Fertility is a continuous process, which parameters change with time. It is not a die-cut situation that you can ever fully predict who is and who is not. So, if you have some of the points raised here go against you, it doesn't mean that you should become forlorn as the situation can be changed by taking the right steps.

You might be able to assess your possible level of fertility by honestly answering the fertility questions here.


Are you thin as bones?

Being slim is good and healthy, even attractive but being too thin is a fertility problem.

We are animals, higher animals but animals nonetheless and in nature,you will not see an animal with all its bones jutting out due to malnutrition mating during their mating season. It won’t happen; you know why? Nature would, through such an animal’s brain instruct it to get food first and not the erm *cough*

It is same with humans. When your brain detects that you don’t have enough body fat, the hormones that it would send to you would not be the one to enable implantation occur in your womb, it would probably be the one that would make you go and eat first. That is why some women become so thin that their periods stop. That is nature’s way of saying there is time for everything. A time to eat and …If you have a BMI (Body Mass Index) lower than 18, try and get it up to between 19 and 24.5 to improve fertility.

Are you overweight?

Too much of everything is bad, so the saying goes. Because it’s not good to be all bones doesn’t mean you should be overweight. Being overweight is also detrimental to your fertility.

You are overweight if your BMI is over 25. To get your BMI, divide your weight in kilograms (kg) by your height in metres (m)

then divide the answer by your height again. That is your BMI.



Do you get less than seven to eight hours of sleep every night?

For women, getting less than seven to eight hours of sleep causes reduced amounts of Leptin in their system the next day. Leptin is the protein that regulates the menstrual cycle so lack of it can signal infertility.



Do you drink like a fish?

Consuming alcohol has direct effects on fertility which includes a decreased chance of conceiving and a longer time taken to conceive. A study shows that women that consumed two or more alcoholic drinks per day were 60 percent more likely to be infertile.


Do you boil your ‘jewels’

As a man, do not take the word ‘Laptop’ too literally. Because it is called Laptop doesn’t mean your laps should be its home. The heat produced by the laptop, or any heat source for that matter is very detrimental to fertility. So, hard-boiled eggs mean fertility issues.


Are your periods irregular like PHCN power?

If your period is off by a couple of days, that is not a problem as it happens to the best of us, but if it is so irregular that you don’t even bother to keep track of it anymore, then, that is a big problem because irregular ovulation accounts for 30 to 40 percent of ALL infertility cases.


Are you over 40 years of age?

When me and women get to 40 years of age, fertility drops. I know many would say there are many people conceiving and being fertile past this age; yes, it’s true but the simple biological fact is that after 40 years of age, fertility drops.

To illustrate this, a man under 25 years gets a woman pregnant in an average of 4 and half months but for a man over 40 years, the average is 2 years! For a woman, by the time she has clocked 40, her fertility would have dropped by 50 percent.


Is your monthly period a nuclear war?

Many of us experience pain when we have our periods but if the pain is extreme, it might indicate underlying present or future conditions like hormonal imbalances, endometriosis, fibroids and polyps which threaten fertility. If you notice blood in your urine or bowel movements, that could mean you have un-diagnosed endometriosis which might be the source of the pain.

Many infertile women present with these conditions much more than their fertile counterparts.


Do you have very light monthly bleeding

In as much as you might be happy that your period is light and maybe not even up to the usual 5 days, what you should know is that your monthly period is because of the shedding of your uterine lining. So, if you have light bleeding, it means you don’t have much of a uterine wall to shed. Bear in mind that the wall is where implantation occurs and if the embryo doesn’t have ‘solid ground’ to implant into, that can lead to fertility issues.


Is your cycle much longer than 28 days...or less?

It is imperative that a woman's monthly cycle be between 28 to 32 days for their fertility. A 28-day cycle allows plenty of time for the egg to mature properly and gives enough time for implantation, leaving ample time in case implantation is required. So, if the cycle is shorter or much longer, this normal window is missed. Fertility can be reduced by up to 50% in such cases.

Dottore:
Op in written English as well as other languages, there's what is called "paragraphs". It's makes long write up less boring and scary.