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Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Sex File: Sex while trying to conceive is becoming a chore rather than pleasure
My wife and I are trying to have a second child, but more than a year in, sex has become a chore rather than a pleasure. How can we make things fun again? Especially with a toddler on the loose. There is a ton of information online about how much sex you ought to have to get pregnant but a lot of it merits a pinch of salt. The HSE advises sex every two to three days, but that's a lot of sex. Results from the most recent National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal) in 2019 show that the median number of times couples in Britain have sex a month is three. The median is not to be confused with the mean, which is an average including people having no sex and those who are at it five times a night. The median is less susceptible to outliers, making it a more accurate reflection of what most people are doing. Natsal data suggests that couples have sex about 36 times a year, which seems very low. In contrast, the HSE suggests upping that figure to a minimum of 104 times if you want to conceive. No wonder you are finding it all a chore. A year is a long time, and I can understand why you might be concerned, but you've got a toddler, so you've got enough on your plate already without putting extra pressure on yourselves. I know many parents want their children to be close in age, but medical advice is that women should wait at least 18 months between giving birth and getting pregnant. Most couples (about 84%) will conceive naturally within a year if they have regular unprotected sex, and the HSE advises those who don't to consult their GP. However, unless your wife's age is an issue, I suspect your GP would simply tell you both to relax. Although that might sound patronising, there is a lot of research to support the fact that chilling out is beneficial for human fertility. In 2011 the statistician and epidemiologist Germaine Buck Louis tested the saliva of 274 women aged 18 to 40 for biomarkers of stress across six menstrual cycles. The study showed that stress significantly reduces the probability of conception on each and every day during the fertile window. In 2014, the results of a similar experiment, which followed 501 couples for up to a year as they tried to conceive, showed that the most stressed women had a 29% reduction in fertility. I won't bore you with the studies that have shown male stress can impair libido and reduce fertility, sperm count and sperm mobility, but the point is, you have had 12 months of hope, anxiety, disappointment and disillusionment, on top of the exhaustion of parenting, so it is time you and your wife had some fun. I suggest getting away without your toddler. Enlist the help of grandparents and tell them that if they want more grandchildren, they need to step up and give you a break. A study of 2,800 women by BabyCenter in the US said that nearly 50% of those who took so-called conception-moons got pregnant. While no one can guarantee that being able to stay up late, having fun, then lying in the next morning, having sex will lead to pregnancy, I do know that it will reset the dial by reducing stress levels, and that's got to be a good thing. Send your queries to
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Pregnant Olivia Culpo shows off her growing baby bump in a chic floral bikini as she shares common pregnancy struggle in new video
She's currently expecting her first child with husband Christian McCaffrey. And American model Olivia Culpo, 33, took to Instagram on Monday to share a bikini-clad snap as she opened up about a common pregnancy struggle in a new TikTok video. In the new snap, Olivia looked radiant in a floral bikini top, yellow striped shorts, and a matching beach cover-up as she cradled her baby bump. She sported a pair of brown sliders and a matching crochet shoulder bag as she posed for a mirror selfie before lounging on a sunbed. Later in the day, the beauty took to her Instagram story once again to share a clip of herself eating a sandwich without a care in the world, with her bare bump on display. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. In the new video, Olivia looked radiant as she donned a floral bikini top while eating a sandwich without a care in the world, with her bare bump on display She cheekily captioned the video: 'Watching hot girl summer pass by as I google "can ankles explode?" Swollen ankles during pregnancy are a common symptom due to increased fluid retention and pressure on blood vessels in the legs. According to the BabyCenter, research suggests that about two in three women experience noticeable oedema (swelling) in pregnancy. In March, Olivia and Christian, 28, announced they were expecting their first child together. She shared several stunning black-and-white snaps of herself caressing her bump on social media as she announced to her followers: 'Next chapter, motherhood.' Olivia also shared a video of herself and Christian romantically holding hands and kissing outdoors. The couple, who have been dating since 2019 and tied the knot last summer in a lavish ceremony in Rhode Island, are yet to announce the gender of the baby. Christian is the star running back for the San Francisco 49ers, while Olivia is an actress, model and former pageant star. She has been open about her desire to start a family with Christian before but has also discussed her battle with Endometriosis. During a 2022 episode of the reality show Culpo Sisters, she said: 'I want to have kids, but I want to make sure that I can. It could be really hard for me to have babies. She continued: 'Endometriosis can affect your fertility in a lot of different ways. 'You can have endometrial tissue growing near or on your ovaries, it can affect the quality of your eggs, scar your fallopian tubes. 'There is so much that I don't know about what's going to happen in the future with that condition, and I worry all the time about my timeline. I feel like I have to have kids ASAP.' The pregnancy is great news for Christian after a torrid NFL season that saw him suffer a number of injury setbacks. Christian, who signed a two-year, $38million contract extension in June 2024, played in just four games. He spent the first eight weeks of the season on injured reserve with Achilles injuries in both legs. He then suffered a PCL injury against the Buffalo Bills in Week 13. Earlier this year, his father, Ed McCaffrey, gave an update on his recovery from a posterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered on December 1. 'He's doing great,' McCaffrey told Front Office Sports ' Alex Tran. 'He should be healthy by next week and he'll have a full offseason to train. I still have PTSD from last year's Super Bowl. So I haven't recovered yet, but he has recovered, and he's healthy. 'It was a tough season, but he's in great shape. He's going to have a full offseason and I think their team is really going to come back strong next season.'
