Water Sports and Conception

  I have a very unusual question!  I took birth control pills for 13 years and have been trying to conceive for 12 months now.  My husband's sperm analysis is normal to excellent.  My periods are regular (28-30 day cycles), and the ovulation kits indicate ovulation at day 14 or 15 every month, plus I get a migraine every month 2 days after I supposedly ovulate. Yet I still haven't conceived. The question that nags at me that no one seems to be able to answer is this:  I am an avid and aggressive windsurfer, sailing almost daily for hours at a time.  Could the salt water "douche" or the frequent jumping and landing affect my ability to conceive or the ability of a fertilized egg to "stick" in the uterus?  I've tried not sailing during the 3-4 day ovulation period and during the last week, to no avail.  Should I be concerned about this or am I just being silly, as most people say?
Dear Rhonda:
Although "lake water douche" has been described with falls a high speed during water ski accidents, I am not aware of this with "low speed" sports. If a douche effect from ocean water is occurring, the effect should be short-lived. At worst, it would change the "local environment" and affect sperm survival.
Physicians are doing fewer "postcoital tests" because they have not been as good a predictor of fertility as we once thought. The test asks that you and husband have relations on a day shortly before or at ovulation, come to the physician office 1-4 hours later, and a sample of the cervical mucus is examined under a microscope to look for swimming sperm. Finding normal sperm numbers would reassure you that wind-surfing is not an issue with sperm transfer.
My gut reaction is that wind surfing is not the likely explanation of one year without conception.
Given 100 ladies, aged 18-32 years, who are attempting pregnancy for one year, about 80 will have conceived and 20 will still be trying. In the next year, 15 of the last 20 will become pregnant.
Keywords: fertility, windsurfing
This information is provided for education purposes and is not a medical consultation. If you have specific questions, please contact your physician.