Your job and fertility

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We spend a lot of time at work, and it may impact our health more than we realize, including our fertility. Let's talk about some factors that may be important and what you can do about them.

One factor is stress. I'm sure you already knew that, but it's probably the most important one we can talk about. I know from experience that a very stressful component at work is your manager. Managing up is a skill, and I've learned a lot about doing it well, but then there are managers who just radiate stress. If you can find another job, sometimes that's the best idea.

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Baby New Year?

If getting pregnant is high on your list of resolutions for 2010, be sure to read this quick guide for conceiving and having a healthy baby before you reach the point of no return...

There's more to conceiving a healthy baby than "sperm meets egg." To reduce the risks of miscarriage and birth defects and to promote your fetus's health, you're going to want healthy sperm from a healthy dad-to-be to meet a healthy egg in a healthy mom-to-be.

• Get preconception checkups
• Follow a healthy diet
• Take folic acid supplements
• Watch your weight
• Get proper exercise
• Avoid alcoholic beverages and don't smoke
• Reduce stress

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Sleep Linked to Infertility

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Correction: Sleep-deprivation linked to infertility. (I had a feeling that would get your attention.) Did you ever consider that? How could you with all the other things to worry about:

You've cut down on alcohol, caffeine, and even processed food.

You've scheduled more time to relax and tried to reduce the stress in your life.

You've started a consistent exercise routine and detoxified your house.

You've charted your monthly cycle, bought ovulation kits, and still...nothing.

But you've overlooked one very important element: sleep, which you don't get enough of.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-michael-j-breus/sleep-linked-to-infertili_b_260367.html

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10 common fertility myths

Once a couple makes the life-changing decision to start a family, they can become extremely frustrated if they do not conceive on the first try. There are many legitimate reasons as to why the couple may not be conceiving, but there is also a great deal of misinformation on the subject of fertility.

1. A woman's menstrual cycle is 28 days.

2. A woman can get pregnant on only one day of her cycle.

3. Stress causes infertility.

4. Sperm live for only several hours

Read more: http://www.examiner.com/x-12286-Houston-Pregnancy-Examiner~y2009m7d8-10-fertility-myths

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Stress affects fertility

Researchers from University of California, Berkeley claim to have found a missing piece of puzzle about how stress causes sexual dysfunction.

The study showed that stress delivers a double whammy on reproductive system and fertility.

It is already known that stress boosts levels of stress hormones - glucocorticoids such as cortisol - that inhibit the body''s main sex hormone, gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH), and subsequently suppresses sperm count, ovulation and sexual activity.

Read more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health/Stress-affects-fertility/articleshow/4662447.cms

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How To Eliminate Stress During Pregnancy

Stress is your body's natural response to events that make you feel threatened or upset. In small doses it can be helpful making you feel focused and alert. At some point however it stops being helpful and begins to damage your health, your emotions and your quality of life. Studies have also proved that as early as 17 weeks into a pregnancy stress hormones in the mother are passed into the amniotic fluid; this means that when you are feeling stressed your baby is too.

It's very important therefore to remain as stress free as possible during pregnancy - eliminating sources of stress, and when this is not possible learning how to cope with it. The first step is learning to recognise the symptoms of stress and this can sometimes be difficult because the signs mirror some of the normal complaints of pregnancy. Symptoms might include: being quick to anger; nail biting; being unable to concentrate; loss of appetite; skin problems; frequent coughs and colds; indigestion; tense muscles; headaches and rapid heartbeat.

If you think you are suffering from stress, talk to someone! This could be your partner, family, friends or your midwife. Sometimes just getting it out into the open can be extremely helpful.
There are many ways to combat stress, here are just a few:

Eat regularly and healthily - both you and your baby will benefit from healthy nutritious food. During times of stress it's easy to forget to eat or to reach for the junk food, but the food you eat can have a direct affect on your mood. Stress busting foods include bananas, broccoli, avocados, citrus fruits and whole grain breads, pasta and rice. Try to avoid caffeine too.

Take regular, gentle exercise -this helps to get rid of stress hormones such as adrenaline from your body whilst encouraging the production of endorphins, the "feel good" hormones. Swimming and walking are both ideal during pregnancy. Exercise benefits both your physical and mental health but remember to always consult your doctor before starting an exercise programme.

