Things You May Not Want to Hear When You're Trying to Get Pregnant: Stop Drinking Alcohol

"Anything but THAT, Dr. Kristiansen!" I've heard those very words uttered by patients in my office at Houston Fertility Center a few times. There a number of recommendations I might make for optimizing attempts at getting pregnant -- some of those requests are not welcomed by patients!

Here's one: Stop drinking alcohol.

Now, that's a pretty stringent version of what I actually recommend. That blogpost, "TTC with IVF? Skip the Alcohol Tonight" was published on New Year's Eve 2009. Nothing about the information in the links therein has changed: subsequent research bears out the conclusion that alcohol doesn't do you a bit of good if you're using IVF to conceive. In fact -- and there are plenty of theories but no certain, understandable reason yet -- drinking alcohol might be the thing that tips the conception scales against you.

Most recently, clinical researchers published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' journal, that enjoying as few as 4 drinks per week reduces your chances of IVF success. Interestingly, that holds true for couples as well as women who were surveyed prior to going through their first IVF cycle.

As I said, some Houston Fertility Center patients bristle when I suggest they stop drinking alcohol while trying to conceive. I'm sure the same is true in other fertility specialists' offices. But taking charge of your reproductive health means holding yourself accountable -- a little firm but positive self-talk might be in order. If it feels easier to ponder cutting back instead of quitting altogether, try that instead and use the less-than-four-drinks per week as a gauge. Or tell yourself that you're training for parenthood, a time when the idea of drinking more might seem appealing but is really at cross purposes with your goals -- just like during an IVF cycle.

In the end, you'll want to look back on your trying times and be able to say you did everything you could to have that baby.

~ Dr. Sonja Kristiansen M.D.

Fertility Treatment & Wellness Go Hand in Hand

A recent article on Fertility Authority reminds fertility patients to get their flu shots (and be sure you get the shot, not the nasal spray!) The article reminded me about all the preventive health measures that might get back-burnered by patients.

Many new patients at Houston Fertility Center enter fertility treatment territory in great physical shape and feeling emotionally hopeful. Some arrive at their first consultation already dragged out, physically and mentally, by their months or even years of trying to conceive. Naturally, their first question is, "Dr. Kristiansen, what can we do to finally get pregnant?" My first recommendation for all of them is to optimize their fertility at baseline by getting or staying healthy, whatever that means for them.

Once you enter fertility treatment, you could find your calendar newly crowded by the required exams and office consults, by scheduled at-home injections and tests, even by scheduled intimate time with your partner. It's easy to lose track of all the good things you've learned to make a regular part of your day-to-day experience to keep yourself feeling fit and well.

Fertility treatment and preventive health measures are different yet interactive. Many facets of your fertility in general can change, for better or worse, as your overall health changes. So you could say your efforts at maintaining wellness -- balanced, healthy diet, moderate and regular exercise, relaxation activities, managing exposure to toxins -- are even more important during this point in your life.

So do remember your flu shot and all the other good things you do to stay healthy. And if you haven't yet instituted preventive health activities into your life, now's the time. It's an investment not only in your wellness, but your fertility, too.

~ Dr. Sonja Kristiansen M.D.

If You're Trying to Conceive, Skip the Triathlon. Try Yoga.

Along the same lines as there being no magic to getting pregnant, whether with IVF or without treatment, there's also no perfect exercise that will lead to conception.


But... yoga comes close.


Conception (and pregnancy) have much to do with balance. Not too much of this, and just the right amount of that. Your fitness factors, including your weight and body mass index, flexibility and strength, all play roles in keeping your endocrine system humming along.


Choice of exercise is a very personal thing. You should take several things into consideration when choosing the type, level, and frequency of physical exertion you engage in, whether you're trying to conceive or not. For example, running isn't the safest idea for everyone, but for some, it's perfect. Swimming is great, but not everyone has regular, easy access to a pool. The same could be said of biking.


As this article in The Windsor Star describes, yoga is about more than stretching and posing. If done well, yoga can both strengthen and relax your body, which is a state of being that facilitates hormone health.


You may want to avoid the most rigorous forms of yoga (there are many different versions), including the forms that are taught in studios heated above 90 degrees. And if you can find a yoga instructor who knows specific poses that are good for your reproductive organs, that's a bonus. (Here at Houston Fertility Center, we'll help you find one...)


Remember, you're looking for balance through activity.
Put your dreams of being a triathlete on hold until after the baby comes, but don't shelve your body's need to move and breathe.


