[Seany]

Oh.. So basically it's like an abortion, but without a foetus made yet?

[Karen W.]

Well The way I look at it birth control pills differ from the morning afterpill which is issued to a woman after she has had sex, but then realizes she was unprotected so she goes to the doctor who then issues this pill and in essence aborts any eggs which may have been fertilized as I understand it.. I am no expert but that is how I understand it to work. I think the regular pill works before fertilization to excrete the egg before conception.. Is that correct.. someone correct me please if that is not right!

[another_someone]

Dearest Gynecological Experts of Fertility Knowledge Luff & Joy.

Despite having four little bra

You have four bras?  Well, each to his own, I suppose [] (although I am not surprised they are little, I would be more worried if the were 46D).

it is in fact not so easy to for a girlie to get preggy ?

This is why is takes just one out of a zillion little tads to get there and sort it out !

So, why is that then ?..why make the nature of procreation in fact quite difficult if the premise of a species is to multiply ?

I expect there has to be a measure of control else they'd be a population explosion !..so...has nature decided that rather than control the urge to procreate....that it'll just be difficult hence the numbers of little tads ?

This question is not particular to just humans..

Me wants to know cos me wants to know....whajafink ?

Most other species generally have far less difficulty getting pregnant (although I have no doubt some other species have their problems too).

One possibility is that it is to do with human coupling.  Humans are unusual in that the female tries to hide when she is most fertile, and human tend to copulate even at times when the female is not ovulating.  This is assumed to be so that the male cannot know when he has successfully impregnated the female, so he stays around longer just to make sure that he is around at the time when the female does ovulate, and does not let another male get lucky at that time.

It would also make sense, if this explanation is correct, that the female should make it as difficult for the male to succeed as possible, as that means the male has to keep trying for longer (and once he has made all of this investment in trying to get the female impreganted, when he has succeeded, it makes sense to stay around to help the offspring - whereas if the male could just fertilise the female on his first attempt, then he could minimise his investment at that time, and then can quickly just go off and impregnate another female).

[another_someone]

some time back i heard that one possible reason for the declining sperm count was estrogen in the water.

Really ( yet another ' really' for Paul)...why is there estrogen in water ?..is this down to girlie's polluting the water table now ! ?

yes, due to the high levels in the female contraceptive....also not everything i say is made up and therefore does not warrent so many really's  []

That was one theory.

There was also a theory that some plastics containing phthalates might mimic oestrogen and thus have an impact on male fertility.

Personally, I think it more likely that reduced sperm counts are more down to raised stress levels, and possibly social changes that are an accidental by-product of trying to reduce levels of violence in society (i.e. that by making men less violent, they are becoming in some way feminised).

[Karen W.]

I think they work too much and thus as george stated are more stressed etc. etc. Too much work.. all the time work work work work!!!

[elegantlywasted]

Karen, my b/c (its a ring, not a shot or pill) tricks my body into thinking I'm preggers so that any fertilized egg cannot implant its self and will just slide on out, and it changes internal mucous so that spermies cant get through.

[Seany]

Yes. So this contraceptive pills or whatever. Aren't we sidetracking from the question? Why 100 million sperms...

Might be because.. We can't produce 10 amazing swimmers? Like neil said.. So we might as well make 100 million than 10, if the efficiency is the same. []