Eat Well Get Pregnant
It has long been noticed that nations afflicted with famine tend to have
low or no population growth. If the famine doesn't last for too long a time,
the zero population growth at the time of famine is counteracted by a compensatory
leap in birth rate once food stores are replenished. Nature has a way of
catching up to itself. This has been seen in China
in the years 1958-1961, Bengal in 1943, and Ethiopia in the years 1983-1985. Population
growth slowed to a virtual halt during the famines but was then followed by a healthy growth within
a few years after the crisis was resolved.
Calories Count
But, the effects of famine are seen in populations whose stores of food
are great. Working out is the urban equivalent of starving and one University
of Pittsburgh study showed that women who work out hard and often find
it difficult, if not impossible, to get pregnant. What is the connection
between famine and fancy work outs in a gym? Simple: it's the calories that
count.
The Pittsburgh
study used monkeys to demonstrate their theory that working out can cause infertility. The researchers trained monkeys to work out on a level comparable
to marathon training. As the level of exercise increased, but calorie intake
remained the same, the monkeys stopped menstruating.
If the energy expended remained the same but calorie intake was
increased to between 31%-81% more calories, normal menstruation cycles were
resumed. The more food the monkeys were fed, the sooner their menstrual periods
returned to normal.
Thin Women Have Underweight Babies.
What happens when women don't eat enough? The hypothalamus in the brain
tells the body to stop ovulating and menstruating. It's clear: Mother Nature
doesn't think you're eating enough to grow a baby. Dr. Diane Lockwood, medical
director of Midlands Fertility Services in the UK says, "Women who are very
thin have higher risks of miscarriage and babies born prematurely. There is
overwhelming evidence that thin women have underweight babies."
So, how thin is too thin? That would be a body mass index (BMI) of less
than 19. Guidelines suggested by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence
state that women considering fertility treatments should be within a BMI range
of between 19 and 30 because being either over or underweight makes treatment
less successful.
Sometimes, even when women gain the much needed weight, their periods need a
medical kick-start to resume. This is an instance in which drugs can be useful
to set things to right.
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