Try relaxation techniques - yoga, meditation and visualisation are all good. Practicing every day will help to calm you, and make you less susceptible to stress.

Listen to relaxation music -This is a quick, cheap and effective way to beat stress. Pick something that you enjoy listening to, preferably with a tempo of around 60 bpm. Clinical trials in Taiwan showed that mums to be who listened to relaxing music during their pregnancies showed a marked decrease in stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Get enough good quality sleep -try to get into a good bedtime routine - going to bed at roughly the same time each night, having a relaxing bath before bed, and making your bedroom as calming as possible. Try to avoid eating too soon before bedtime as this can increase the chances of heartburn.

Take some time out - call a friend; go for a walk somewhere beautiful; paint your nails; watch a funny film or have a massage - any of these will help you to put your worries into perspective, and pregnancy is the perfect time to pamper yourself.

Hope this will help you to eliminate some stress during you pregnancy and remember all you need is to adopt a positive attitude and keep learning.

Reduce Stress During Pregnancy

Many mothers during pregnancy face extremely stressful circumstances. Pregnancy is a nine month journey for both you and your baby. Pregnancy typically lasts 40 weeks (about 9 months). Stress-related changes in a pregnant woman's heart rate and blood pressure, along with chronic anxiety, can affect the heart rate of her developing fetus, a new study concludes.

Maternal stress during pregnancy is also found to cause of asymmetry in coordination of ears, fingers, feet, elbows, etc. Maternal stress is also linked with imperfections in the developing nervous system which can lead to problems of perception, thinking, and memory. These mothers experience constant stress, shame, loneliness and, sometimes, clinical depression during pregnancy or after giving birth. Their partners or families may not encourage them to seek help because the problem it is not seen as a medical one. There are many negative side effects of stress during pregnancy. Very high levels of stress may contribute to an increased risk of premature delivery or low birth weight babies. Still other studies suggest that overly high stress levels can increase your heart rate, blood pressure and produce chronic anxiety.

Maternal stress during pregnancy is also found to cause of asymmetry in coordination of ears, fingers, feet, elbows, etc. Stress doesn't have to be bad especially when you take care to manage the stress you experience during your pregnancy. Eat a healthy, well balanced diet. Eating well will provide you the energy you need to get through the day, especially when you feel tired or overworked. Exercise has huge stress reducing qualities. Walking is another activity you can do in order to keep fit and reduce stress. Shortness of breath is pretty common among pregnant women, so if you feel like you've pushed yourself too far, take a rest then move at a slower pace. Water is highly important for more reasons than keeping your body hydrated. A common reason for headaches is a lack of water in the system. Try not to drink beverages in excessive amounts right before bed. Try some natural stress reduction techniques including biofeedback, yoga or meditation. Reduce your workload. If you find you are doing too much in a day find ways to delegate certain tasks to others.

Reduce Stress During Pregnancy Tips

1. Eat a healthy, well balanced diet.

2. Drinking lots of water.

3. Regular exercise makes you feel great and is a wonderful way to limit anxiety in your life.

4. Relaxing by meditating, listening to music or writing in a journal.

5. Resisting any urges to drink alcohol, smoke or take herbal products or drugs.

6. Staying away from stressful people and stressful situations, when possible.

7. Try some natural stress reduction techniques including biofeedback, yoga or meditation.

8. Reduce your workload.



Juliet Cohen writes articles on diseases and conditions and women health care.

Article Source: http://www.articleclick.com

Enlarge your Mother’s Day perspective: Barren, broken or blessed?

Photo by Mrinkk
Mother's Day is this Sunday, May 11.

For many it will be an uplifting day, but for some, it triggers dread, sorrow or bittersweet emotions.

I know because I've heard many of your stories. You lost your mother. You lost your wife, the mother to your children. Your mom has an addiction. Your mom has Alzheimer's. Your mom has cancer. You lost your child. Your child has health or learning problems. Your child is rebelling. You are battling for custody. Your child is in jail. You're waiting to adopt. You want children, but can't get pregnant.

