According to the Mayo Clinic, less than half the men with sperm counts between 12.5 and 25 million sperm per milliliter are able to get their partner pregnant and less than one-quarter with sperm counts less than 12.5 end up impregnating their partners.

The good news however is, there are treatments available to remedy low sperm count.

If you and your partner have been trying to get pregnant for 6 months (for those over 35) to one year (for those under 35), consider scheduling an appointment with your doctor, urologist, reproductive endocrinologist or an infertility specialist to have your sperm analyzed and begin a treatment plan if deemed necessary. It is also advisable the female see her doctor or OB/GYN to check for fertility issues as well. Boosting female fertility can sometimes compensate for a lower sperm production level.

Generally, to achieve pregnancy in a partner, the hypothalamus or pituitary glands in a man’s brain must produce normal hormonal levels. If your doctor finds your levels are too low, he may recommend gonadotropin injections. For some men, normal levels may be achieved within a month or two, for others, it can take up to a year of injections. These levels can be diagnosed by simple in-office blood work.

A common cause of male infertility is varicoceles. This is a swollen vein or veins in the scrotum. This may cause only slight discomfort, if any, but can affect fertility. A varicocele can lower sperm count and is sometimes responsible for abnormally shaped sperm. A simple surgical correction can often remedy this setback. Testing for this issue is often detected by use of an ultra-sound.

An infection of the male reproductive tract can be identified with a simple blood test. High numbers of white blood cells may be a sign of an infection within the reproductive tract. A dose of antibiotics may cure the infection and restore normalcy.

Lack of zinc and folic acid in a man’s diet can lead to lower sperm count. A Danish study revealed men who added both a zinc and folic acid supplement to their diets increased their chances for impregnating their partners.

To maintain or achieve a higher healthy sperm count, doctors also advise men not smoke, avoid excessive drinking, exercise regularly and maintain a healthy weight, avoid hot baths and saunas, avoid tight clothing restricting the scrotal region, remove the cell phone from the front pocket and not put the laptop computer on the lap as it causes an increase in scrotal temperature.

It is also advisable to keep environmental toxins at bay. Exposure to toxic chemicals like bleach and paints or pesticides can reduce sperm count or even change the morphology of the sperm.

In 1953 the first (fowl) sperm cryopreservation was reported. In 1986, Australian fertility specialist Dr. Christopher Chen reported the world’s first pregnancy using slow frozen oocytes (eggs) from a British controlled-rate freezer.

For many years doctors recommended a controlled-rate and slow freezing cryopreservation process to store eggs which offered less than exemplary results for women hoping to become pregnant. Prior to 2002, the success rate of live births from frozen eggs was a mere 1-3% globally.

Today however, an innovative new flash-freezing procedure known as Vitrification is on the rise showcasing stellar results at fertility clinics across the globe.

Vitrification is the latest breakthrough in egg freezing. It is a rapid freezing technique in which a high concentration of cryoprotectant (which is like a form of anti-freeze) is used in place of the water in the cell. Now free of ice and crystals, (which in the past had diminished egg survival rates) the resultant egg is now a solid glass-like cell. Eggs can successfully be stored for years. Most doctors seem to agree that this new procedure greatly improves the chances of egg survival during the freezing and subsequent thawing process.

When a woman is ready to use her stored frozen eggs an embryologist will need to inject the hardened shell with a needle carrying sperm for fertilization to occur. This technique is known as ICSI or Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection.

A female egg is the largest cell in the human body. Containing a large amount of water, the ice crystals that form during a slow freeze can jeopardize the integrity of the cell.

The vitrification process is showing enormous improvement in egg survival rates, fertilization, pregnancies and ultimately births.

As with the formerly widely used slow-freeze cryopreservation technique, resultant chromosomal abnormalities remain consistent with those not using either of these freezing methods.

According to a report from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine’s official journal Fertility and Sterility, “the techniques of vitrification of oocytes and the subsequent warming process being used today are producing results equal to those using fresh oocytes and are, certainly, far superior to those utilizing slow-freezing techniques”.

