Looking for old wive's tales.

[TBKahuna123]

Well my wife and I have finally started to seriously try to get pregnant. Since mentioning this we've heard dozens of old myths and legends of things we should do to increase her chances. So here's a two part question.

1.) Any good urban legend type ideas you've heard?

2.) Anyone got anything they've actually tried that worked for them?

 

[Eilan]

Having sex worked for me.

*edit--most of the old wives' tales that I know of relate to pregnancy, not conception.

 

[TBKahuna123]

Having sex worked for me.

I was wondering who'd be the first smartass to say that. I shoulda known, eh?

 

[Mrs.P]

Sex when the cervical mucous is the consistency of an egg white. Oh, yeah, and doggy style

 

[Weird Harold]

1.) Any good urban legend type ideas you've heard?

There's the classic porn cliche about putting a pillow under her hips so the sperm doen't drip out and and can "soak in."

Most of the other urban legend type information I can think of is how to insure the sex of the child.

2.) Anyone got anything they've actually tried that worked for them?

Sorry, the mother of my children apparently has only had unprotected sex three times when she wasn't already pregnant -- she has three children and none of them required anything other than a lack of birth control.

If I was inclined to deliberately maximize the chance of pregnancy, temperature tracking and the reverse rythm method seem like the best place to start -- i.e. determine when she's fertile and inject the maximum amount of sperm at that time.

 

[cricketbug]

I second Weird Harold about the temp tracking and such, that way wifey knows she's ovulating and what-not. There are many websites about this. You can try www.fertilityfriend.com for more info on temp-ing.

What worked for us.... stop trying!

 

[Guest]

 

[Quoll]

Fact:
Losing weight if you are somewhat overweight.
My wife and I tried for over eight years to conceive, six of those were through IVF, none of which worked.
After discussions with the co-ordinator at our clinic and regular visits to a dietician my wife was not only able to lose some weight but as a result she also started ovulating on her own, in fact as she lost weight her cycles started to shorten as well, down from 38 days (if at all) to I think about 31 when she finally conceived, interestingly on a night when we had thrown out most of the tried and true methods of helping conception.
The amount of weight lost does not need to be a large amount, between 5 - 7 kilos (7 - 15 lbs approx) has been shown to be enough in quite a few cases.
My wife was actually invited back to the IVF clinic to help run a group there for obese women, she was their proof that it works. Out of a group of about 8 women, within 18 months 3 of them had conceived (and had babies).
She also proved it works with our second child too, she had been taking fertility drugs for a couple of years with no success so quit those and went back to losing the weight, again success.
The one other thing we maintained throughout all this was to keep a watch on cervical mucus (as mentioned above) which helps to pinpoint just where you are in the cycle and also can lead to some funny moments. "I'm ready now damnit."
"But baby, we are in the supermarket"
(I have no idea what overweight actually means these days, my concept and the media's differ completely, but that is another thread.)

 

[TBKahuna123]

Fact:
Losing weight if you are somewhat overweight.
My wife and I tried for over eight years to conceive, six of those were through IVF, none of which worked.
After discussions with the co-ordinator at our clinic and regular visits to a dietician my wife was not only able to lose some weight but as a result she also started ovulating on her own, in fact as she lost weight her cycles started to shorten as well, down from 38 days (if at all) to I think about 31 when she finally conceived, interestingly on a night when we had thrown out most of the tried and true methods of helping conception.
The amount of weight lost does not need to be a large amount, between 5 - 7 kilos (7 - 15 lbs approx) has been shown to be enough in quite a few cases.
My wife was actually invited back to the IVF clinic to help run a group there for obese women, she was their proof that it works. Out of a group of about 8 women, within 18 months 3 of them had conceived (and had babies).
She also proved it works with our second child too, she had been taking fertility drugs for a couple of years with no success so quit those and went back to losing the weight, again success.
The one other thing we maintained throughout all this was to keep a watch on cervical mucus (as mentioned above) which helps to pinpoint just where you are in the cycle and also can lead to some funny moments. "I'm ready now damnit."
"But baby, we are in the supermarket"
(I have no idea what overweight actually means these days, my concept and the media's differ completely, but that is another thread.)

The weight thing is a great point Quoll. My wife has PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). It's an insulin resistant condition which has a ton of effects on the body, including weight gain, irregular cycles and lack of ovulation. The way they are treating this is by controlling her bloodsugar, which will control the insulin resistance, which will help her start ovulating. This is done through diet and drugs.

The thing about women with PCOS is they almost always fight their weight, but find it difficult to impossible to lose that extra weight. This is a direct result of the insulin resistance. In this case, losing the weight and controlling the PCOS go hand in hand, one can't happen without the other. Just as controlling the blood sugar allows that weight loss, that weight loss helps control the blood sugar. I never realized how much blood sugar levels affect a woman's cycles, but they do. So the fact that your wife losing a little wieght helped is not surprising. In fact I've heard this a number of times.

