A New iPhone App Helps a Woman Get Pregnant

January 25, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized, fertility, getting pregnant, iPhone, iphone app, ipod, ipod app, menstrual calendar, ovulation, pregnancy — Amanda @ 2:01 pm

There are a number of helpful iPod applications that can be used by pregnant women to do things like track the baby’s growth or easily generate a due date. An application called Pregnancy App is designed to help shorten the waiting time before your child arrives, showing due date, progress of the pregnancy, the pregnancy week, and a countdown until birth. It also shows information with a picture of the baby’s development. Most women use things like menstrual apps to show them when their menstrual period will start. Using an app to track ovulation days has become increasingly popular when the UK’s first “iPhone Baby” was conceived.

The UK couple says they had been trying for years to conceive. With a little help from an iPhone app, they now have their baby Lola.

Lena Bryce and her partner Dudley desperately wanted a child. Lena told The Sun “It began to weight heavily on us. We were considering IVF and adoption when Dudley gave me the iPhone for my birthday. I put in ‘get pregnant’ and downloaded five apps”. Lena Bryce downloaded the apps and said “The Free Menstrual Calendar was the easiest to use so I stuck with it, and within two months I was pregnant”.

The 30-year old said she had been trying to conceive with her husband Dudley for over four years. In the end, all it took as a simple download for Lena to get pregnant, making her the mother the Britain’s first iPhone Baby.

The Free Menstrual Calendar highlights your most fertile day in pink, shows when your menstrual period begins, and includes predictions to due dates.

The whole ordeal raises some questions. You may wonder whether or not is is necessary to download an iPhone application in order to become pregnant. A simple calculation on a calendar, ovulation test, or a trip to the doctor could provide the same information as the app. At the end of the day, however, the free application was much cheaper than a trip to the doctor, and most likely reduced the time spent traveling and waiting in a waiting room.

Birth Control Buzz is a service company that provides birth control prices, types of birth control(prescription required), health administrative services, and birth control statistics predominantly to US patients seeking to purchase pharmaceuticals on-line. For more information, call 1-866-868-8850 or visit http://www.birthcontrolbuzz.com/.

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January 21, 2010

4 Reasons Why There Shouldn’t be a Male Birth Control Pill

Filed under: Uncategorized, birth control patch, birth control pills, condoms, male birth control pill, male contraceptive — Amanda @ 4:04 pm

There’s been ongoing interest over the possibility of a male contraceptive. Every few years a new discovery appears and it convinces us that we are closer to a birth control pill for men. For the first time, a safe, reversible, and effective male contraceptive has become a reality. Within the near future, several types of male birth control may become available to the average man. Soon men will be able to have the same options as women including a daily birth control pill, a patch or gel applied to the skin, and injection given every three months, or an implant under the skin every twelve months.

Seattle researchers claim that the availability of male contraceptives depends on how funding continues. The technology is available and it is understood how a hormonal male contraceptive will work.

Sure, this may be a great thing for women – we no longer have to remember the pill or suffer from awful side effects – but when you really think about it, a male contraceptive might not be such a good thing.

1. A new excuse to get you into bed – Some men might use male contraceptives as an excuse to get in your pants. The same men that lie about pulling out will lie about being on the pill.

2. Will they remember to take it – If you can’t trust your man to remember to pick up milk on the way home or buy condoms when you run out, how will you know if he remembered to take the pill?

3. An increase in STIs – Its been speculated that the approval of a male contraceptive might increase the spread of sexually transmitted infections. The pill won’t protect you from STIs – and if you’re both on the pill, why would you need a backup condom?

4. Decreased pregnancy rates – By putting men in control, couples may not be getting married having children as early in life. Women tend to want children more than men and they want to “move forward” in relationships. Men forget that the main reason for sex is procreation. Someone wrote in reply to the idea of a male birth control “[Male contraceptives] with the simultaneous invention of a time-travel machine, will result in 90% of us not being born”

There’s no telling whether or not men will even use a hormonal contraceptive, however its safe to say – don’t trust a man to do a woman’s job.