Like many of you, I'm a daughter and step-daughter to long-distance moms. I've experienced barren, broken and blessed times in my motherhood journey. My experience through infertility, adoption, the death of an infant son, miscarriages, birthing babies in my 40's, and enduring menopause while parenting strong-willed sons who haven't always made the right choices, has enlarged my perspective. My barren and broken times have stripped away some of my finger-pointing and apathy, to see people everywhere in need of compassion, which is a blessing. I've enlarged my Mother's Day remembrance list to include a multitude of people.

Ironically, the first person on my Mother's Day list this year is a man. An only child who lost his mom, this will be his first Mother's Day without her. A "thinking of you" card and chocolate (that was his mom's favorite) are on my list. Another friend lost her young son so I'll leave a surprise on his grave for her. My out-of-state friend Carol will spend Mother's Day on a prison yard where her only son is serving a life sentence. I think I'll send a card or book to him to give to her. Another friend wonders if her son will be sober, I'll invite her to go to a support meeting with me. For the worker at my son's school. who is expecting a baby with a fatal birth defect, I'll leave an anonymous note and teddy bear to fill her empty arms.

I have plenty of people on my list who are blessed or have blessed me. A pregnant friend, a first-time mom and grandmom, a single woman who has made an impact on my life, an empty-nest mom, a mother-like friend, a teacher, a mentor, an acquaintance, a foster care mom and a woman waiting for her adoptive child and, of course, my husband, who plays Mr. Mom when I am away speaking.

I encourage you to enlarge your Mother's Day perspective this year. Who are the barren or broken people you know? Who are the women (or men) who have encouraged you in your motherhood? And if you don't know any, open your eyes, look around in our community ... trust me, they are everywhere. Remember them in a practical, personal or anonymous way. And if you are a barren or broken mom reading this, I pray you know you are not alone and others do care. Be open to seek and receive compassionate support.

May we enlarge our perspective, remember others this Mother's Day and become known as a compassionate community. Happy Mothers Day!

Kathe Wunnenberg lives in Ahwatukee Foothills with her family. She is founder of Hopelifters, www.hopelifters.com , and the author of Grieving The Loss of a Loved One, Grieving The Child I Never Knew, and Longing for a Child. Meet her on Friday, May 9 at Amazing Grace Bookstore in Tempe, where she will be the guest speaker. Contact her at kathe@hopelifters.com .

Source: http://www.ahwatukee.com/entertainment/mother_3119___article.html/mom_day.html

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It´s Never Too Late! Pregnancy After 40

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It is happening! Pregnancy after 40 is no more as rare as it used to be. Congratulations, if you have also conceived. It is not an easy journey when you get pregnant after the age of 40. There are extra precautions to be taken, more tests to be carried out, and there is always the fear of some thing going wrong.

Miscarriage, premature delivery, delivering a baby with a genetic defect and the list goes on and on. To top it all you have to put up with comments and questions from your ´well meaning´ friends and relatives. But believe in yourself, pray, and read the right kind of books. This will help you through the various stages.

Reasons For Pregnancy Over 40

Maybe you were career-oriented and feared that child rearing will come in the way, or you may have had a late marriage. Divorce and remarriage could be yet another reason. Maybe you were undergoing infertility treatment. Maybe even a psychological buildup due to a neglected childhood affected your decision to have a baby earlier on in life. Now it is anyways not the time to ponder over the reasons but to go ahead and do whatever possible to nurture your unborn baby.

Getting pregnant over 40 is difficult as the reproductive capacity slowly decreases after 35. If you are one of those who are trying to balance a high stress job and your pregnancy, I am telling you that you are only adding to your risks. Take up something less stressful and yet fulfilling. Eat healthy, avoid alcohol and caffeine. Have reasonable physical activity and take adequate rest. Try to practice meditation.

Prenatal Tests

You should undergo all the routine blood, urine and blood pressure tests. In addition, you can opt to get additional tests done as applicable for late pregnancies. These tests are done to detect defects like Down´s syndrome. Although not fully accurate, a normal result can be a great relief. If the results are not good, prepare for the arrival of a baby with special needs. You can also decide not to get these additional tests done. The risks involved in getting pregnant above the age of 40 are similar to that of a late after the age of 35 but are definitely more pronounced. Gain more insight on the subject by reading books. Get yourself a pregnancy wheel to keep track of your progress.