It's nice to hear success stories though. I'm also not surprised to hear you saw IVF didn't work. We've already decided that we weren't going there. I have a number of friends who have tried invitro, and NONE of them have been successful. Strangely enough, every one of them has tried IVF, failed, and given up, only to become pregnant within a year. Given that success rate and the outrageous cost, it was easy to toss that aside early on.

Cervical mucous? This is the second time I've heard that mentioned here. That's one I haven't read anywhere before. I'll remember that. Like egg whites? At the risk of getting graphic, can someone be more specific in what one should look for?

 

[Quoll]

Cervical Mucous Monitoring
Another method for determining when ovulation occurs is through the cervical mucous monitoring test. This is the only method that will not require looking back to the past few cycles to analyze. It is based on examining the mucous that is normally secreted from the cervix in order to determine where the woman is in her cycle. The consistency changes during the cycle due to hormonal fluctuations. The key to this test is that the woman will actually have to get a sample of her cervical secretions (from the outer lips of her external genitalia) and stretch it between 2 of her fingers (the thumb and index finger) to test for the consistency.

Before Ovulation (low chance of pregnancy):The first few days following menstruation, there will be little or no discharge present. The woman should feel dryness around her vulva. During this time, she is usually not able to conceive.

Approaching Ovulation (chance of pregnancy):The first discharge that does appear should be moist or sticky and should be white or cream in color. In the finger test, the mucous should break easily. She will only be able to pull her fingers about 1 cm apart before it breaks. During this transition time, first the mucous will become cloudy and slightly stretchy during the finger test (this means that it will still break before the fingers are stretched all the way). As time progresses, the mucous will become greater in volume.

Right around ovulation (high chance of pregnancy): At this stage, mucous resembles egg whites. It is the thinnest, clearest and most abundant at this point in the cycle. Finger testing will allow the mucous to stretch quite a ways (several centimeters) before it breaks (if it breaks at all). ) The amount of this thin mucous will steadily increase until she experiences her 'mucous peak'. This is the last day of this period where the chance of conception is high. It is closely tied to ovulation. It is often only recognized in rertrospect. During this phase, the sperm's survival rate is higher. It can survive in cervical mucous for up to 72 hours, a significantly longer time than during the rest of the cycle.

After Ovulation (low chance of pregnancy): After ovulation, there is a marked change in mucous appearance. It returns to the sticky stage (does not stretch during finger test) and there is again a feeling of dryness around the vulva.

One caveat for this test is that sperm can be confused with the mucous secretions and the woman could make wrong assumptions. Also, vaginal infections, medication, and birth control can alter conditions and should be taken into consideration when examining any vaginal secretions.

Mucous can be easier to retrieve after bearing down (like she is going to have a bowel movement) or after exercising.

My wife developed gestational diabetes and was also on insulin for several months. The reduction of sugars in her diet appeared to be one of the main factors in her weight loss.
I think with IVF a lot depends on the type of infertility issue you have, I know that some of the fertility drugs used for helping ovulation can also dry up the cervical mucous which makes conception harder. Bit of a catch 22.

 

[fsmepls]

the wife had a difficult time getting pregnant until we did it twice a day, everyday, from period to period. it felt like the early years of marriage all over agian!

 

[TBKahuna123]

The one other thing we maintained throughout all this was to keep a watch on cervical mucus (as mentioned above) which helps to pinpoint just where you are in the cycle and also can lead to some funny moments. "I'm ready now damnit."

Sex when the cervical mucous is the consistency of an egg white.

OK I heard you say this and went, umm...ok, sure. I didn't really know what you meant. So last night we had our first class on something called the Creighton Method, which is a charting method that is done strictly through observation of the cervical mucus. Done right it is 99.5% effective, though the normal usage effectiveness is like 96.8%, in avoiding pregnancy. In trying to achieve pregnacy the numbers are almost as high.

The thign about this is that my wife's doctor uses this method extensively, not just for birth control/conception, but uses these observatiosn to adjust medication for her PCOS patients. This method does more than just tell about whether you are ovulating or not, but gives the woman a clear understanding of ALL phases of her cycles and can help pin point irregularities and what is needed to correct those irregularities.

I was surprised, to be honest. This is way beyond checking your temp, this is a simple yet scientifically sound technique. While the program is pushed by our local Catholic Diocese as a great way of natural brith control, this is a medical course run by a specialist, not a priest. She said she has talked with almost every Family Practive MD and OBGYN in town and given them the run down and all are comfortable with their patients using this. Many aggressively push this because of it's soundness medically. Totally noninvasive, easy to do an once you get the hang of making the observations, very accurate.

Now there's more to what we're doing than just the charting, butI was chuckling at the fact that it was all based on cervical mucus, something I first heard here. Just another example of the good sound advice to be found here at Lit.

 

[EJFan]

i was just reading that sperm is at its best (highest volume and most mobile) when ejaculation occurs once every three days. while this is purely a medical statistic, i'm sure it falls under the "your mileage may vary" category as well.

 

[TBKahuna123]

i was just reading that sperm is at its best (highest volume and most mobile) when ejaculation occurs once every three days. while this is purely a medical statistic, i'm sure it falls under the "your mileage may vary" category as well.

