3 simple tricks to help boost fertility

About 10 percent of couples struggle with infertility — no big surprise considering all the biological stars that have to align to conceive a child. Here are a few facts about fertility:

Based on the available research, acupuncture does seems to promote fertility without any negative side effects.

• An increasing number of infertile women are using alternative therapies in conjunction with conventional treatment such as in vitro fertilization (IVF).
• One of them is acupuncture, which involves placing needles in the major pressure points of the body to create, as Eastern thinking goes, an appropriate energy balance for conception and improved blood flow down south.
• It seems to work. In 2002, a German study found that women undergoing IVF who received acupuncture treatments for 25 minutes before and after embryo transfer were more likely to get pregnant than those who did IVF without acupuncture (43 percent compared to only 26 percent).
• A second study conducted in China found that among 240 infertile women, 65 percent of those who received acupuncture treatment became pregnant compared to only 45 percent of those who received the fertility drug clomiphene (Clomid).
• When Swedish researchers reviewed studies exploring the effectiveness of acupuncture used in conjunction with IVF or fertility drugs, they found that three out of four studies showed significantly higher pregnancy rates in the acupuncture groups than in the control groups.
• Acupuncture also seems to mobilize inactive sperm. At least three studies have found that acupuncture improved sperm quality and swimming speed among men struggling with infertility.

Chronic stress dramatically affects a woman's ability to get pregnant and a man's ability to produce sperm.

• If you're trying to get pregnant, relax — literally. When you're chronically stressed, your body churns out excess stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. In large amounts, both of these hormones can prevent ovulation.
• Add to that the fact that people under pressure tend to gorge on comfort food, smoke more, exercise less and have less sex, and you have a recipe for infertility.
• Research shows that women who perceive their jobs as stressful and demanding are less likely to get pregnant than those who are comfortable with their workload.
• Other studies show that sperm count and semen quality drop significantly when men are under stress.
• Researchers in Turkey assessed semen samples from 27 healthy male medical students and found that when the men were under stress from final examinations, their semen contained fewer sperm and those that were present didn't swim very far.

The research is conclusive: even in small amounts, most lubricants do impair sperm's ability to reach and fertilize an egg.

• Lubricants may improve your sex life and make intercourse more comfortable, but they also act like spermicide, so if you're looking to get pregnant, try extra foreplay instead.
• Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center mixed four popular lubricants with donor sperm and then measured the effects on the swimmers after 60 minutes.
• The results:  all four lubricants inhibited sperm's swimming speed by 60 to 100 percent, which in turn affects their ability to fertilize an egg. Other studies found similar results.

Besides these, there are countless other factors that affect fertility. If you are having trouble conceiving, seeing a doctor or other specialist is always a good idea. These tricks can and should be used in conjunction with other medical or therapeutic remedies recommended to you by a professional.