Social Aspects Of Pregnancy After 40

Whom all to tell and when to tell that you are pregnant? As you missed your period and felt the early symptoms, you must have already told your partner. After the medical tests confirm that you are pregnant, you may want to confide in one or two of your friends and relatives. Since it is a pregnancy over the age of 40, you might want to wait till the end of the first trimester also. If the additional prenatal tests are normal, you may feel more confidence in telling others. In any case, be prepared for some disapproving comments. Maintain your calm and peace. Let your pregnancy after 40 be safe for you and your baby.

Congratulations for getting pregnant over 40. If you are worried over what others will say, don´t. Although, you have to be extra cautious as the risks increase, there is no reason why you should not enjoy your pregnancy. Get the required prenatal tests done and maintain a healthy routine throughout your pregnancy, study the pregnancy wheel for the different pregnancy stages, and all will be great.

Source: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/52340

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Offering Hope

The stress, money and marital problems were bad enough. But after months of trying and failing to get pregnant, the ultimate blow came when a good friend didn't invite Paula Dowd to a baby shower for fear it would be hurtful.

"People can't relate," Dowd said. "They don't understand what you're going through. You start to feel more and more socially isolated."

Dowd's struggle with infertility, which she eventually overcame, led to a new outlook on life - and a major career change. A few years after her ordeal began, Dowd quit her job as a marketing director, went back to school and become a counselor to help infertile women.

This month, Dowd will begin support classes at her new MindBodyWellness clinic in Redondo Beach, a practice that she hopes will complement fertility physicians in the South Bay.

"As a society, we tend to minimize the impact that infertility has on women," Dowd said. "For some women, particularly in some minority cultures, child-bearing is their sole purpose in life. It's like, if I can't do this, who am I?"

More women than ever are struggling with fertility problems. Roughly 15 percent of couples - whether the problem be with the woman, man or both - can't conceive for a variety of reasons, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Health experts say one of the factors is that women are waiting longer to have children. The number of new mothers over 40 tripled from 1980 to 2005, according to the California Public Policy Institute. Nationally, the average age of first-time mothers rose to an all-time high of 27 in 2005. After the age of 35, it becomes much more difficult for women to conceive naturally.

Dowd was certainly in tune with today's trend. At 32, she and her husband decided they were emotionally and financially ready for a family. After a year of failed attempts, she started to get worried.

They spent thousands of dollars on various medical procedures, but nothing worked. She was also diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition in which the female body produces a high level of androgens, or male hormones, that inhibit pregnancy.

Tensions were running high, she said. Dowd had no problem adopting, but as an only child, she wanted at least one biological child.

"I had a strong desire to carry that genetic link to the future," she said.

She decided to try a 10-week mind-body class suggested by her fertility doctor. In the group meetings, participants talked about what they were going through, meditated, practiced yoga and learned how to take care of themselves.

Armed with a calming CD of music, she went to her doctor for in vitro fertilization, an expensive procedure in which the eggs and sperm are fertilized in a petri dish. A month later, at age 34, she was pregnant.

"It was totally different that time," she said. "I went into it completely relaxed, centered."

Research shows that when stressed, the body triggers the "flight or fight" response and releases toxins to ward off danger. Those toxins can lead to a number of health problems, including infertility, she said.

Dowd was resigned to adopt a second child - she and her husband had already spent about $30,000 on fertility treatments, which weren't covered by insurance. But she continued to practice her relaxation techniques, and became pregnant again at 37 without any medical assistance.

That's when Dowd became a believer. After being approached by a few women at work who struggled with similar problems, the new mother decided on a new career path.

She became a licensed counselor and began working with women individually at a MindBodyWellness clinic in Santa Monica. Dowd, who is now 40, plans to hold her first group meeting at her new offices on Palos Verdes Boulevard later this month.

In addition to helping women conceive, she said she hopes her work will create happier women, and therefore happier mothers. Even if women can't conceive, "they will become parents if they want to be," she said, referring to adoption and other options.

"We don't realize how much control we have over our bodies," she said. "For me this is about giving women possibility and hope."

FIND OUT MORE

For information about the MindBodyWellness clinic in Redondo Beach, call 310-373-9355 or go to http://www.mindbodywellnessla.com/ .

