If you are finding it difficult to conceive you may find that making a number of simple lifestyle changes such as having sex more often or losing weight are as effective as modern drugs and other fertility treatment.
A study published in the British Medical Journal this week suggests that fertility drugs such as clomifene citrate and the invasive technique of artificial insemination are no more efficacious than making certain lifestyle changes.
If you are concerned about your fertility it is now possible to take a fertility test at home.
580 women took part in the study that was carried out in Scotland. One third were given advice on how to improve their chances of conception naturally, a third were given the fertility drug clomifene citrate and a third were artificially inseminated.
The first group reported a 17% success rate, the second a 14% success rate and the third a 23% success rate, although scientists said the improved rate experienced by those having artificial insemination wasn’t significant.
If you are experiencing problems in getting pregnant, particularly if you are undergoing IVF treatment, you are currently advised by doctors to avoid having daily sex because it reduces the quality of sperm produced.
There has been a new research project conducted in Australia that looks set to challenge this received wisdom by suggesting that men should have much more regular sex if they want to keep their sperm healthy.
Researchers at an IVF clinic in Sydney were looking at the sperm quality of more than 40 men and found that when the men hadn't had sex for three days the sperm showed higher levels of DNA damage.
When tests were taken again after the men had sex every day for a week, the DNA damage dropped by a third. The amount of sperm fell as well, but given the increase in quality the overall effect from having more regular sex was positive.
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