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January 15, 2010

January – National Cervical Health Awareness Month

Filed under: HPV, Uncategorized, cervical cancer, cervical health, hpv vaccination, hpv vaccine — Candace @ 5:09 pm

Every year 13,000 people are diagnosed with cervical cancer in the United States alone. Approximately 1 in 20,923 Americans are diagnosed with cervical cancer. It was estimated that in 2009 11,300 women would be diagnosed and 4,100 women would have died from cervical cancer in the United States. Thanks to current screening technology and practices there has been a considerable decline over the past 40 years in the number of cases of cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is most commonly caused by Human Papillomavirus. HPV infections cause unusual changes to the cells of the cervix and may possibly lead to cervical cancer. Most HPV infections in young women are short-lasting and are not significant in the long run. 70 percent of infections have vanished in one year and 90 percent in two years. Only between five and ten percent of women diagnosed with HPV do not lost the infection and are vulnerable to cervical precancer, which may develop into cervical cancer. There is no way to know which people who are diagnosed with HPV develop any cancers (or other health problems) before the cancer begins developing. The process takes about 15 to 20 years dependent upon treatment and opportunities for detection. If cervical precancer is caught in its early stages it is most often easily cured. It is advised that women get regular screenings for cervical cancer. Screenings find early signs of diseases so that that issues can be addressed and solved before they progress into cancer.

HPV is the most common the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). It affects 50 to 85 percent of all sexually active people. HPV is transferred by any type of sexual contact. To lessen one’s chances of contracting HPV, decrease the number of sexual partners and use protection, such as condoms.

Gardasil is a widely available vaccination which presents protection from four types of HPV. These four particular types cause 60 to 70 percent of all problems related to either cervical cancer, or genital warts. The best age to get your 1st of 3 doses of the Gardasil vaccination is between the age of 11 and 12.

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January 13, 2010

Is It Best For You To Get Rid Of Your Period?

Filed under: Menstrual Cramps, Uncategorized, birth control methods, birth control options, menstrual periods, menstural cycle, periods — Candace @ 4:48 pm

Menstrual cycles are annoying and painful for most women. They cause mood swings, cramps, headaches, and are uncomfortable. Taking a birth control pill on a daily basis has halted woman’s menstrual cycles in many cases. For women to hear that with a simple pill they can stop their period is glorious! But is this pill safe? Is it as effective as we have been told? There are various pros and cons to be considered.

Pros -
Women don’t need a period – The only reason known for a menstrual cycle, is for a woman to get pregnant. A period occurs to rid the body of the uterine lining which has been built up monthly to prepare the egg to be fertilized. When you are on a hormonal birth control pill the lining no longer builds up, thus there is nothing to expel and no reason for a period. A traditional 28 day pack of birth control pills have 7 placebo (sugar, no-hormone) pills. The lack of hormones is what causes the flow.

It is convenient - With monthly menstrual cycles many women undergo severe pain. The symptoms include headaches, cramps, mood swings, and various other painful and undesired feelings. When taking birth control pills and not having a period, there are no symptoms and no pain!

Skipping periods is another reproductive choice for women; the more choices we have, the better.

If you decide to use/continue using birth control pills as a way to stop your period, check with your insurance if they are covered in your plan. You will need a doctor’s written approval to prescribe you with BCP’s for excessive pain before your insurance will cover the pills.

Cons -

It’s not philosophically right – Periods are not diseases. The pill is not an antibiotic. Doctors have prescribed continuous-hormone birth control pills for women who experience extreme pains, mood swings, and discomforts. Getting rid of one’s period would be just a matter of convenience. By expelling menstrual cycles it gives the image that women’s periods are something to be ashamed of.

