Better late than never...

Hey guys, I'm sorry the blog is late I was stuck in work until late on Friday and I was in all day yesterday too.

However being late is the story of my life, and that creates a new challenge and dynamic to the whole trying for a baby thing we have going on here.

Imagine being stuck in a meeting in work and having Mrs B calling me to explain she is ovulating and I need to get home, I promise I will be done in 5 minutes and well that '5 minutes' always turns into an hour...

So after having a wife who is desperate for me to come home whom is ovulating, well let's just say after a 14 hour shift of finances and sales KPI's it becomes difficult to do anything but eat and go sleep..

It's easy to say that this whole being late thing really isn't new, it is to this day still one of the biggest challenges we have with trying to conceive Barr the fact we have to contend with PCOS.

Considering that the condition and main dynamic of difficulty is on Mrs B's side, or so we believe - I may just be a 'jaffer', it means that there isn't really much that a man can do to help the matter, I do or have taken a few supplements to help my swimmers, I take Zinc currently with the added allowance of no smoking and no alcohol.

Zinc; This little vitamin helps keep a more consistent level of testosterone and increases the creation of quality sperm. Here is what I have found from doing a bit of research over the years - As important as zinc levels are to Mrs B's fertility, it is believed to be even more vital to my ability to get Mrs B pregnant. Why? Because it is considered one of the most important trace minerals to date for fertility, increasing zinc levels in infertile men has been shown to boost sperm levels; improve the form, function and quality of male sperm and decrease male infertility.When low levels are found in the man's reproductive tract, a variety of disorders may present themselves. Immature sperm: zinc is necessary in the creation of the outer membrane and tail of a sperm. Without it, the sperm can not mature to a stage that gives them the mobility and strength to make the long journey through the vagina, cervix and into the uterus for fertilization to take place. Chromosomal changes: low levels of zinc may also be the reason chromosomal defects in the sperm which could cause a miscarriage even if fertilization and implantation do take place and we all know that PCOS carries its own risks of miscarriage so lets not add any more hey?

Smoking; Wow this has been tough but I used to ask myself, does me smoking really effect anything? Well, yes it does - Studies on male smoking have shown a decrease in the quality of those all important swimmers, but how much of an effect are we talking about? Here is what I found most important to this cause.

Sperm concentration: Sperm concentration refers to the number of sperm found in a measured quantity of semen.Studies have shown a 23% decrease in sperm concentration in men who smoke.

Sperm motility: Sperm motility refers to the swimming capabilities of the sperm. If sperm cannot swim properly, they may have trouble reaching the egg and fertilizing it.In men who smoke, researchers found a 13% decrease in sperm motility.

Sperm morphology (I didn't get this one either): Sperm morphology refers to the shape of sperm. Oddly shaped sperm may not swim well enough to get to the egg and may not be able to fertilize an egg.Male smokers have fewer healthy shaped sperm than non-smokers.

Sperm DNA: Some studies have found that the sperm of smokers has increased DNA fragmentation.DNA damaged sperm may lead to problems with fertilization, embryo development, embryo implantation, and increased miscarriage rates.

That word keeps coming up right? I'm telling you now that one of my biggest fears and always will be is the fact that Mrs B and I will work and work to conceive for then the worst to happen like before, it is and always will be my biggest fear with all of this. Miscarriages are brutal, the emotions which run through a mind of a woman who wants a baby so much to have those words muttered to her I can on imagine.

The brutality of such an event is truly horrifying and one I wish never to witness again, we still bear the scars of that episode to this day, but more of that at a later date.

We all need to try new things to try and get to that ultimate goal of conception because without trying new things... well, if you always do what you always did then you will always get what you always got... I'd love to hear of any successive trials your partner's may have had previously for me to give it a go. At this point I will try anything, except eating bananas for potassium - I hate bananas.

Speak soon,

Mr B x