Free Fertilaid for Women - Hosted by Emily's Latest - Ends 3/26/2010

Emily is hosting our Fertilaid giveaway on her blog.

We are following her journey as she tries to conceive and start a little family. Our best wishes go to Emily and her husband and we hope to hear baby news from Canada soon :-)

Not long ago Emily did a very informative Fertilaid review. Here's a bit of it:

"Now, I’ve been taking prenatal vitamins since August of 2008, so I know the routine. I have mainly stuck to the generic version. One big, heavy, rock hard pill every morning. I’m okay with that. So what makes FertilAid different?

It’s more than just a multivitamin. FertilAid for Women is a preconception vitamin that contains all the essential vitamins (including the crucial folic acid), but also contains herbs that regulate the monthly cycle. Have I mentioned that my cycle is a disaster? I was between 31-34 days before my first pregnancy, but my last few cycles have ranged from 31-38 days. So this for me (and for many women with irregular cycles like me, or PCOS) has a lot of appeal. I did a little research on what’s in there. Let’s take a look at these herbs (click on the numbers for sources)

• Red Clover Blossom Extract: Red clover is considered… to be a phytoestrogenic herb, useful in restoring estrogen balance in women. 1
• Siberian Ginseng: is …thought to stimulate the immune system (and) to help the body better cope with stress, either mental or physical… Siberian ginseng is generally considered safe when used as directed. However, …women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not take Siberian ginseng.2 This is important to note. FertilAid does state on the bottle that it should be stopped when pregnancy is confirmed.
• Vitex, or Chaste Tree Berry: acts on the hypothalamus and pituitary glands by increasing luteinizing hormone (LH) production and mildly inhibiting the release of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). This results in a shift in the ratio of estrogen to progesterone, with a rise in progesterone.3 You can imagine how that would be helpful in regulating periods and helping with PCOS. Again, because of its complex hormonal actions, chaste tree is not recommended for use during pregnancy.4 Another thing to note is that this is not an immediate effect – it may take several months to really have an impact.
• Ginkgo Biloba extract: I think this is included as it is believed to improve blood flow. Again, pregnant and breastfeeding women should not take gingko. 5

Okay, so you can see that these herbs might be beneficial to a woman trying to conceive. Regulating hormones, improving blood flow, reducing stress – all great for the wannabe mama. I’m kind of hesitant to trust in herbals – my Western upbringing includes a skeptic’s view of these things. Much as I like the idea, I find I don’t have a lot of faith. But I’m willing to give it a try.

The capsules themselves are pale green, very light in weight (easy to swallow), and made with a vegetable protein casing – which, as a vegetarian, I was very happy about (many pill capsules are made with gelatin, which is essentially made from boiling bones and hoofs. Ick.). You take one capsule three times a day, which distributes the vitamins more evenly than taking one giant dose once a day. Your body eliminates vitamins it can’t absorb, so it makes sense to me that a massive dose once a day is less effective than three smaller doses. I simply took one with each meal. I was worried that I’d forget to take them, but in a month (90 pills), I only missed four. Not bad. For the record, I did ask my OB/gyn for his opinion on multi-dose vitamins over single-dose, and he didn’t really weigh in one side or the other." (to read the entire review visit Emily's Latest Blog)

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Click here to enter the giveaway

Click here to buy Fertilaid for Women and Fertilaid Basal Thermometers 
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Eating Disorders, Fertility and Pregnancy

Women nowadays suffer from constant  exposure to "super thin beauty" and feel a lot of pressure to keep their bodies thin and toned. I mean...just open any magazine and what do you see?
ultra thin models, who are supposedly the ultimate standard of glamour and beauty - the ideal body type!
It's no wonder so many millions of people don't feel comfortable in their own skin and women specially may succumb to the pressure and develop eating disorders, like bulimia and anorexia.

So what happens when women with an eating disorder try to conceive a baby or are actually expecting a child?
"It is a growing and disturbing fact that more and more pregnant women are suffering eating disorders for fear of gaining too much of weight during pregnancy. By restricting calories and over exercising during pregnancy, you are consequently putting your own health and your baby’s health at risk."

If you are trying to conceive and have an eating disorder, your chances to conceive can be greatly reduced. If you are already pregnant and suffer from bulimia or anorexia, you should think of your baby first and recognize that you have a problem that can be fatal for your little one.

"Do not silently struggle with your eating disorder alone. Seeking professional help or confiding in family and friends, by no means will make you a bad mother in their eyes. The earlier you have the help of your support group and medical treatment, the better are your chances of successfully dealing with it. "

Click here to go the gurgle.com site and read more information on Eating Disorders affecting fertility and pregnancy

 

How to Conceive a Baby Girl Naturally: 3 Tips that Really Work!

OK! for all those hoping to have a baby girl, there are actually 3 things you can do to make sure your baby will be a girl

Wow...that's a statement!!

I always thought that the gender of a baby was decided by fate...

But yes, according to an article that appeared on Ezinearticles.com and also on PreggyTips.com "there are a few steps you can use to make sure the child you conceive will be a girl." "Even if your family is notorious for giving birth to boys"

George Christodoulou, author of the article, states that [people] can use science to naturally [influence] the gender of the baby. Here it goes:

1. Different Types of Sperm
This is where the science kicks in. The fact is there are two types of sperm; X sperm (girl) and Y sperm (boy). The Y sperm is weak and small, but fast. X sperm is slow, bigger, and lives longer. If you want to conceive a girl, have intercourse a day or two before you ovulate to give the X sperm time to travel. Nature has cleverly created this system to make sure there are equal numbers of men and woman being born at all times.
2. Add Acidity to Your Diet
Keeping with the above fact, by adding acidity to your diet you will be killing more of the male sperm because it is weaker and unable to take the harsher acidic environment. Eating more lemon, grapefruit, oranges, and other citrus foods will help. Keep in mind that doing this to the extreme can be dangerous.
3. Intercourse Positioning
Again, working off of the different sperm, your position during sex can effect the gender of the baby. Since the girl sperm is stronger and able to last longer, ejaculation in a very shallow position of the vagina will cause most of the boy sperm to die off before it reaches the egg.

According to Christodoulou, the 3 tips above will surely increase your chances of having a girl.
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I'd be curious to know if these tricks have actually worked for people.
The tips seem easy enough and harmless really, as long as you don't overdo the acidic diet.

Good luck to all of you out there hoping for a baby girl!