Conception

Conception myths and facts

Fact : Taking multivitamins and folic acid is recommended when trying to get pregant.
Health Canada recommends that all women wanting to get pregnant, as well as those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, take a multivitamin containing folic acid dailym at least 12 weeks before conception, during pregnancy and 4 to 6 weeks after the baby is born – or until they stop breastfeeding. Folic acid helps prevent neural tube defects, and multivitamins prevent deficiencies in pregnant women and eliminate the possibility of other problems in the baby.

Fact and myth : You could get pregnant at any time of your cycle.
You can only conceive during ovulation, but because every woman’s cycle is different – and that it can vary from one month to another - it’s hard to predict the ovulation’s duration. That’s why it’s important to know your body and your cycle if you want to get pregnant. Mysexuality.ca also reminds us that sperm can survive for a few days in the woman’s body, which means that having intercourse before your ovulation period could still end up with a pregnancy!

Myth : Stress influences fertility.
Relaxing is not a guarantee for fertility, but stress can nonetheless influence the situation. According to MédiResource, experts believe that there is a relationship between stress and infertility, but that it is secondary to other causes of infertility. Indeed, too much stress causes hormonal fluctuation in some women, which could delay or prevent the release of an egg. In men, stress can reduce the amount of sperm produced.

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