With major advancements in our knowledge of egg/oocyte preservation, oocyte physiology and new laboratory techniques, the success of egg preservation is rapidly changing.

With egg/oocyte survival rates of over 90% after vitrification and warming, fertilization rates of 75%–90%, pregnancy rates of 32%–65%, and live-birth rates of over 50% , these numbers bring new hope to those who have had to delay pregnancy.

There is a growing faction of women in both the US and in the UK who are rejecting traditional medical advice and hospitals, and opting to stay home and give birth with no drugs, no midwife and no medical support. Supporters’ suggest it is how having a baby was always meant to be, but doctors warn freebirthing could have catastrophic outcomes.

A supporter of home birthing, Jana Kutarna, and a contributing writer for Pregnancy Solutions says women should take charge of giving birth. “Many women don’t realize that in our culture they are trained to give away the responsibility of their birthing to doctors and to midwives. In reality, insurance companies are not responsible for the birth, only the mother is”. And with that mindset, Jana delivered a healthy baby girl at home with no help from a doctor or even a midwife; guided only by a mother’s instinct.

The Discovery Health Channel continues to air the documentary “Freebirthing”. This unassisted childbirth documentary follows the story of 3 women preparing to give birth at home without any medical assistance.

The remarkable footage of the extraordinary deliveries is shown in their entirety.

Initially, 9 pregnant women who were planning to deliver at home were interviewed for the doc and all 9 women went on to deliver successfully. 2 sought non-emergency medical care following delivery; one for stitches, the other for slow placenta.

Even celebrities are raising awareness of staying at home to birth a baby the natural way.

Actress, talk show host and activist Rikki Lake recently produced a documentary entitled “The Business of being Born”. After Lake felt disenchanted with her first child’s delivery in a medical setting, Lake opted for home delivery the second time round. Not only does she talk the talk, she walks the walk. Lake successfully delivered a healthy baby girl, cameras running, in the peace and quiet of her own home in NYC in this documentary.

To sustain a healthy pregnancy, women must maintain healthy levels of progesterone at all times.

As a woman’s body prepares for ovulation, progesterone levels go up. The corpus luteum can stimulate the production of progesterone for about two weeks and if a conception occurs, the pregnancy itself takes over the stimulation of progesterone. With no pregnancy, the lining of the uterus deteriorates and a period begins.

If a newly pregnant woman’s progesterone level begins to diminish, then miscarriage would be imminent.

Many women who have experienced one or more miscarriages or are known to have a luteal phase defect (LPD) are being presented with a new option by their providers.

Prometrium, a synthetic form of progesterone that may help maintain a pregnancy and ward off miscarriage. Normally prescribed to menopausal women requiring hormone therapy and/or women experiencing abnormal periods, Prometrium can also be prescribed to women experiencing spotting or bleeding early in the first trimester or women with a history of recurrent miscarriage.

Available in tablet form a doctor will generally prescribe a 100-200mg dose to be taken orally once or twice a day. Suppositories and cream are available as well.

To determine the efficacy and safety of progestogens like Prometrium as a preventative therapy against miscarriage, a recent study (by Haas DM, Ramsey PS ‘Progestogen for preventing miscarriage’ Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 2) was conducted on 2118 women who participated in 15 trials. The study revealed no significant difference between progestogen and placebo or no treatment groups for a majority of the participants.

However, in a subgroup analysis of three trials involving women who had recurrent miscarriages (3 or more), treatment showed a statistically significant decrease in the miscarriage rate compared to placebo or no treatment.

Additionally, no significant adverse effects from taking Prometrium were reported regarding mother and child at this time, however many people feel there are not enough facts supporting its safety and warranting its overuse.

According to their own website, the most common adverse events reported in (postmenopausal) women receiving prometrium 200 mg were: breast tenderness, dizziness, abdominal bloating, vaginal discharge, chest pain, and diarrhea.

And most importantly, they actually warn not to use while pregnant. 

Further research indicated the long-term maternal and neonatal/fetal adverse effects of progestogen administration in early pregnancy also warrant further investigation.

