Myth 1: Day 14 is the day of ovulation, the best time to have sex to boost pregnancy:
While there is no doubt, that a woman’s best chance of conceiving is around the time of ovulation, fertility windows vary woman-to-woman – Not all women ovulate on day 14, cycles of women tend to range from 28-36 days long, therefore women will ovulate on different days. Dr. Ernesto Bosch, a famous IVF expert adds that most women ovulate between days 12-18. Dr. Ernesto recommends couples that are trying to conceive to have sex between days 12-18 to boost their chances (or around 2 weeks before their period), rather than focusing on one day of the month.

Myth 2: Taking the Pill (contraceptives) affects your fertility later
While you may stop ovulating when you take the pill, this places no harm on your eggs. It may take a few months for your cycle to get back into a natural sync with your body. Also around 80% of women that come off the Pill who are trying to have a baby, find they can become pregnant within a year. A senior gynecologist does add however, that the Pill has the ability to mask conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), women with symptoms of PCOS should seek advice from their gynecologist if they wish to go on the Pill.

Myth 3: Breastfeeding stops you from becoming pregnant
You don’t have periods during breastfeeding, and prolactin, a hormone produced during breastfeeding prevents ovulation. However, if you have been breastfeeding for several months, prolactin spikes and an egg may be released, without you even having your period. Thus, it is important to know that breastfeeding is not a contraceptive aide!

Myth 4: A woman can expect her fertility to drop immensely at 30
Many women are led to believe that once they reach their 30s it is far harder to conceive a child. A fertility expert explains that a woman’s egg quality and ovarian reserve gradually decline. However, she strongly recommends that couples start a family as young as possible, as the woman’s eggs tend to be far healthier than when a woman is in her 30s. Women over 40 have a sharper decline in their egg quality (and reserve) than women between the ages of 30-35.

Myth 5: Men can be any age to have a healthy baby
There is a large chunk of research that looks into the age of a woman and how her egg quality and quantity declines, while we assume men have their whole lives to reproduce as they have no male menopause, not entirely true: Children born to older fathers (older than 45) have a higher risk of autism, bipolar disorder, lower IQ and schizophrenia. In fact a child born to a man over the age of 45 is 13 times more likely to develop ADHD than a child born to a 24 year-old father, while the risk of autism is 3.5 times and bipolar disorder 25 times more likely in a child born to an older father. This was a large study that included over 2 million children that were born from 1973-2001. In addition, there is a risk to the mother as older men tend to have sperm with highly fragmented DNA – increasing the risk of miscarriage. So men you are not invincible!

Myth 6: A woman with a sperm allergy cannot become pregnant
Women who have an allergic to sperm have seminal plasma hypersensitivity (SPH), symptoms include itching, burning or swelling after sex. Women with SPH can undergo desensitization therapy, a treatment that combines an injection of tiny amounts of her partner’s sperm and having intercourse 2-3 times a week for her body to get used to the sperm. This condition should not have to limit a couple, interestingly enough the first pregnancy by insemination was for a woman with SPH in 1981 who had twins!

Myth 7: The man’s health and lifestyle habits don’t affect the chances of conceiving
A man’s lifestyle choices, including his weight, diet and overall health all affect the sperm quality, so it is just as important for him to lead a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

Myth 8: A woman that lifts her legs following intercourse will have a greater chance falling pregnant
This widely spread belief that this position will encourage sperm to swim up the cervix is untrue. Dr. Anne Tan, an obstetrician and gynecologist points out that lying still after for around 30 minutes would allow sperm to pool in the cervix.

Myth 9: Tracking temperature will increase the chance of falling pregnant
Although this method is useful in helping to determine ovulation time – the most fertile time, it is not foolproof and is a difficult process to keep track of. Women should consider ovulation predictor kits, which are user-friendly, accurate and far less complex.

Myth 10: A man that fathered a child already cannot be the reason for infertility now
A man is not exempt from a case of infertility if he has had a child in the past. He can still experience problems fathering another child for numerous reasons, these may include weight gain or a thyroid problem both of which affect fertility.