Actually we were told every other day. When trying to concieve have sex every other day and every day during the fertile period. That was a year or two ago using an older temp method. Basically the idea is to increase the volume of sperm, thus the chances of accidental conception.

This new method is billed as being without accident. The point is to know exactly when your most fertile period is. Of course sperm volume will still play a part in this, but there's certainly less guess work.

 

[EJFan]

Actually we were told every other day. When trying to concieve have sex every other day and every day during the fertile period. That was a year or two ago using an older temp method. Basically the idea is to increase the volume of sperm, thus the chances of accidental conception.

This new method is billed as being without accident. The point is to know exactly when your most fertile period is. Of course sperm volume will still play a part in this, but there's certainly less guess work.

i don't care what the science says... if you had to choose between having sex every day, or having sex every THIRD day, i think the every day method is preferable. maybe my thinking's whacked but i'm an avid supporter of the frequent fucking theory.

 

[TBKahuna123]

i don't care what the science says... if you had to choose between having sex every day, or having sex every THIRD day, i think the every day method is preferable. maybe my thinking's whacked but i'm an avid supporter of the frequent fucking theory.

Depends on if you have a low sperm count I suppose. I mean, if you know you are fertile you can target htose days, rather than having to try every day to ensure you hit the right day.

Fuck, why am I arguing against every day sex? I htink I need a nap or something.

 

[Eilan]

Depends on if you have a low sperm count I suppose. I mean, if you know you are fertile you can target htose days, rather than having to try every day to ensure you hit the right day.

I have a twinge in my side when I'm ovulating (isn't that called mittelschmerz or something?). My hubby had a low sperm count, and this is one thing that helped us with our timing when we were trying for our little ones.

Of course, it's a good thing I ended up getting a tubal! I'm so fertile that I'd probably get pregnant just from reading a guy's post on Lit!

 

[jethrobodeen]

Well my wife and I have finally started to seriously try to get pregnant. Since mentioning this we've heard dozens of old myths and legends of things we should do to increase her chances. So here's a two part question.

1.) Any good urban legend type ideas you've heard?

2.) Anyone got anything they've actually tried that worked for them?

Heh, guy leaves his socks on for a girl, takes socks off for a boy so you can dig your feet into the sheets for more push

But seriously, most of the time, they say it's the guy (sorry just parroting). Highly recommended are BOXER SHORTS. Apparently they allow the body to naturally raise and lower the testicles to maintain optimum temperature for sperm production.

Best of luck to you and keep us informed. I like cuban cigars

-JB

 

[TBKahuna123]

Heh, guy leaves his socks on for a girl, takes socks off for a boy so you can dig your feet into the sheets for more push

But seriously, most of the time, they say it's the guy (sorry just parroting). Highly recommended are BOXER SHORTS. Apparently they allow the body to naturally raise and lower the testicles to maintain optimum temperature for sperm production.

Best of luck to you and keep us informed. I like cuban cigars

-JB

Thanks, I'll remember that. I think I even have a source for Cubans!

I was just informed I need to go get a sperm count test done again. It's been about 5 years and all was good back then, but I've taken different medications and stuff. Plus it's such an easy test that it's better to just find out for sure.

My wife was laughing last ngiht about taking too many pucks to the nads as being a potential problem. I didn't think it was all that funny myself, but...

 

[Eilan]

I was just informed I need to go get a sperm count test done again. It's been about 5 years and all was good back then, but I've taken different medications and stuff. Plus it's such an easy test that it's better to just find out for sure.

Some time after my husband had surgery to repair the varicocele that was causing his fertility issues, he had to go back in to have his count checked. The doctor came into the exam room with the news that the vasectomy had failed. My husband said, "I sure as hell hope so, since I didn't have a vasectomy!"

 

[EJFan]

Some time after my husband had surgery to repair the varicocele that was causing his fertility issues, he had to go back in to have his count checked. The doctor came into the exam room with the news that the vasectomy had failed. My husband said, "I sure as hell hope so, since I didn't have a vasectomy!"

LMAO!

this is why i use acupuncture for birth control.

 

[jethrobodeen]

My wife was laughing last ngiht about taking too many pucks to the nads as being a potential problem. I didn't think it was all that funny myself, but...

I hear ya, for me it's been 25 years of getting kicked in the groin (sparring) although you do learn early to get good at protecting yourself. Thank God for the invention of the groin cup or I probably wouldn't have three kids!

-JB

 

[TBKahuna123]

I hear ya, for me it's been 25 years of getting kicked in the groin (sparring) although you do learn early to get good at protecting yourself. Thank God for the invention of the groin cup or I probably wouldn't have three kids!

-JB

I just started wearing TWO cups. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Cathleen]

"I don't know nuthin' 'bout birthing no babies Miss Scarlett."

Kahuna, I just want to wish you and Mrs. Kahuna the best. Looking forward to hearing the pitter-padder of little Kahunas. Enjoy!

 

[jethrobodeen]

/Fuck, why am I arguing against every day sex? I htink I need a nap or something.

hahahahahahahhahahahahahaha I just caught that. You crack me up dude.

-JB