New York Post
22-05-2025
- Health
- New York Post
Moms-to-be are sipping this weird Starbucks drink to induce labor — experts say it's ridiculous
These pregnant mamas are eager to get things moving and grooving. There is a long list of bizarre hacks that pregnant women will try to induce labor — but this new one has experts scratching their heads. Soon-to-be moms on social media are hitting up their local Starbucks to specifically order the iced passion tango tea — or the passion tango tea lemonade — in the hopes of sending them to the hospital to give birth. Advertisement One desperate 38-week pregnant woman, Lindsey Hull, posted a TikTok video eagerly ordering the viral 'labor-inducing' drink. 'I'm sure it doesn't actually work,' she said in the video that has over 350,000 views. 'But I'm willing to try literally anything.' Advertisement The million-dollar question is, can a Starbucks iced drink actually help push a baby out? Desperate moms-to-be will try anything to get their baby out by the end of their term. Sergey Novikov – Some moms would say yes. Back in 2023, mommies-to-be were chugging venti passion tea lemonade with four pumps of raspberry syrup. Advertisement 'When you're 39 weeks [and] four days with no signs of labor so you get the Starbucks 'Pregnancy Drink' and hope for the best,' a very pregnant mom of four Mika Laidler, wrote in the caption of her trending TikTok video. Luckily for Laidler, her version of the labor-inducing concoction actually worked. 'Update: Drank the 'Pregnancy Drink' from Starbucks, and 8 hours later [I] gave birth at 39 weeks and four days,' she said in another TikTok video posted soon after she gave birth. Advertisement According to experts — this timing is just coincidental. 'At term, everyone should start having contractions and notice increased discharge at some point, so of course some women will correlate that with drinking this Starbucks drink,' Shannon Smith, M.D., a board-certified ob-gyn and partner at Brigham Faulkner Ob/Gyn Associates in Boston, Massachusetts, told Baby Center. 'I think that is natural bias.' Sadly for those women who ran to order the drink after watching Hull's or Laidler's videos — 'There's no magic to it,' Rebecca Amaru, M.D., a board-certified ob-gyn in private practice at Brasner, Blumberg & Amaru in New York City also told Baby Center. The ingredients in the iced passion tango tea drink — water, hibiscus flowers, citric acid, natural flavors, cinnamon, apple, licorice root, lemongrass and fruit juice extract, lemon juice, sugar, and lemon oil for the lemonade version — are generally safe for pregnant women. The iced drink is supposedly tasty — but that doesn't mean it can actually help induce labor. Starbucks However, those expecting have to be careful of the drink's high sugar content and its herbs. Advertisement 'For many herbs – including these two [hibiscus and licorice root] we either lack data entirely or have very limited information about their safety in pregnancy,' Ryann Kipping, R.D.N., owner and founder of The Prenatal Nutritionist, told Baby Center. If pregnant women want to naturally induce labor — they can skip the Starbucks drive-thru and instead opt for light exercise, acupuncture, sex and snack on dates to get things moving and grooving, according to Healthline.