Until then many non-supporters feel it is imperative Progestogen be removed from the treatment list for preventing miscarriage. Increasing awareness among policy-makers, health-care providers and patients about the fact that the practice is not based on evidence is a good start.

While Google, Bing and Yahoo search engines have all but replaced encyclopedias and dictionaries, eBooks are today’s convenient way of obtaining all kinds of literary material including pregnancy related books immediately from the Internet.

With the simple click of a mouse these eBooks can be downloaded right away, then you as the buyer have the option of printing it out and (or) keeping it conveniently on your computer or laptop for easy instant access.

When browsing through the shelves of the local bookstore it can be difficult deciding which book best suits your specific needs, so after evaluating and critiquing several of the eBooks relating to conception and pregnancy that are currently available on-line, we narrowed our search for the cream of the crop to the following three eBooks.

These best-sellers were created by reputable authors and true experts in the field and the prices ranged from $14.95 to $39 which is a small price to pay when you consider the thousands of dollars you could spend on unnecessary fertility specialists.

$39 eBook ‘Pregnancy Miracle’ by Lisa Olson – This top-selling author sheds light on getting pregnant naturally with her successful program. An alternative health and nutrition specialist, health consultant and Chinese medicine researcher, Lisa Olson teaches couples how to reverse infertility and get pregnant within 2 Months.

This eBook snagged our attention because of the quality of the content and the fact Olson guarantees her method with a 60-day money back guarantee. This book is available for $39 on her site here and it’s definitely worth a strong consideration.

$14.95 eBook ‘Get Pregnant Quickly & Naturally’ by Cindy Ferda – At $14.95 this is clearly the best bargain we could find anywhere on the net; it sells elsewhere for $29.95. This no-nonsense material offers the nuts and bolts necessary to conceive naturally while concentrating on providing the best health environment for your baby.

A national columnist for The Examiner’s Family and Parenting Pregnancy division, Cindy Ferda combines years of gynecological and obstetrical information from experts in the fields of reproductive medicine and holistic practices and presents them in this eBook.

‘How to Get Pregnant Quickly & Naturally’ contains great health tips as well as the newest secrets of conception and strategies for getting pregnant.

The book also includes an in-depth look at the advantages of fertility diets that not only are proven to increase a woman’s chances of getting pregnant, but also decreases the chances of a fetus having neural tube defects and other potential deformities.

Utilizing this same information the author conceived naturally at 44 and is now offering to share her knowledge and personal experience in conception, fertility issues, fertility enhancing foods and keys to improving sperm count and sperm motility naturally.

$29.59 ‘The Full Embrace Pregnancy Success Program’ by Diana Farrell, M.A. – This eBook reveals secrets about the most powerful and rare health treatments you can do yourself at home for FREE that will vastly increase your chances of conception within 8-12 weeks. To date the information in this book has helped thousands of couples beat infertility and achieve pregnancy.

We hope you find this information helpful and please comment back to this section to let us know how these eBooks have helped your quest to fertility so we can share your success with our other readers.

New clinical studies on vitex chasteberry supplements have shown a considerable improvement for women with luteal phase defects. Some women do not recognize they even have an LPD and that its effects can prevent conception and pregnancy.

The luteal phase is the latter phase of the menstrual cycle (generally days 14-28). It begins with the formation of the corpus luteum and ends in either pregnancy or luteolysis.

The main hormone associated with this stage is progesterone, which is significantly higher during the luteal phase than other phases of the cycle.

Luteal phase defects transpire when the luteal phase is shorter than normal, progesterone levels during this phase are well below normal, or both. LPD is believed to interfere with the implantation of embryos.

If cycle irregularity and hormonal imbalance are causing difficulty with ovulation or impairing fertile quality cervical fluids, the regular use of an all-natural vitex agnus-castus, also called vitex, chaste tree, chasteberry or monk’s pepper may improve these defects with time.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), a small study was conducted on 52 patients with luteal phase defects who showed signs of reduced prolactin release.

By adding a vitex supplement to their diet their luteal phases normalized, they improved luteal phase progesterone synthesis and increased luteal phase estradiol. Vitex is recommended for PMS issues as well. Studies caution that once pregnant, the supplement should be stopped immediately.

