As a modern mummy, it can be challenging to balance work, family, and self-care. However, taking care of ourselves is essential to ensure we have the energy and health to take care of our families. One way to prioritise our health is by incorporating health supplements into our daily routines. Health Leads UK stock health supplements that can help us achieve optimal health.
Continue reading “Health Supplements For Mummies”
Are you planning to have a family? Congratulations! It’s one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do. But before you get too excited, there are some things you need to take into consideration. This blog post will discuss how to plan for a family financially and physically, and also cover everything from budgeting for children to choosing the right health insurance plan. So read on, and learn how to make your family planning experience as smooth and stress-free as possible!
Continue reading “How to Plan for a Family: A Comprehensive Guide”
Bacterial vaginosis is a common vaginal infection that occurs due to an imbalance in the levels of normal vaginal bacteria. It is not a sexually transmitted disease, but women with more than one sex partner or changing partners tend to be affected more than others.
BV needs proper treatment, especially during pregnancy, to avoid premature delivery and miscarriage risks.
Continue reading “What Are The Risks Of Bacterial Vaginosis During Pregnancy?”
At a preconception or early prenatal appointment, your doctor may recommend a genetic carrier screening test. A genetic carrier screening is a test that lets you know if you carry a gene for a certain genetic mutation or genetic disorder, and it is most useful for determining your likelihood of having a child with a specific genetic disorder. Carriers do not usually exhibit symptoms of the genetic disease, but are more likely to pass the mutation onto their offspring.
How to Prepare for Genetic Carrier Screening
If you or your partner have a family history of genetic disorders or belong to a particular ethnic group that is at higher risk for a particular genetic disorder, you may want to make an appointment with a genetic counselor to discuss your testing options and future plans if you test positive as a genetic carrier. If you are unsure of your family medical history or ethnic groups to which you belong, you may also want to consider meeting with a genetic counselor to discuss your likelihood of being a carrier of a genetic disorder and coordinate your testing accordingly.
Genetic Carrier Screening Process
There are two kinds of genetic disease inheritance: autosomal recessive and X-linked. When both parents are found to be carriers of a disorder that is passed on through autosomal recessive inheritance, they will have approximately a 25% chance of having a child with that disorder. When only the mother is found to be a carrier of an X-linked disorder, the child has approximately a 50% chance of being born with that X-linked disorder. For both types of disorders, usually the mother will be tested first to see if she is a carrier. If she tests positive, then the father will also undergo testing. If the mother tests negative as a carrier for all recessive and X-linked genetic diseases, then the father will likely not need to undergo testing.
The testing process for genetic disorders is quite simple and can be performed using a simple blood draw from the mother. Results are provided to your doctor within two weeks, and your doctor or genetic counselor will schedule an appointment with you to go over the results.
After Genetic Carrier Screening
A genetic counselor will be able to provide additional insight and guidance about the likelihood that your child will be born with an inherited disease, alternative options to conceive (if necessary), and how to plan for appropriate treatment for a child with an inherited genetic disorder.
SOURCES:
https://www.acog.org/Patients/FAQs/Carrier-Screening#carrier
https://www.nsgc.org/page/whoaregeneticcounselors-473
https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/inheritance/riskassessment
https://www.babycenter.com/0_carrier-screening-for-inherited-genetic-disorders_1453030.bc
Infertility after 40 is becoming a common concern as more women choose to start their families later in life. Simply put, the older a woman gets, the harder it is for her to conceive with her own eggs. This is a scientific fact based on the significant decline of viable eggs produced by a woman as time passes. For women approaching their 40th birthday – or are already in their 40s – knowing their pregnancy risks, statistics, and possible solutions to conceiving after 40 can help them make the best choice for their family.
What are the odds of women conceiving after 40? According to the CDC, 30% of women in their 40s will experience infertility. Keep in mind that age may be one of many contributing factors to infertility. A study published in Fertility and Sterility showed women in their early 40s had a 25% chance of conceiving using their own eggs, but by age 44 that chance dropped to only 1.6%.
However, there is still hope for these women; they can increase their odds of getting pregnant by seeking fertility treatments such as intrauterine insemination (IUI), traditional IVF, or donor egg IVF. Some such fertility treatments are available at Fertility Plus
While a successful natural pregnancy is possible over 40, there are still significant risks to consider. After age 35, women have a higher risk of the following:
It’s impossible to know how your body will react, but thanks to scientific advances in fertility treatment, many of these risks can be decreased using assisted reproductive technology (ART).
Women experiencing infertility after 40 have a few options to consider. They can try stimulating their own ovulation with fertility drugs or seek intrauterine insemination, a process in which a woman is inseminated with healthy sperm just as she is scheduled to release an egg. While both treatments can help increase the odds of conception, the best option with the highest chance of pregnancy for women over 40 – a whopping 39% – is in vitro fertilization (IVF) using donor eggs.
In vitro fertilization uses ART techniques to implant a fertilized egg into the mother’s uterus. As discussed, using one’s own egg becomes difficult after 40. Given this difficulty, families often opt to use donor eggs from a younger, healthier woman. By using donor egg IVF, the mother still experiences the miracle of childbirth with significantly less risk of miscarriage. Frozen donor egg banks provide a nationwide database of egg donors to choose from, or mothers-to-be can choose fresh egg donation from a family member, close friend, or select from a small regional pool of available donors. Frozen eggs are the better option for many families because the donor has already been screened, knows her legal rights, and may have had previous successful conceptions (either through her own children or children resulting from prior donations). Furthermore, the IVF process with frozen eggs is quicker than fresh eggs, as syncing the menstrual cycles of the donor and mother is necessary when using fresh eggs.
Before committing to donor egg IVF, couples should seek counseling to prepare themselves for the emotions involved. While this treatment is a source of hope, it can also be a source of stress and anxiety. Aside from therapeutic counseling, couples should also seek legal counsel to establish rights between all parties when using fresh eggs.
Pregnancy already comes with a degree of risk and possibility of failure, whether aged 25 or 43. If a woman is struggling to conceive, she should ask her doctor about possible treatment options.
If you’re thinking about being pregnant after 40, there are some precautions that you have to take under consideration. For example, you need to see if you are still fertile, if not there are many avenues you can go down like IVF from Fertility Plus.
