Women, laptops, fertility, and TTC...oh my!

[lucy.lucy.80]

great question...I have heard this too- it took DH & I 6/7 months (i lost count) to get pregnant and we put the laptop on a TV tray (classy i know rite?!? haha!) when using it

*Hugs* and hope you get your BFP soon

 

[qtiekiki]

Radiations from laptops did not have an effect on my fertility, based on my two pregnancies. It took us over 1 year of actively TTCing to conceive our DD, and it took 2 months of not preventing to conceive baby #2 (due to make an appearance by Monday latest). My laptop usage had not changed between the two pregnancies. If anything, I used the laptop more often after giving birth to DD (especially when I was on maternity leave).

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 1/29/2010 2:03:58 PM
Author: Laila619

Date: 1/29/2010 1:58:02 PM
Author: Octavia
I''m not TTC yet, but I never really thought about the fact that laptops *could* have an effect on me. DH, of course, but somehow my mind never went further than that. I do use my laptop for a huge part of most days, but fortunately it''s usually on a desk when I''m at school. When I''m at home, I sit on the couch but my computer is often on the couch beside me (I sprawl) or on the coffee table, less often on my lap. From now on, I will probably be more careful about where it''s positioned, just on the off chance it could have an effect. It won''t be an odious burden for me -- sort of like avoiding canned tomatoes when possible to reduce exposure to BPH. I put it in the category of ''may not help, but certainly can''t hurt.''

Laila, I wish you all the best of luck! I hope you get good news very soon.

I know, right?! I didn''t either! We''ve all heard that it''s bad for a man, but never for a WOMAN! I suppose it makes sense given what we know about radiation and cell phones.

Thanks Octavia.

that''s what i heard too.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Ladies I understand your frustration and irritation with my comment, however I didn''t mean to be insensitive by it. My friend (BFF) was 29 her tests all checked out OK, as did her husbands. There was no reason to pinpoint the infertility to. Same with my cousin. Both couples tried for 3+ years going through treatments, etc. Both couples decided to take a break before pursuing insemination and conceived.

And my comment about husbands in general was just an example, I wasn''t really saying her husband had an issue, just that there are so many things that COULD be connected that you wouldn''t necessarily think. I had someone once tell me that the seat heaters in your car could temporarily affect sperm count for example.

You can try and pinpoint a reason for whatever ails you. That''s a natural reaction. But until you can shoe research or a direct correlation I''m going to remain a skeptic.

Best of luck to everyone in their quest.

 

[swimmer]

Nicely put HH.

IF is so very hard. I know. Just have to point out that while I am sure that the heat from the laptop is most def not a great thing to subject your ovaries to for hours a day, there is not one single study that links laptop use on lap with female infertility. So, yes, I''m typing this to you on my laptop that is on my lap, with a pillow over the babybump, like I am perhaps 2ish hours a day, but do remember that anecdote and studies are not in any way at all the same thing. the original link is to a college girl blogging about the possibility of a connection, I just logged in and did some searching through scientific search engines and found nada on this.

Yes, when we confront something that is so frustrating and mind numbingly painful as IF, we search for reasons. Just like those who search for a reason for their children''s autism...sometimes there is no simple or conclusive answer.

 

[Pandora II]

I use my laptop an enormous amount - it pretty much is glued to my knees - and I got pg very fast at 36.

 

[Laila619]

Thanks everyone for your replies! Interesting to read your experiences.

Swimmer, no offense but I am really surprised that you of all people wouldn''t bristle at being told to "just relax." Did that ''advice'' work for you?

 

[swimmer]

Laila, none taken.

I figure if comes from someone with good intentions who understands how hard this is, like HH, then it really is EXCELLENT advice. When it is a glib acquaintance, the sort who shares with you that her DH "just has to look at her and she gets knocked up," well that is someone to just ignore. Yes, I do take offense when people throw around racist, sexist, or elitist language, well, no, I don't take offense, I just think it reflects really poorly on their character or ability to articulate their thoughts. I don't get offended by people who now pat my belly or either tell me I'm too skinny or enormous (within minutes of each other!) or want to share gory delivery stories, because they mean well and I no longer care about almost anything other than that I'm finally finally finally pregnant. My cousin who took 8 years to get her twins is almost zen-like, now I get it.

Nope, you are totally right, I wouldn't say relaxing helped me get pregnant. An awesome DH and an RE who took my blood for weeks straight, finally finding the right mix of injectables, and an IUI did! I put my faith in the doc and science and well, now am 26+ weeks along. Knock on wood. I wish all the TTC ladies could get exactly what their heart desires, I do know that statistically the vast majority will. Meresal, Mara, HH, and others pointed that out, and the Preggo thread is full (like RQ) of women who experienced loss and went on to have that perfect baby. I'm sending all my strongest healing and positive vibes to those who are still seeking this.

ETA: and yes, I understand the desire to seek out anecdotal evidence, heck that was most of what we did/do on the TTC thread, but in an attempt to remain sane, I seek out peer reviewed literature. I'm a PhD candidate, so it would be odd if I didn't do that sort of research as well.

 

[purrfectpear]

Anecdotal evidence is just that, anecdotal. It''s not a double blind study.

We''ve all heard of the couples who couldn''t conceive, adopted a child and then went on to get pregnant. In fact most of us probably know someone that has happened to. Clearly "relaxing" worked for them

That does not mean that every couple will have a natural child just as soon as they adopt and relax

Wishing you a future of baby spitup and poopy diapers on every one of you who desire it