There’s absolutely nothing worse than the anxiety that goes with missing your period. Whether you track your menstrual cycles, or whether you intuitively know that this is the time your period is supposed to come … what do you do?
Preconception / Trying to Conceive
Why Did I Miss My Period?
Trying to Conceive: How to Increase Cervical Mucus
Ovulation kits are great, but there’s one easy way to check out if you’re fertile – your cervical mucus. The changes in those secretions in your cervix play a huge role in your fertility and ovulation. During your fertile time, cervical mucus aids and helps sperm swim through the cervix to reach their final destination.
When you’re fertile, you will be moist and sticky. Your cervical mucus will be white or creamy, and it breaks easily when you stretch it between your fingers. When your cervical mucus is thin, watery, transparent and has a similar consistency as an egg white, that’s when you are at your most fertile and most likely to conceive if you have unprotected sex.
During the parts of the month when you’re feeling dry down there, you aren’t fertile. Not having much cervical mucus may also be a sign of a fertility problem. It could mean that you’re not ovulating, and this is especially true if you are missing periods or your cycle is irregular.
There are many reasons why you not be producing enough cervical mucus, including stress; how old you are (in your 30s and 40s, your fertility decreases and your days of having stretchy, slippery, fertile cervical mucus also decreases); lower estrogen levels; side effects of medications, and other reasons.
If you’re looking to increase your cervical mucus, the following may help improve the amount of cervical mucus: [continue reading…]
Green Tea and Fertility – Will Drinking Tea Help Me Get Pregnant?
If you’re trying to get pregnant, you can desperate to try anything for a baby. Why not enjoy a hot, relaxing cup of green tea? There is some research that drinking green tea can boost your fertility and potentially improve your chances of getting pregnant.
For thousands of years, humans have consumed and enjoyed tea. Today, it’s the second most consumed beverage in the world, with water being the first.
Not only is tea soothing, but it has medicinal purposes as well. Green tea, in particular, is one of the healthiest varieties of teas.
Green tea, first cultivated in ancient China, is packed full of unique antioxidants, which protect you against free radicals that can cause cancer, heart and cardiovascular disease.
There is some research that suggests that polyphenols and hypoxanthine – the two main ingredients found in green tea – are correlated to a higher chance of having viable embryos. Studies have indicated that these two compounds can help egg maturation, which may lead to your eggs being more fertile. [continue reading…]
Why is My Period Late?
My period is always on time – always! – but a few weeks ago, when I went on vacation, overseas, I found myself panicking. My period was late. And not only by a few days, but over a week late.
I knew I wasn’t pregnant, but the idea of having a baby completely scared me. Like most of you, pregnancy is a life-changing event and one of the scariest experiences if you’re not planning on having a baby anytime soon. I mean, having a baby is a game changer (and really expensive too boot.)
Fortunately, my period came and went, and I realized it was all the stress and the few extra pounds I had put on, due to the holidays and yummy holiday food I was binging on, and my oversea travels that threw my body for a loop. I went 52 days from one period to the next – so it definitely freaked me out! [continue reading…]