Lybrel doesn’t work – A new release, the no-bleeding pill, Lybrel, might not work for all women. After a year of using Lybrel, a study showed that 40 percent of women on Lybrel still had spotting, and 20 percent bled enough to need tampons or pads.

May be unsafe – Although most professionals say BCP’s are safe for stopping your period, we have yet to know the long term effects of taking hormones nonstop might be.

How will you tell you are pregnant – Skipped periods are the most common way women discover they are pregnant. If you are not expecting your period, how will you know you are pregnant?

We do not know enough about using BCP’s to stop periods to consider it completely safe.

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January 7, 2010

9 Important Birth Control Events of the Decade

Filed under: Essure, Family Planning, Mirena, NuvaRing, Obama, STD, Uncategorized, plan b, seasonique — Amanda @ 4:10 pm

In the last century we’ve witnessed extravagant improvements and findings to do with forms of contraception. However, in the last 10 years we’ve continued to experience many more changes to contraception as well. These changes include new forms of contraceptive, an abortion pill, changes in the prices and availability of a variety of birth control methods, and more.

1. In 2006 we were introduced to Seasonique, the extended cycle birth control pill. These pills were made available to women who want to reduce the number of times they had a bleeding period to four times a year. In 2007 Lybrel was approved and was designed to put a complete stop to periods all together. These pills improve the lifestyle of women who suffer from severe menstrual problems.

2. In 2002 a new form of sterilization for women was approved by the FDA. This procedure was designed for women who did not want to undergo surgery. Essure is a surgery-free contraceptive procedure. There are no incisions required – instead, small coil inserts are placed within the fallopian tubes. In 2009, the Essure surgery was publicized when Trista Sutter from the Bachelorette announced she was going to undergo the Essure procedure.

3. In 2007, the Family Planning services received an increase in their funding. This was to provide low income families with family planning services they would be able to afford. The group had been in need of an increase for many years. The 17 million dollar increase helped prevent about 20 million unintended pregnancies. 9 million of these prevented pregnancies would have otherwise been aborted.

4. President Obama was sworn into office on January 20th 2009. His promises for a woman’s right to choose her own reproductive freedoms helped him win the support of many Americans. Polls showed that 91% of Americans strongly favor the use of contraceptives. Obama declared that Roe.V Wade (support of abortion in the US)

“Not only protects womens health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters.”

5. In 2000, the state-of-the-art IUD (Intrauterine Device) Mirena was approved. Because of the IUD’s reputation, the hassle-free Mirena IUD is still continuing to pick up in popularity. Mirena offers women a new combination hormone birth control option. One IUD can prevent pregnancy for up to 5 years and is 99.9% effective making it one of the most effective reversible contraceptive options out there.

6. In 2007, it was reported that teen pregnancy rates were on the rise for the first time in 14 years. In addition, it was also noted that the number of teens with STDs rose to 1 in 4 American teenage women. Read more about teen pregnancy and STD rates here.

7. The “morning after” emergency contraceptive pill took a lot of heat throughout the decade. Even today there is still controversy surrounding the pill. When the Plan B pill became available in the US in 1999, it was not available over the counter or to those over 18 years old. In 2003, the FDA voted for Plan B to be sold without a prescription but it wasn’t until 2006 when the FDA finally approved the sale of Plan B over the counter to those over 18. Plan B was not availble to women under 18 until March 2009.

8. In 2001 the Nuvaring was approved. Nuvaring is a flexible ring that releases hormones to protect against pregnancy and inserted into the vagina. The Nuvaring gave women another reversible birth control option and is a perfect alternative to birth control pills.

9. American’s were extra cautious in 2009 when they saw the reality of the recession. Many partners used more contraceptives that in any other year in order to not get pregnant. To them, a baby seemed like another expense. This inflated the birth control sales by up to 10% for OTC products, 6% for condom sales, and a whopping 50-75% increase in the number of vasectomies performed on American men.

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