved in GIFT essentially include:

• As a first step, the ovaries present in your body are essentially stimulated with certain medications in order to produce more number of eggs in your body.
• These eggs are mainly collected through an aspiration method for fertilization.
• During the procedure, at least 3 to 4 eggs are immediately mixed with about 200,000 mobile sperms and this mixture is carefully placed in a special catheter.
• Now this mixture of eggs from your body and sperms from your partner is transferred into your body through a laparoscopic procedure.
• The last step involved in GIFT is very crucial step which has to be observed very carefully. In this step, you have to pay more attention to notice your early pregnancy symptoms. Your fertility specialist can possibly use a blood test in order to determine whether you have conceived or not.

Is there any difference between a GIFT and in vitro fertilization procedure?

GIFT tends to be more favorable approach for most of the women, who have greater chances of getting pregnant through various other means but have not been successful. But, in vitro fertilization (IVF) can become more appropriate for you if you have severe infertility concerns.

In vitro fertilization procedure mainly provides your fertility specialist with an opportunity to select only the best quality embryos on day 3 or day 5 for transfer whereas in gamete intra-fallopian transfer, the unfertilized eggs and sperms are placed in the fallopian tubes, in order to increase the chances of fertilization of eggs.

GIFT doesn’t involve any embryo transfer culture. This can enable some of you to pursue certain additional fertility treatments, without addressing the ethical concern about how many embryos to create or to transfer.

If you are really concerned about your infertility problem, then try to consult an efficient and better fertility specialist in order to solve your problem. Apart from GIFT, try to know more about other procedures involved in treating infertility problems and then try to choose the one which can give you much better results.

So, one of the most popular ways to increase your fertility chances is to use clomid medications.

Clomid is being used by many women for over 30 years. It can mainly help you to induce and also to regulate ovulation process in your reproductive system.

Clomid has many successful stories in increasing the chances of fertility in women. Clomid, also known as clomiphene citrate, is sold under specific brand names such as clomid or serophene [Female infertility].

This specific drug mainly works on stimulating the ovaries of your body to mature in an increased number of follicles, every month. As a result, the ovulation process in your reproductive system speeds up and gradually heightens your chances to become pregnant.

Clomid mainly influences the hypothalamus gland!

Clomid mainly works on hypothalamus of your brain and stimulates the production of human chronic gonadotrophin hormone in your body. This particular hormone subsequently aids in the production of follicle stimulating hormone in your body, which is very essential for the development of ovarian follicles that usually release egg for fertilization.

Clomid essentially tricks your body to realize the lowered levels of estrogen. As a result, your brain starts secreting gonadotrophin and subsequently follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone in your body. These hormones significantly show its influence on your reproductive system and stimulate your ovaries to produce more matured eggs for fertilization.

Clomid instinctively exhibits potential effects on your body!

Usually, clomid is considerably associated with potential side effects and complications, which makes you to think twice whether to consume this drug or not.

In general, the potential side effects of clomid are very mild and never create any severe problems for you. However, if you take clomid more than the dosage prescribed for you, then you can possibly experience these particular health conditions.

If your dosage crosses the permissible limits, you can possibly experience mood swings, breast tenderness, fatigue, headache and also nausea and vomiting. Almost 30% of women who are using clomid can probably develop considerable changes in their cervical mucous, which can make your conception much troublesome.

Be aware of potential complications associated with clomid!

The most common risk which is significantly associated with the usage of clomid is to develop ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). It is quite possible for you to develop OHSS with the use of any type of ovulation stimulating medication. Typically, this OHSS tend to disappear on its own without any treatment and doesn’t cause any severe health problem for you.

Certain other complications involved with the usage of clomid can considerably include kidney and liver problems, twisting of your ovaries, undesired fluid collection in your lungs and stomach.

So, try to be aware of all these complications and never try to use any kind of drugs for treating your fertility problems without appropriate prescription. Try to consult various fertility specialists in order to confirm that the usage of those specific drugs do not cause any complications for you and enjoy the success in increasing your chances to conceive without any health complications.