~Dr. Sonja Kristiansen MD

Some Folks Will Do Anything to Get Pregnant

You've probably caught yourself saying things like "I'd stand on my head if it would help me have a baby!" A recently published study from Israel of 219 women going through IVF found that bringing in the clowns can help.

It sounds pretty funny, but this was bona fide research published in Fertility & Sterility, the journal of my esteemed colleagues, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

The clinic employed the services of a "medical clown" who performed a standardized routine for each patient on some days. Women who attended clinic on a "non-clown" day were less likely to get pregnant, even taking into consideration factors like age, infertility cause, and the number of embryos transferred.

Like the lead researcher, Dr. Shevach Friedler, says, it's "one of the least hazardous interventions" for IVF patients.

While I'm sorry to say that we don't have a clown on staff here at Houston Fertility Center (yet), we do take pretty seriously the growing body of research that points to connections between stress and treatment success. Besides offering a soothing environment at our clinics with staff members who are sensitive to your worries, we refer patients to massage, acupuncture, and counseling professionals, all of whom specialize in the needs of fertility patients. I'm a believer in the value of learning personal stress management and the positive impact on infertility and treatment.

You never know what people will try next. So the next time you're at our place for an appointment, don't be surprised if you hear laughter. After all, helping people make their dreams come true can be pretty fun!

Getting Through the Holidays with Infertility However You Can

Seasonal holidays are tough on the spirit when you're trying to get pregnant and can't. The Web is full of places you can go to and read or chat with others about ways to cope. Here are a few that I recommend:

Thanksgiving: To Attend or Not To Attend: That Is the Question
The title says "Thanksgiving," but this piece by Lori Shandle-Fox on Fertility Blogs covers all family gatherings with a light heart.

Infertility and Holidays: Don't Just Survive - Thrive!
Tracy Morris on FertilityCommunity covers a lot of different emotional tactics that can help you view holidays from a different perspective.

The Season of Giving
An interview with Kathy Stern of Southwest Surrogacy Associates, LLC about the role of giving in third-party reproductive treatment, during the holidays and beyond.

The Perfect Storm of Holidays: Infertility and Christmas
Melissa Ford taps into a perfect analogy with "The Great Peanut Day". Use it to explain your emotions to those who just don't seem to 'get it.'

Tips for Facing Infertility During the Holidays
On ParentDish, Mary Beth Sammons interviews a woman who's been going through fertility treatment for six years. Her personal advice - "what helps most is 'to know that I'm not alone.'"

There are plenty more out there -- just search for "holidays and infertility" and you'll see that, indeed, you're not the only one.

A Little Education For Concerned Onlookers

This quick-hit on MomLogic provides a good sampling of the things that
women who are struggling to get pregnant do NOT want to hear. Might be a
nice link to post on certain friends' Facebook walls...

10 Things Never to Say to a Woman Trying to Conceive

Trying to Get Pregnant After 30 - Time to Panic?

Good Morning America featured a Scottish study that concluded by the time a woman is 30 years old, she's already lost 90 percent of her eggs.

That's enough to make the typical young woman panic.

We've always known that female fertility is more dependent on age than any other variable. This study points to a sharper decline in fertility than we like to believe.

Before everyone rushes to assisted reproductive treatment, though, let's remember that stress can negatively impact fertility.

Next, it's easy enough to have a consultation and do a quick work-up to determine your baseline level of fertility. That won't provide the definitive answer as to whether or not you will have a baby later, but it can certainly help a woman determine if she has an unexpected, silent infertility condition. Then, a plan of action can be put together to promote her future fertility.

Panic won't help you get pregnant. A little foresight and action can.

"iPhone Baby" Not So New; More Fertility 101 Needed

Here's an eye-catching piece: an article about a young woman who finally conceived after years of infertility -- all because of an iPhone app.

Essentially all that happened here was good (and successful -- congratulations!) use of an old TTC standard done up in new technology. The app she downloaded was one of apparently several that counts a woman's cycle days and flags her when she should be at her most fertile.

Keyword here is "should"...

One of the most common reasons that some women don't get pregnant easily is ovulatory disorder. There are plenty of ways that a woman's ovulation can become disrupted, out of sync, or cease altogether. The important thing to know is that very often, the woman has no symptoms to clue her in to her body's fertility problem. Simply having a period, even regularly, doesn't necessary mean ovulation is occurring on target.

So, yes, timing is crucial in trying to get pregnant. But for a 30-year-old to have tried unsuccessfully for *four years* and still only then resort to counting the days in her cycle... that tells me our fertility educational efforts aren't getting out there like we hope, whether or not the technology is a calendar on the wall or an iPhone app.