Source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_8170715

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Fat, Carbs and the Science of Conception

In a groundbreaking new book, Harvard researchers look at the role of diet, exercise and weight control in fertility. Guarantee: you will be surprised.

Every new life starts with two seemingly simple events. First, an active sperm burrows into a perfectly mature egg. Then the resulting fertilized egg nestles into the specially prepared lining of the uterus and begins to grow. The key phrase in that description is "seemingly simple." Dozens of steps influenced by a cascade of carefully timed hormones are needed to make and mature eggs and sperm. Their union is both a mad dash and a complex dance, choreographed by hormones, physiology and environmental cues.

A constellation of other factors can come into play. Many couples delay having a baby until they are financially ready or have established themselves in their professions. Waiting, though, decreases the odds of conceiving and increases the chances of having a miscarriage. Fewer than 10 percent of women in their early 20s have issues with infertility, compared with nearly 30 percent of those in their early 40s. Sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia and gonorrhea, which are on the upswing, can cause or contribute to infertility. The linked epidemics of obesity and diabetes sweeping the country have reproductive repercussions. Environmental contaminants known as endocrine disruptors, such as some pesticides and emissions from burning plastics, appear to affect fertility in women and men. Stress and anxiety, both in general and about fertility, can also interfere with getting pregnant. Add all these to the complexity of conception and it's no wonder that infertility is a common problem, besetting an estimated 6 million American couples.

It's almost become a cliché that diet, exercise and lifestyle choices affect how long you'll live, the health of your heart, the odds you'll develop cancer and a host of other health-related issues. Is fertility on this list? The answer to that question has long been a qualified "maybe," based on old wives' tales, conventional wisdom—and almost no science. Farmers, ranchers and animal scientists know more about how nutrition affects fertility in cows, pigs and other commercially important animals than fertility experts know about how it affects reproduction in humans. There are small hints scattered across medical journals, but few systematic studies of this crucial connection in people.

We set out to change this critical information gap with the help of more than 18,000 women taking part in the Nurses' Health Study, a long-term research project looking at the effects of diet and other factors on the development of chronic conditions such as heart disease, cancer and other diseases. Each of these women said she was trying to have a baby. Over eight years of follow-up, most of them did. About one in six women, though, had some trouble getting pregnant, including hundreds who experienced ovulatory infertility — a problem related to the maturation or release of a mature egg each month. When we compared their diets, exercise habits and other lifestyle choices with those of women who readily got pregnant, several key differences emerged. We have translated these differences into fertility-boosting strategies.

At least for now, these recommendations are aimed at preventing and reversing ovulatory infertility, which accounts for one quarter or more of all cases of infertility. They won't work for infertility due to physical impediments like blocked fallopian tubes. They may work for other types of infertility, but we don't yet have enough data to explore connections between nutrition and infertility due to other causes. And since the Nurses' Health Study doesn't include information on the participants' partners, we weren't able to explore how nutrition affects male infertility. From what we have gleaned from the limited research in this area, some of our strategies might improve fertility in men, too. The plan described in The Fertility Diet doesn't guarantee a pregnancy any more than do in vitro fertilization or other forms of assisted reproduction. But it's virtually free, available to everyone, has no side effects, sets the stage for a healthy pregnancy, and forms the foundation of a healthy eating strategy for motherhood and beyond. That's a winning combination no matter how you look at it.

Slow Carbs, Not No Carbs
Once upon a time, and not that long ago, carbohydrates were the go-to gang for taste, comfort, convenience and energy. Bread, pasta, rice, potatoes—these were the highly recommended, base-of-the-food-pyramid foods that supplied us with half or more of our calories. Then in rumbled the Atkins and South Beach diets. In a scene out of George Orwell's "1984," good became bad almost overnight as the two weight-loss juggernauts turned carbohydrates into dietary demons, vilifying them as the source of big bellies and jiggling thighs. Following the no-carb gospel, millions of Americans spurned carbohydrates in hopes of shedding pounds. Then, like all diet fads great and small, the no-carb craze lost its luster and faded from prominence.

Full article: http://www.newsweek.com/id/73354/page/1

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y

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"In 2005, there were more than 104,000 births in the United States to women ages 40 through 44, and over 6,500 to women 45 and older. In 2004, there were 1,786 live births to women over 42, using donor eggs."

