The Secrets of Fertility, With Dr. Nikki Goldstein
Let’s face it. [tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#SexTalks #Vadge” display_mode=”box”]Some women are as fertile as an ant colony. If she even looks at her partner, she’s pregnant… [/tweetthis]
Some women, on the other hand, struggle with fertility for various reasons. Whether it be stress, their partner’s fertility or medical issues – there’s a lot that goes into creating a life form. While some may think it’s as simple as laying down with a man, there’s much more to getting pregnant. Dr. Nikki Goldstein (named Australia’s best sex educator twice) has spent her career thus far helping women unlock the secrets of fertility. She’s even chronicled her journey of egg freezing! Today, she shares with VForVadge.com some of the key elements that could help many women in their fertility quest.
What is the biggest misconception about age and fertility?
I think this works both ways. I see people either fearful of running out of time so they feel this urge to settle in order to have children or think they have more time when in fact they might be putting themselves in a difficult position when they want to start trying. Fertility is such an unknown thing and will different from person to person but the one thing we really do need to consider is there our fertility is declining at an earlier age. It doesn’t mean that we can’t have children alter but it just might be more difficult. But with accessing various advances in technology, we can do something about this.
What prompted you to chronicle your fertility journey?
When I decided to do this I didn’t feel like there were many other woman in my age bracket [she’s only 30, btw] freezing their eggs and if they had done it or were considering it they were not talking about it openly. It was all so secretive and due to this a real lack of information from a personal point of view. I not only wanted to do something that would show other woman who were curious what was involved but also to do something that would hopefully start relevant conversation around egg freezing and lift some of the negative stigma attached.
Top factors that can affect fertility:
There are so many different things that affect a woman’s fertility and yes, lifestyle can be one of them, but it could also just one of those things that a woman will struggle to get pregnant. Our fertility is so unknown and so different but we might not know what it all looks like until we start try and it can then often be too late to do anything. As young women, we are taught about motherhood and how babies are borne, etc. – but never consider as part of the fairytale that we might struggle to get there or even not get there at all. Besides not smoking and being on the pill (or various other medical conditions if they are present) there is not much you can do to prolong fertility.
If you knew then what you know now, what would you have done differently
I would have asked for more help. I was very matter of fact going into the process and trying to stay strong but it was harder than I first thought. But when I was going through the process my head space was not there to put my hand up. I was very fortunate I had friends that stepped in but what I learnt was that the process can be physically and mentally hard. Everyone has a different experience but this also strengthened my desire to talk about it openly. I wish there were things other woman had told me before I started. There were people along the way who would call and text and just having someone else who understood what it was all like really helped. That’s why I think we need to be more open about this process and IVF in general as well. As woman, we have the ability to make this easier on each other with that support and need to stop seeing this as competition which I feel really does exists in fertility clinics.