| credits: mashable.com
For
many women, getting pregnant for the first time may not be difficult.
As such, they usually become worried if they can’t achieve the same feat
when they start nursing the idea of another baby.
Experts say many things are responsible. You may want to examine them.
According to obstetrics-gynaecologist
Alyssa Dweck, inability to get pregnant for the second time is one
problem plenty of women face.
Secondary infertility – a.k.a. trouble
conceiving the second time around when you had no issues with the first
pregnancy – is more common than primary infertility in women, she says.
Here are a few reasons why you might be seeing the delay and what to do
to speed things along.
Age: Obviously, time
will have passed between trying to get pregnant the first and second
time, and Dweck says that when it comes to trying to conceive, time is
on none of our sides.
“Starting from age 32, fertility begins
to decline slightly, then more rapidly by 35,” she says. “At 40, it
takes a plunge.” Additionally, with age come certain chronic illnesses
that may have gone unnoticed in the previous pregnancy, such as diabetes
or thyroid issues, both of which decrease chances of pregnancy.
Weight fluctuations: Whether
you packed on the pounds after your first pregnancy or overworked
yourself to drop the baby weight and more, drastic weight gain or loss
may mess with your hormones – and your pregnancy attempts. Now, more
than ever, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is crucial to your chances of
conceiving.
Bedroom behaviour changes: You
may feel like you’re having a ton of sex when you’re actively trying to
get pregnant, but there’s a good chance you’re still having less than
you did before your first pregnancy. Between having a child at home,
time constraints, and fatigue, the numbers might not stack up the way
they did when you had an active, child-free sex life. Dweck’s solution?
Make having more sex a priority, even if you think you’re having enough.
Stress: People express
their frustration when a second pregnancy is proving so difficult
despite the fact that they are actively trying, whereas the first baby
wasn’t the product of a strict plan. Turns out, trying too hard to get
pregnant can kill your chances, due to the mental stress that comes with
putting pressure on yourself.
“When your stress level is high, your
body goes on high alert to prevent you from getting pregnant under
stressful circumstances,” says Dweck; noting that meditation and
relaxation exercises have been shown to increase fertility.
First pregnancy complications:
For example, if you had a C-section delivery with your first child,
there’s a chance that some fertility-interfering scar tissue could have
developed inside the uterus or outside in the pelvis, says Dweck.
Secondary infertility: This
is, unfortunately, pretty common. The best way you can find out if
there’s a problem or not is by charting regularly and timing intercourse
around ovulation. Also, don’t rule out your partner just because you’ve
had one child. A patient conceived the first child without even trying,
and they were sexually active for more than two years before they
decided to see the doctor. It turned out the couple both had issues,
which they only discovered after two years of trying and many tests.
Specialists treat secondary infertility
very differently to primary infertility. This is because the couples
have already proved everything works; therefore, we have to look at
what’s happened to make it more difficult this time around.
Normally, with baby number one, we say
you should be trying for about a year before seeking help; but if number
two has not happened after six months of trying, we recommend taking
action.
Therefore, be aggressive and ask questions from your doctor if it’s something you’re concerned about.
Marginal fertility: Occasionally,
parents can’t conceive again because they’ve been marginally fertile
all along and were simply lucky before. And some couples fall into the
frustrating category of “unexplained infertility.” Fortunately, this is a
rare diagnosis among those with kids.
“If a couple was able to get pregnant
before, in most cases, something specific must have changed,” says A.F.
Haney, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University
of Chicago School of Medicine.
Indeed, one of the best-kept secrets of
the fertility industry is that nearly a quarter of couples seeking
treatment are already parents. Some of these patients had trouble
conceiving the first time, so they know what they’re up against when
they try again. But many others have been stunned to learn that in
fertility, past success is no guarantee of future success, as Michael
DiMattina, M.D., Director of Dominion Fertility and Endocrinology, in
Arlington, Virginia, puts it.
Yet, according to Dr. DiMattina, people
suffering secondary infertility are only half as likely to seek
treatment as those facing primary infertility. Partly, Dr. DiMattina
says, this reluctance stems from emotional denial. “Previously fertile
people tend to think, ‘If I just give up coffee or reduce my stress, it
will happen.’”
Though such measures undoubtedly enhance
general health, he says, “they won’t cure infertility.” To complicate
matters, busy obstetrics-gynaecologists often assume there’s no medical
reason when patients who have previously demonstrated their fertility
take an unusually long time to conceive. Unfortunately, such a
wait-and-see approach can allow an untreated problem to become an
untreatable one.
When to see your doctor: So, your diet
and exercise, sex life, and stress levels are all in check, and you’re
still not seeing that little plus sign? If it’s been more than six
months, especially if you’re over 35, don’t be afraid to ask for help,
says Dweck. “You won’t be the first person to go see their gynaecologist
to get some assistance in getting pregnant a second time.”
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