Getting Pregnant... Or Not!

Hey Guys,

I'm 22 and been with my fella for 5yrs and over the past year or so made the decision to start trying for a baby. This was around 5 months ago and im finding myself more and more disapointed every month when my period arrives

I havent taken the pill for around 3 years now as i tried a few and all didnt agree with me so used condoms for protection until deciding we wanted to start a family.

I was just wondering if smoking & drinking at weekends could effect my chances? Also my fiance smokes cannabis, could this make a big difference?

We have both stopped drinking accept on occasions now and my fella has also cut back on the cannabis smoking but is willing to stop if it decreases our chances of getting pregnant by alot.

Any advice is welcomed as its beginning to drive me mad waiting for my period date lol!

 

Hi. I have a couple of suggestions... first I would recommend stopping drinking and smoking NOW, verses stopping later. For a few reasons... you don't know when you will get pregnant.. and it takes up to 6 months for an iron test to be correct if you smoke. That's because the carbon monoxide masks hemoglobin, this is important if you plan to have a homebirth as you must have an accurate iron count to make sure you are not anemic to prevent bleeding out. You would have the same risk in the hospital, however, just in a more controled environment. (I am however a huge proponant of midwifery care, either hospital or home).

Second...run don't walk to a bookstore and buy "taking charge of your fertility" by toni weschler. This book talks about charting. It will get you pregnant, or it will prevent it. It's your choice, you can use it to achieve or avoid pregnancy. I recommend it to everyone, even lesbians, as being in touch with your body is EXTREMELY important. It will teach you to understand where you are in your cycle by charting tempeture, cervical fluid and position. It takes only a very short while to learn, and is very easy once you got it down.

And the results are still out on cannabis, but it appears it can lower sperm count, or perhaps mobility of sperm. So maybe have your man cut down on it?

-Good Luck, Advaya

 

I don't have a reliable source, but I once read that men smoking cannabis *can* cause a decrease in his fertility. So reducing it, or laying it off might be something to try as well. It's also a good sign for responsibility.

 

Don't get pregnant if you are smoking.

Are you nuts? (not to be negative) But you need to take care of your own body before you think about taking care of another. If you want a chance at a healthy baby I say you make some lifestyle changes.

 

My husband and I didn't get pregnant until after a two week vacation at my mother's house where we didn't do any pot smoking. Before that we both smoked and only used condoms (occasionally) for birth control for 3 years. I'm not saying that not having smoked had anything to do with it, it could have been just coincidence, but it's worth a try. Plus, it's always better to make some healthy lifestyle changes before getting pregnant.

 

I'm the weirdo here. DH and I both smoked fairly regularly (cannibis, not tobacco) when we conceived.

I second the running to get Toni Weshler's book. It's such an amazing way to know your body. It will save you tons of money, heartache, and time dealing with infertility specialists.

 

Thanks for all the positive comments, will defo look into buying the book. My fella has really cut back on smoking cannabis & ive also stopped drinking, as for smoking thats in the pipeline and already bought patches to ease me along the way.

"Are you nuts? (not to be negative) But you need to take care of your own body before you think about taking care of another. If you want a chance at a healthy baby I say you make some lifestyle changes."

I think thats a little harsh, I've come on here for advice about changing by lifestyle & what are my best options in doing this. Thanks for the reply though.

 

Yes, that was a bit harsh. I don't have tons of experience with pregnant ladies, but ALL of the ones I know had to make changes, and that's especially difficult when you weren't trying to get pregnant but it came as a surprise.

People don't have perfect lives with no stress, and people seek out recreation in ways that's not always best for them.

The difference is all in being willing to change.

 

I've been married 7 months, and have not been using birth control. At first, we decided to wait 2 years to have a baby. Anyway, we were going to use birth control, but the doctor said you can't start it in the middle of your cycle, so wait until 5 days after your mense starts. okie fine. But more than a month later, no period. It was two weeks late, took a pregnancy test and i wasn't pregnant. My husband started crying and so did I.

So after that, we decided not to use any form of birth control. Still we're not pregnant and it's so disappointing, every time my period starts. I totally understand how you feel.

Basically I'm at the point where I'm leaving it up to God/nature/whatever. We're totally ready to welcome a baby, but if it doesn't happen soon, it's okay, too.

And as others have said, you should stop drinking/smoking ASAP (your partner, too) My husband is trying to stop smoking (cigarettes) and I'm losing weight. The time to do these things is NOW, before you fall pregnant.

You are young, so don't worry if you don't get pregnant right away.

I posted a similar thing like a week ago .. http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206389

 

Thanks everyone, I have an appointment with my doctor to discuss what we need to do to ensure we are healthy & baby will be healthy.

