There’s a bounty of bad advice in the world, and the pregnancy and conception circuit is not excluded. Whether you’re thinking about conceiving soon, are having a difficult time conceiving, or simply want to plan ahead for the future, reading through the busted myths below may bring you some much needed clarity on the subject. We’ve reached out to respected fertility experts who break down these common misconceptions in an effort to streamline your own pregnancy endeavors.
“Healthy, Active People Never Experience Infertility”
Any doctor will tell you to stay fit and healthy. While this improves the fetus’ health and may improve your chance at conception, it does not mean that you will never have infertility problems. “The healthiest and most active people could have one of the many issues that causes infertility,” says Dr. Shahin Ghadir, a fertility specialist and partner at the Southern California Reproductive Center. “In no way does someone’s overall health depict a future fertility potential.”
“If You Stop Trying So Hard, You’ll Get Pregnant”
According to Dr. Robert E. Anderson, founder and medical director of the Southern California Institute for Reproductive Sciences, the “stop trying too hard and just relax” advice you hear from friends and family isn’t very good. “This myth implies that infertility is more of a psychological problem than a physical one,” he explains. “Infertility has a number of known physical causes that can be overcome with the proper testing and treatment.” In short: simply resting up and waiting to get pregnant can delay conception. Instead, seek medical advice, address any ongoing issues, and increase your likelihood of conceiving.
“It’s Easy to Get Pregnant in Your 40s and 50s”
You’ve likely heard stories of people in their 40’s and 50’s getting pregnant, making it seem like childbearing is an easy feat even after your prime child bearing years have ended. While it’s true that some women become pregnant later in life, Dr. Anderson explains that most of them do so with the assistance of a donor egg from a woman who’s in her early to mid-20s. Even then, becoming pregnant with a donor egg requires a lot of effort, medical appointments and, yes, money. “It is advisable to begin to attempt pregnancy at as early an age as possible,” says Dr. Anderson.
“Eating Certain Things or Doing Certain Activities After Sex Helps You Get Pregnant”
Has anyone ever told you to stick your legs in the air for twenty minutes after sex to get pregnant? Or maybe they told you to drink a strange concoction of liquids? Insisted that the only way to get pregnant was through orgasm? These aren’t bits of medical wisdom to short track your destination to parenthood; they’re straight up old wives’ tales! If you hear any strange tips from friends, family or the Internet, it’s best to ask your doctor to confirm before completing these silly missions.
“Taking a Vacation Can Improve Conception Likelihood”
“Even though we do believe that lower levels of stress can help overall health, well being and possibly fertility, there is no proven data that states that anything that happens on a vacation can increase one’s chances of fertility,” explains Dr. Ghadir. Do what you can to take it easy — and take that vacation if you want — but doing either won’t help you automatically conceive.
“You’ll Run Out of Eggs Faster With Infertility Treatments”
Many women fear infertility treatments because they think it will make it impossible for them to get pregnant again down the road. Dr. Anderson says that just isn’t true. He explains that there will always be a several eggs at the start of your menstrual cycle even though only one is ovulated. No matter what, the remaining unused eggs will be lost forever. Fertility medication changes that process, allowing several of the eggs — not just one — to be ovulated. That means there’s no increased loss of eggs above that which would occur naturally. He adds, “since many eggs are genetically abnormal, fertility medications are used to increase the chance of a normal one ovulating by increasing the number of eggs ovulated in total.”