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Fertility - Improving the Odds
Bub Hub E-Newsletter, August 2005, Issue 38 - Article 1


A study of Australian women has revealed that despite the declining birth rate, most women expect to have a child. In fact, more than half of all women surveyed have already had at least one baby, and a further 41% expect to have a baby at some time in the future. Unfortunately the survey also showed that the most common step women take when trying to become pregnant is to increase their sexual activity.

The DISCOVER Pregnancy Index* highlights many of the issues surrounding the lowering Australian birth-rate like the fact that 31% of mothers aged 18-44 increased the frequency of having sex to improve their chances of falling pregnant on the last occasion and two-thirds of women looking to fall pregnant in the future intend to increase the frequency of having sex to improve their chances of conception.

 

With an average of only two days in a cycle when a woman can fall pregnant, and chances of falling pregnant on these two days decreasing as she gets older, having sex more regularly is certainly not going to help.

While timing is one of the most important factors that affects the chance of becoming pregnant, a staggering 94% of women surveyed were unaware that women are only able to conceive on two days within their monthly cycle.

"Women do not seem to understand that once an egg is released during ovulation it only remains in the fallopian tube for approximately two days to be fertilised."

An important and easy way to take control as soon as the decision is made to start or add to the family is by utilising an at home ovulation test. Your body gives the signal that ovulation is about to occur when there is an increase in the luteinizing hormone (LH) that can be detected in your urine. A sperm can live for up to 3 to 5 days so you are most likely to fall pregnant if you have sex within 48 hours after you detect the LH surge.

Kits also allow you to keep an accurate chart of your cycle which will assist a doctor in determining your due date when you fall pregnant or to be able to better assist you if there are complications in conceiving with a good record of your cycle.

The DISCOVER Pregnancy Index* also showed that 57% of women would like to know if they have conceived before the start of their next menstrual cycle. The sooner women know they are pregnant the sooner they can begin planning and taking care of themselves and their growing baby. But 75% of women are not aware that accurate pregnancy tests can now be performed prior to the expected start of their next cycle.

Although at home kits are, generally, 99% accurate and work in the same way as many of the urine tests used by doctors, women still believe a trip to the doctor is necessary to determine conception.

However, when women surveyed were advised that at home kits are equally accurate as the urine tests provided by doctors, the majority of women, 74%, would choose to purchase a kit from a pharmacy and share the experience at home with their partner.

Article kindly supplied by DISCOVER products
 
* DISCOVER has developed the DISCOVER Pregnancy Guide to provide women with the information they need about at home pregnancy testing to allow them to feel confident. The guide also provides valuable information about at home pregnancy planning and dispels many of the myths about conception highlighted by this study. The guide will be available in pharmacies nationwide from August. DISCOVER produce the "Discover Onestep Pregnancy Planning Kit"



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