Vitex supplements are available at most vitamin stores and on-line for under $10.

This research indicates Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy endangers the mother’s life and health, and is the origin for a host of future dangers for the child, especially for the child’s brain and the immune system. Some of the damage done by maternal Vitamin D deficiency may not show up for 30 years.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), they are recommending all expecting moms to take 5,000 IU per day in addition to their prenatal vitamin. Babies who are born with a vitamin D deficiency have a higher incidence in being born with:

* Asthma

* Autism

* Cavities

* Celiac Disease

* Heart Disease

* Seizures

Moms have a higher rate of bacterial vaginitis (which causes premature deliveries) c-sections, gestational diabetes, and preclampsia.

Healthy children are needing 1000 IU per 25 pounds of body weight, above the current recommendation of 400 IU set by the AAP. Here is what else they are finding:

The announcement simply pointed out that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently recommended that all pregnant women have a 25(OH)D blood test because Vitamin D is important for normal fetal development (p. 1145):

“Given the growing evidence that adequate maternal vitamin D status is essential during pregnancy, not only for maternal well-being but also for fetal development, health care professionals who provide obstetric care should consider assessing maternal vitamin D status by measuring the 25-OH-D concentrations of pregnant women.

On an individual basis, a mother should be supplemented with adequate amounts of vitamin D3 to ensure that her 25-OH-D levels are in a sufficient range (>32 ng/mL).

The knowledge that prenatal vitamins containing 400 IU of vitamin D3 have little effect on circulating maternal 25-OH-D concentrations, especially during the winter months, should be imparted to all health care professionals.”

If you are an expecting mom, ask your doctor to run a vitamin D blood test and measure 25 hydroxy vitamin D levels and supplement if necessary. This test should be done on expecting mothers, exclusively breastfed infants, obese individuals, people over 65 years of age and those with a suppressed immunity such as those with, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer and an autoimmune disease, including Rheumatoid Arthritis, Celiac Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and so forth.

New research also shows vitamin d slashes risk for cancer by 77 percent. It may also help you be successful in your weight loss efforts (and postpartum weight loss!).

The other advantage to increasing your vitamin d intake is an instant immunity booster. People with the lowest levels tend to get more colds, flus, and respiratory infections. Those with impaired respiratory diseases such as asthma, emphysema and chronic obstructive respiratory infections (COPD) have a much higher risk for colds and flus and more likely to be lacking vitamin D.

Read more about Gestational Vitamin D Deficiency at the Vitamin D Council website.

Jasmine Jafferali, MPH is a maternal, child and family health educator. She works as an Educational and Wellness Consultant helping women and families achieve healthier lifestyles. She is a Master Trainer for Healthy Moms(R) Fitness http://www.healthymomsfitness.com/ and a well-respected Pregnancy Health Columnist for Examiner.com

The CDC has estimated that 2,500 cases of listeriosis occur annually in the U.S, leading to 500 deaths, and a third of the cases occur in pregnant women often leading to miscarriages or stillborn births.

Foods most often contaminated with the pathogen include hot dogs, deli meats, pasteurized dairy products, smoked seafood, and raw foods. As well, L. monocytogenes has been isolated from pasteurized and refrigerated foods such as fluid milk and soft-ripened cheeses, researchers have found.

To estimate the hazard for this study, the researchers focused on Mexican-style soft cheese, which has been associated with several outbreaks.

Signs and symptoms may not show up until 2-30 days after eating the infected foods. These signs and symptoms include:

• mild flu-like symptoms

• headaches

• muscle aches

• fever

• nausea and vomiting

Listeriosis is rarely fatal in humans except the elderly, pregnant women and infants. Expecting moms are most vunerable in their third trimester when the immune system is most suppressed.

Expecting moms are advised not to eat unpasteurized raw foods, seafoods, diary products and soft cheeses, but are often not told about deli meats. It may be best to avoid these foods until after the baby is born. The same holds true for infants learning to eat solids.

