I used to watch the TV show "Reba" every afternoon, much to the disdain of my roommate, at the time, who cared very little for the show. In the show Reba's oldest daughter became a teenage mother. When Reba asked her how it happened she replied "we heard you could only get pregnant one day a month, so we made sure to not have sex one day a month!".
Years later, as a mother of two, I find this sentence and idea both hilarious and tragic. For one, pregnancy seemed so easy when I was a teenager. If you were a sexually active teen it was always on your mind. How to avoid and prevent it, primarily. My dad was ran the only pharmacy in town and more than once someone would pull me off to the side, slip some money in my hand, and ask if I'd get a pregnancy test from my dad. A few times I know those tests came back positive. For when you are 16 getting pregnant seemed to be easy. Too easy. MTV even made a TV show about it.
As adults many women experience a much different perspective on getting pregnant. It's a wish, a desire, dance, a challenge. For many, it is far from easy.
Yes, for many it is easy. But for many more it's not.
Reba's daughter was right on one thing- there really is only one day (really, two or even three) per cycle where a woman without any other reproductive issues can get pregnant. She was of course wrong that we can choose this date arbitrarily. It requires a perfect stream of hormones and other biological actions that I won't even begin to pretend like I fully understand for your body to ovulate.
For some women, it happens on its own. Every month on the 14th day, or thereabouts, of a woman's cycle an ovary will release an egg. Others may have to use medical intervention to get to this point. Either way, this is your window. That one day a month where you better have the right amount of time, right amount of privacy, or, in some cases, the ability to make a doctor's appointment, to ensure you're partner/donors contribution to this process is in place. Because our eggs don't last very long. If sperm isn't there waiting, or gets there quickly, that's it. Another cycle down with nothing but Big Fat Negatives (BFNs) in your future.
Of course, there are many other reasons you may be doomed to see nothing but a single line on a home pregnancy test (HPT). Either way, it can be a frustrating journey.
So I thought I'd write a series of articles using my knowledge with herbs to give a few suggestions for things you might try to help things along. Whether it be to help with fertility or just help make yourself feel better during the process.
Stay tuned!
Years later, as a mother of two, I find this sentence and idea both hilarious and tragic. For one, pregnancy seemed so easy when I was a teenager. If you were a sexually active teen it was always on your mind. How to avoid and prevent it, primarily. My dad was ran the only pharmacy in town and more than once someone would pull me off to the side, slip some money in my hand, and ask if I'd get a pregnancy test from my dad. A few times I know those tests came back positive. For when you are 16 getting pregnant seemed to be easy. Too easy. MTV even made a TV show about it.
As adults many women experience a much different perspective on getting pregnant. It's a wish, a desire, dance, a challenge. For many, it is far from easy.
Yes, for many it is easy. But for many more it's not.
Reba's daughter was right on one thing- there really is only one day (really, two or even three) per cycle where a woman without any other reproductive issues can get pregnant. She was of course wrong that we can choose this date arbitrarily. It requires a perfect stream of hormones and other biological actions that I won't even begin to pretend like I fully understand for your body to ovulate.
For some women, it happens on its own. Every month on the 14th day, or thereabouts, of a woman's cycle an ovary will release an egg. Others may have to use medical intervention to get to this point. Either way, this is your window. That one day a month where you better have the right amount of time, right amount of privacy, or, in some cases, the ability to make a doctor's appointment, to ensure you're partner/donors contribution to this process is in place. Because our eggs don't last very long. If sperm isn't there waiting, or gets there quickly, that's it. Another cycle down with nothing but Big Fat Negatives (BFNs) in your future.
Of course, there are many other reasons you may be doomed to see nothing but a single line on a home pregnancy test (HPT). Either way, it can be a frustrating journey.
So I thought I'd write a series of articles using my knowledge with herbs to give a few suggestions for things you might try to help things along. Whether it be to help with fertility or just help make yourself feel better during the process.
Stay tuned!