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Can you delay your period by worrying?

No, you cannot delay AF with worrying. The only thing you can delay is ovulation. Once that has happened, AF is inevitable!

Worrying about a late period may only delay it.

This myth is often perpetuated by the most well-meaning friends. But the reason it's not true is that stress does not delay one's menstrual period; it can only delay ovulation.

Once ovulation has occurred, the woman's body has already determined when she will menstruate. In other words, the time from ovulation to menstruation varies little from cycle to cycle.
http://www.reallifesolutions.co.uk/FORHERfertilitymyths.htm

Addressing fertility: The fact and fiction

Myth: Infertility is a female problem:

Doctor's comment: Fact: Women and men share near equal responsibility when it comes to infertility. Infertility is either a female or male problem in two-thirds of cases and a combined problem of the couple in one-third of cases. That is why it is important for both members of the couple to undergo medical evaluation to determine the cause and reduce unexplained cases.

Stacey's comment: This is nice to see for a change. Most women are being blamed for fertility issues especially when an IVF procedure doesn't create a viable pregnancy. The usual excuse is that your eggs are too old. But clearly this is not always the case. There are many variables, it could be the sperm, the endometrial lining, the procedure itself or the drugs didn't agree with that person.

When a person goes to the doctors office with high blood pressure and they try a medication and this medication doesn't work, you usually don't hear that there is something wrong with the patient and that is why the drug didn't produce the desired result. You usually hear that this drug just isn't right for you and they try another.

Doc comment: Myth: You're too stressed. Relax and you'll get pregnant.

Fact: Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system. Although stress can sometimes affect hormone levels and quality of ovulation, emotions are not keeping you from getting pregnant. The stress and intense emotions you feel are the result of infertility, not its cause.

Stacey comment: At this point in time infertility is not officially classified as a disease, although drug companies would love it if it was because then no one else could touch it except doctors. And in a significant amount of cases there is no evidence that anything is wrong with the couple. This is called Unexplained Infertilty and there is no "disease" present, however there is certainly "dis-ease" in the body.

I think saying that emotions are not keeping a person from getting pregnant is a very vague statement. There are certain emotional states such as depression that have been linked with difficulty becoming pregnant. I agree that it is not about relaxing and you will become pregnant but I do think that even if stress did not contribute to fertility issues for some, it certainly can perpetuate it. This has been shown in clinical studies to be a strong possibility via studies done by Dr. Alice Domar at Boston IVF.

Doc comment: Myth: Be patient, you will get pregnant with time.

Fact: Infertility is a medical problem that usually requires treatment. If you are concerned for any reason about your ability to conceive, you should be evaluated by a reproductive endocrinologist as soon as possible especially if you, as a woman have one of more of the following factors present:

• Over the age of 35
• Have irregular cycles
• Experience painful menstrual periods
• Suffered several pregnancy losses
• Had a pelvic infection or abdominal surgery

Stacey's comment: I do think that if you are experiencing any of the above issues that you should seek assistance. However I do not believe that any of the above INCLUDING not being pregnant after 12 months of unprotected sex should result in the diagnosis of infertility. If the woman is still creating eggs, and has a uterus, and the man is still making sperm no matter how long they have been trying there is still the potential to create an embryo and therefore in my mind they are still fertile. The term infertility in my opinion is inaccurate and in my opinion, shouldn't be utilised unless there are clearly no eggs or no sperm. Many times just receiving this diagnosis is a source a significant and unnecessary stress for the couple.

Doc comment: Myth: If you are over 35, you are more likely to be infertile.

Fact: Fertility does decrease over time, but if you and your partner are healthy, don't have any of the risks and if you are have regular periods, you don't need an infertility evaluation just because you are 35. A couple is considered to be infertile if they have not conceived after 12 months of unprotected intercourse if the female is under the age of 35, the couple has not conceived after six months of unprotected intercourse, if the female is over the age of 35 or the female is incapable of carrying a pregnancy to term.

Stacey's comment: Hallelujah! It is great to hear this from a doctor. Over 35 is not a death sentence like many believe!

Doctor who commented: Zvi Binor, M.D. is a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist with Rush-Copley Center for Reproductive Health.