Deli meats should not be introduced until after the age of two unless it is nitrate and preservative free.

Jasmine Jafferali, MPH is a maternal, child and family health educator. She works as an Educational and Wellness Consultant helping women and families achieve healthier lifestyles. She is a Master Trainer for Healthy Moms(R) Fitness http://www.healthymomsfitness.com/ and a well-respected Pregnancy Health Columnist for Examiner.com

A common question asked by many mothers-to-be is “how much coffee can I drink?” Coffee is one of the most controversial topics of discussion when it comes to pregnancy and health. Some say absolutely not, while others say in moderation. The studies done are confusing, but here are some facts that you may not be aware about that may have you think twice about reaching for that cup of Joe.

Technically, caffeine is classified as a drug and is the most widely used drug worldwide. It is defined as a drug because it stimulates the central nervous system. You will often find caffeine in medicines that are prescribed to people with ADD/ADHD, over the counter cold and headache medicines. Caffeine, like nicotine, though to a lesser extent, meets some of the criteria of the World Health Organization and the American Psychiatric Association as a drug of dependence which acts on the dopamine system in the same way as amphetamines and cocaine. Caffeine and is known to cross the blood-brain barrier readily in adults and fetuses alike.

A 2008 study suggested that pregnant women who consume 200 milligrams or more of caffeine per day have about twice the miscarriage risk as women who consume none. This is the equivalent of five cans of soda, two cups of instant coffee or a half to two cups of fresh coffee per day. Not exactly the healthiest choice of drinks to be consuming during pregnancy.

Here are a few more coffee facts:

Consuming more caffeine than this — about 300 milligrams (mg) per day — could increase your risk of having a miscarriage, a low birth weight baby or preterm baby.

Drinking coffee may interfere with your body’s ability to keep homocysteine and cholesterol levels in check, most likely by depleting folate, B12, B6, and calcium, all crucial in neural and skeletal development in the fetus.

It easily passes through the placenta to the developing fetus and is also transferred through breast milk increasing half-life during pregnancy (up to 11 hours late in pregnancy) and in infants (up to 100 hours).

The smaller body mass of fetuses and infants does not have the ability to detoxify caffeine.

Changes in fetal heart rate and breathing patterns have been noticed even when maternal intake of caffeine is moderate and when it has no apparent effects on the mother.

Caffeine is a diuretic. It may decrease blood flow to the placenta causing an increase in stress levels for the fetus. Remember: For each cup of caffeine, you may have to drink two cups of water to even out the water levels in your body. That is asking a lot of your shrinking bladder.

While 75 percent of expecting mothers will be drinking some form of caffeine. If you cannot give it up, there are some ways you can still have your cup of Joe and drink it too.

Begin by brewing your coffee at home. Brew organic coffee with filtered water in unbleached filters. Coffee is imported and the high use of pesticides in other countries makes coffee one of the most ingested items that contains the highest amount of pesticides. Since the United States cannot regulate the amount of pesticides used in other countries, it is best to drink organic coffee. Using bleached coffee filters will leak into your coffee, using unbleached coffee filters eliminates the small amounts of chlorine filtered into your coffee. You will pay much less using this method than buying coffee from your favorite local coffee shop and it tastes better.

If you are thinking about eliminating coffee, then make the switch to green tea, which has far more health benefits than coffee. Try a variety of flavors until you find one that suits your palate. MamaTea is specifically designed for expecting moms and has a variety of flavors to help with your specific needs.

When it comes to a choice in what your drink, filtered water should be your first choice, followed by organic milk or other non-dairy beverage, green or non-caffeinated teas, organic coffee, then juices, other sugary drinks such as Gatorade and soda pop being last.

Just think, this is just a phase in your life, if you can give it up for a year, you can probably live without it for a lifetime.

Jasmine Jafferali, MPH is a maternal, child and family health educator. She works as an Educational and Wellness Consultant helping women and families achieve healthier lifestyles. She is a Master Trainer for Healthy Moms(R) Fitness http://www.healthymomsfitness.com/ and a well-respected Pregnancy Health Columnist for Examiner.com