 

Message from the ZPG front:

Is this child a good idea? Would your need to parent be satisfied by adoption? Does the planet need another person?

Thank you for reading.
Good luck on your pregnancy.

 

Happy, PLEASE don't tell your doctor that you or your husband use cannibis, it'll go RIGHT on your chart and when you do have a baby, you will be judged and scrutinized and probably tested before and after the birth, as will your baby.

There are some things you don't tell people who have too much control over you and your children......like doctors who may be wanna be DEA agents. Even if your doctor is "cool" don't think for a minute that your chart is the least bit private. For all intents and purposes, about anyone in the health care, law inforcement, or goverment system can look at it if they want.

 

Thanks Maggie Sugar, I dont intend to tell my doc I'm just going to tell him that we both smoke cigarettes and that we have both just stopped drinking alcohol (except special occasions). I have been thinking about stopping smoking for a while now after a couple of failed attempts (due to my weight goin up loads last time i quit!).

 

lol where did you just come from?!

 

Just to keep you all informed I went to see my GP yesterday and he has prescribed me folic acid. I have also got to go for a pre-pregnancy blood test and keep a record of my menstrul cycle.

 

Isn't it sad that you can't even get decent medical advice on situations like this without being caught in the government's system and scrutinized?

Society is fucked up about the weirdest things..

 

Hahaha! Amen to that! Don't worry, Mike, I'm adopting.

Oh, and happy, studies suggest that rather than lowering the sperm count itself, cannabis decreases an enzyme made by sperm to break through the egg wall. So his salmon may swim upstream, but they pussy out when it comes to breaking through to their final destination.

 

There's a difference between having the stress of having to make a lifestyle change (like to quit smoking) when you find out you're pregnant, and when you are PLANNING on having a baby. I know that the above poster was harsh, but to be realistic, it wasn't harsh enough. Seriously. Until you have the smoking thing sorted out, you shouldn't be TRYING to have a baby. That's like aggravated assault as far as I'm concerned. I have a friend whose mother's doc told her not to quit smoking due to the risks of stress of withdrawl on the baby. This is controversial, but what I will tell you is that not one of this lady's kids has no hearing aid. They all have slurred speech with permanent plugged noses. It's totally unhealthy for the baby, and it's more likely they'll end up a smoker if they have a smoking parent. I'm not saying you're an 'evil smoker' or anything. I realize it's an addiction. But sympathy for addicted parents comes second to the safety of a potential child. Don't TRY to have a baby until you're ready to put some things away for a while. Even the drinking. Unless you're taking a blood test for pregnancy every time you drink, it's totally irresponsible to drink when you're trying to get pregnant. And if you're planning on being a parent, responsibility needs to become your middle name. One sip of alcohol while pregant can cause fetal alcohol syndrome.

 

IdentityCrisis, I would love to see research relating smoking with hearing problems and slurred speech. While I know children of smokers with asthma and other problems, hearing and speech problems never seem to occur. I would rather equate that with the fact that if the parents smoke, they're more likely to take less care of themselves and their children.

 

That's not true; in fact that's quite prejudice. They're great parents. Sometimes I wish they wouldn't be so affectionate, because when the baby's sitting on one of their laps now, and the ciggarette's letting off swirls of smoke on the coffee table, I imagine what's going on in that baby's system. Now, here's the proof you wanted that smoking is linked to hearing problems. I don't mean slurred speech as in when someone's stoned. I mean because their noses are all plugged and it sounds like they've all got a build-up of saliva in their mouths.

Smoking causes hearing loss:
http://www.hear-it.org/page.dsp?page=1605
http://medicolegal.tripod.com/preventhearingloss.htm
http://thescooponsmoking.org/xhtml/effects/hearingLoss.php
http://www.jrussellshealth.com/smokhear.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9624024&dopt=Abstract


So I think that's enough sources that link hearing loss with smoking. I know they say it's still controversial, but what I'm telling you is that not one person in that house does not have a hearing aid. Everyone in the house smokes.

Smoking. Saliva production may be increased.
http://www.scopevic.org.au/therapy_crc_research_saliva_anatomy.html
This website links smoking with increased saliva. Well, when a child inhales second hand smoke year after year from everyone in the house, this becomes apparent when you come from a non-smoking house and you go over to visit. The effects of smoking are obvious.
The source for this website's information:

Pangborn, R. M., and I. M. Sharon. 1971. "Visual deprivation and parotid response to cigarette smoking": Physiological Behaviour: (6), 559-61.

MacGregor, I. 1988. "Smoking, saliva and salivation" : Journal of Dentistry: (16), 14-17

Changes in saliva are also known symptoms of oral cancer.