USA Today
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Is your baby's name trendy? These 20 names were the most popular in South Dakota in 2024
Is your baby's name trendy? These 20 names were the most popular in South Dakota in 2024 Show Caption Hide Caption Find out what baby names are declining in popularity for 2025 BabyCenter revealed a list of the baby names that are declining in popularity for 2025. Liam and Amelia were the most popular baby names for boys and girls respectively in South Dakota in 2024. Nationally, Olivia and Emma were the top two names for girls, while Liam and Noah topped the list for boys. The Social Security Administration releases an annual list of the 1,000 most popular baby names. Just how trendy is your newborn's name these days? Every year, the Social Security Administration compiles and releases its list of 2024's most popular 1,000 baby names to see which names increased the most in popularity. For South Dakota, the list contains 100 each for both males and females. The top male name in South Dakota in 2024 was Liam, shortened from Uilliam, an Irish variant of William. For girls, the top baby name was Amelia, meaning hard-working. The next four names for boys were Oliver, Henry, Theodore and Asher. These four names come from a variety of origins, with Oliver having two origins − Old Norse and Latin, Henry being Old German, Theodore was originally Greek, while Asher comes from Hebrew. According to "The Best baby Name book in the whole wide world" by Bruce and Vicki Lansky, Theodore means "a gift of God." It combines Theos, God, and doron, gift. As for girls names in slots two through five in South Dakota, there's Charlotte, Lainey, Harper and Olivia. Charlotte, with French origin, means womanly. As for Olivia, similar to Oliver, it's from Latin. Lainey, which comes from Elaine that comes from Helen, is originally French, per the Lansky's. As for Harper, its origins are Old English, meaning a harp player. Top 10 baby names for boys in South Dakota for 2024 Liam Oliver Henry Theodore Asher Brooks Jack Noah William Hudson Top 10 baby names for girls in South Dakota for 2024 Amelia Charlotte Lainey Harper Olivia Emma Nora Eleanor Ellie Violet What were the top baby names in the U.S. in 2024? The girls' name, Ailany, which means "chief" or "heavens," moved the most, up from No. 855 in 2023 to No. 101 in 2024. The name Truce, which means "peace," ranked at No. 12,109 in 2023 moved to No. 991 in 2024 for boys. The next female name that worked its way north on the register: Aylani, spelled a tad differently with the same meaning "chief" or "heavens," up from No. 1001 to No. 855. In addition, the male name Colsen, meaning "son of Col," moved its way up from No. 1835 to No. 631. The list also reveals, nationally, the male and female names that are the most popular: Olivia and Emma ranked No. 1 and No. 2 for girls, and Liam and Noah ranked No. 1 and No. 2 for boys. Below are the top 10 baby names that increased in popularity from 2023 to 2024: Watch: Hilarious duo dresses up as 'personal drivers' to take friend to the doctor Baby names that rose the most in 2024: Here are the top five girls' names that increased the most in popularity in the U.S. in 2024: Girls ◾Ailany ◾Aylani ◾Marjorie ◾Scottie ◾Analeia Most popular baby names released: Two names rank No. 1 for sixth straight year Here are the top five boys' names that increased the most in popularity in the U.S. in 2024: Boys ◾Truce ◾Colsen ◾Bryer ◾Halo ◾Azaiah Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund.
USA Today
08-05-2025
- General
- USA Today
King, Crown and Indica among baby names rejected in New Zealand in 2024. See full list
King, Crown and Indica among baby names rejected in New Zealand in 2024. See full list Under New Zealand federal law, registered names cannot be offensive, resemble a title or rank, be unreasonably long, or include numbers or symbols. Show Caption Hide Caption Find out what baby names are declining in popularity for 2025 BabyCenter revealed a list of the baby names that are declining in popularity for 2025. What do Rogue, Crown, Fanny and Mighty all have in common? They are all baby names rejected by New Zealand's federal government last year. New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs recently published a full list of names (40, to be exact) that were requested and rejected in 2024. The majority resemble a title or rank, such as King, which was requested and denied 11 times. Prince and Princess were also requested, in addition to alternative spellings like Pryncess and Prynce. Names with ties to marijuana were also requested and rejected − Sativa and Indica, which are two popular marijuana strains. Both were only requested and rejected once. "We continue to urge parents to think carefully about names. Names are a gift. Generally, the name registered will be with the individual for the rest of their lives," a document published by New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs states. Here's a look at the full list of names that were declined last year and the reasoning behind why. What names were declined? Can't see the chart above? Visit Why were these names declined? According to New Zealand's 2021 Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Act, names cannot: Be offensive Resemble a title or rank without adequate justification Be unreasonably long Include numbers or symbols Names that may fall into one of the above categories is reviewed to determine how it make be perceived in the community, how it is spelt and sound when spoken, how the name could impact others, and when appropriate, why the parents wish to register the name, according to a documents published by New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs. If a name is declined, the parents of the child are contacted and are able to provide further justification for the name they requested. Often though, a new name is chosen, federal documents state. What other countries have strict baby naming laws? Aside from New Zealand, some other countries with strict baby naming laws include Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Iceland, according to legal advisor Angie Newnham. The U.S., on the other hand, has very few restrictions on baby names, with each state having its own set of rules. Generally, names are allowed if they are not obscene or derogatory, and some states have limitations on symbols and special characters being added. For example, in Texas, a baby's first, middle, and last names are restricted to a maximum of 100 letters total, with special characters, numbers and diacritical marks being prohibited. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@