Source: http://haveababy.blogspot.com/2007/06/are-these-really-facts-about-your.html

Long hours 'can hasten an early menopause'

Working long hours in a stressful job can hasten the onset of the menopause by at least a year, doctors have warned.

Women who regularly work more than 48 hours a week tend to go through the menopause earlier than those who put in shorter hours, research shows.

High levels of stress in the workplace can also lead to periods stopping earlier than would normally be expected.

However, being highly educated or having a repetitive job lengthened the child-bearing years.

It is thought that hormonal changes brought on by the strain of putting in long hours or holding down a stressful job affect a woman's reproductive health.

The warning, from French doctors, comes just weeks after other research found that working long hours in pregnancy can greatly increase the risk of miscarriage.
The study of more than 7,000 expectant nurses found that those who worked more than 40 hours a week were 50 per cent more likely to miscarry.

The findings come as more and more British women delay motherhood, with almost half of the 720,000 births each year being to women aged 30-plus.

The research on the menopause, carried out at Versailles University, looked at the health and lifestyle of more than 1,500 women in their 50s.

It found that those who worked at least 48 hours a week were more likely than those doing shorter hours to go through the menopause before the average age of 52.

For those with stressful jobs - in which they felt constant pressure to rush, do several things at once and were frequently interrupted when carrying out tasks - menopause tended to hit at 51.

In women who were suffering from depression, the effects of long working days were even greater.

They were twice as likely to go through the menopause before they reached 52.

Smoking was also found to have a big effect, with those who smoked more than ten cigarettes a day going through the menopause at the age of 50, the American Journal of Epidemiology reported.

It is thought that long hours and stress affect levels of hormones key to a woman's reproductive cycle, while smoking causes the eggs to deteriorate more quickly than normal.

Genetics also play a large role in the timing of the menopause, with many women experiencing it at a similar age to their mother and sisters.

Although the average age in the UK for the menopause - defined as the time when periods have stopped for 12 months - is 52, 1 per cent of British women go through it before they reach 40.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=464127&in_page_id=1770&ct=5

Maternal age no barrier to ART?

Issue 12: 11 Jun 2007
Source: Fertility and Sterility 2007;87:1327-32

Women who conceive and deliver after the age of 50 years, following egg donation, do not have a reduced parenting capacity compared with younger women, according to new study findings.

Researchers found no significant differences between age groups in physical and mental functioning, and parenting stress, leading them to conclude that advanced maternal age alone should not be a reason to restrict access to assisted reproduction technologies (ART).

The researchers, from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, in Los Angeles, USA, assessed and compared three groups of women: a study group of 18 women who conceived in their 50s after IVF at the center and who subsequently delivered one or more viable infants, plus two control groups of 22 women in their 30s and 24 women in their 40s, matched for a similar date of embryo transfer and for gestational order.

The women completed questionnaires which included the short form of the Parenting Stress Index (designed to measure the degree of stress related to parenting) and the SF-36 Health Survey (to evaluate physical and mental well-being).

In their paper in the current issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility, the researchers report that they found no significant differences between the groups in any of the measures, although the women in their 50s showed a nonsignificant trend towards lower physical functioning scores and higher mental functioning scores compared with the women in their 30s.

The percentage of women with high total parenting stress, above the 80th percentile, varied between the three groups but was not highest in the oldest group: the percentages were 0 percent, 22 percent and 6 percent for women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, respectively.

Implications for ART access?
Concluding, the researchers write: “In this first study examining physical and mental functioning among women conceiving after the age of 50 years, we did not find significant differences between this group and their younger counterparts.

“Based on these findings and our previous report on the obstetric and neonatal outcomes associated with postmenopausal reproduction [Paulson RJ et al, JAMA 2002;288:2321-3], we submit that there continues to be a lack of data justifying the restriction of access to ART services based on maternal age alone.”

To read more about the effect of advanced maternal age see the related articles Maternal age and Stillbirths (from the ORGYN Online Magazine issue of 27 March 2006) and Pregnancy in Older Women (from the issue of 6 June 2006). The first study, based on analysis of almost 6 million deliveries in the USA, found that women at the extremes of maternal age (younger than 20 years or older than 34 years) were significantly more likely than women of intermediate age to have a stillbirth. The researchers said the increased risk in women aged 40 or over in particular suggested that frequent antepartum fetal monitoring may be warranted.

The second study found that a maternal age of 40 years or over was not associated with adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes, although these women did have higher rates of cesarean section compared with younger women.

How Stress Causes Miscarriage

Hormonal Effects on Certain Cells May Trigger Chain Reaction to End Pregnancy

Stress has long been suspected as a possible cause of miscarriage, with several studies indicating an increased risk among women reporting high levels of emotional or physical turmoil in their early months of pregnancy or just before conception. But while a relationship has been noted, researchers didn't know exactly how a woman's stress could cause miscarriage.

In what may prove to be a breakthrough finding, a team of scientists from Tufts University and Greece have identified a suspected chain reaction detailing exactly how stress hormones and other chemicals wreak havoc on the uterus and fetus. Their report, in the June issue of Endocrinology, may help explain why women miscarry for no obvious medical reasons and why some women have repeated miscarriages. And it could lead to measures to prevent miscarriage -- medically known as "spontaneous abortion."

Researchers have long known that during times of stress, the brain releases several hormones -- including one called corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). In past research, women who deliver prematurely or have low-birth-weight babies were often found to have high levels of CRH in their bloodstream, and other studies show a greater risk of miscarriage in women reporting stress. CRH is a hormone the brain secretes in reaction to physical or emotional stress, and it is also produced in the placenta and the uterus of a pregnant woman to trigger uterine contractions during delivery.

But this new research suggests that CRH and other stress hormones may also be released elsewhere in the body, where it specifically targets localized mast cells -- those best known for causing allergic reactions. Mast cells are abundant in the uterus. During stress, the local release of CRH causes these mast cells to secrete substances that can cause miscarriages.

The Hormone-Allergy Link

In their study of 23 women, the scientists found that those who had previous multiple miscarriages had significantly high levels of CRH and another hormone, urocortin, in the tissues of their fetuses when compared with women who miscarried once or those who had had abortions.

The lead researcher tells WebMD what's especially intriguing is that high amounts of these stress hormones were found only in uterine mast cells -- and not in the women's bloodstream, adding credence to his theory that CRH may be released locally.

"Mast cells are like a soccer ball that is filled with about 500 Ping-Pong balls, and each Ping-Pong ball has about 30 marbles," says Theoharis C. Theohardies, MD, PhD, of the Tufts University School of Medicine. "If you are allergic, these cells explode like a grenade to trigger an allergic reaction by releasing all those balls of histamine and various other chemicals."

Like an allergen, CRH and urocortin in mast cells may also release many chemicals. The chemicals known to cause fetal loss were also found in high amounts in the women studied who had one or more miscarriages.

"Tryptase [the chemical released by the activated mast cell] acts like a meat tenderizer, destroying tissue, and it prevents the production of membranes to develop the embryo and disrupts the whole architecture of the placenta that feeds the baby," Theohardies tells WebMD. "When this happens early in pregnancy, it causes a miscarriage."

"I think this is very exciting," says Calvin J. Hobel, MD, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, whose study four years ago in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology linked high CRH levels with a greater risk of premature birth. "It brings the continuum together because most of us have been looking at [CRH's effect on] the end of pregnancy or the middle of pregnancy."

Hobel tells WebMD that Theohardies' finding could play a key role in the future of prenatal diagnosis, in which a piece of the placenta is removed and cells are examined for genetic disorders. He is researching how CRH can be studied this way to better ensure a full-term and healthy delivery.

And Theohardies says he is hopeful that with his new research, women at risk of miscarriage may be able to take preventative measures, especially when under stress during pregnancy. "We know how to block the action of CRH on mast cells, so perhaps we could give women at risk a vaginal suppository with drugs that block CRH receptors."

But more immediately, he says his finding offers more proof of the hazards of emotional stress on pregnancy. "We now know the effects of stress (on the fetus) are very real and produce a specific physiologic reaction in the uterus," he tells WebMD. "So you really need to reduce it whatever way you can."

SOURCES: Endocrinology, June 2003. Human Reproduction, July 2001. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, January 1999. http://www.webmd.com/content/article/66/79698.htm