A bitter pill to swallow: "Saturday babies" and springtime being the best season for conception.

**A Bitter Drink of Its Own Making-"Saturday Baby"**

I started a column on men's health called "Men's Style" in the Tianjin-based newspaper "Caifengbao," which is published weekly and I interact with readers. It's been very popular. One day, I received a letter from a reader who said, "I am a 43-year-old male civil servant. Some people tell me that drinking alcohol is good for health, as it can relax muscles and improve blood circulation, and nourish the body; others tell me that drinking alcohol can easily lead to alcohol poisoning, damaging the liver, stomach, and kidneys, and affecting sexual function. In developed countries, there are even 'Saturday babies' due to excessive drinking on weekends."

In response to this letter, I replied: "The pros and cons of drinking alcohol are indeed a matter of opinion. My opinion is that it should be tailored to the individual and moderate. There are indeed some people who drink every day, with a considerable capacity, and are still healthy. Some centenarians regularly drink spirits or wine and are in excellent health. This makes some people very interested in drinking. However, many doctors believe that drinking alcohol easily leads to premature aging, damages the liver and heart, raises blood pressure, decreases appetite, causes sexual dysfunction, mental stiffness, worsens diabetes, weakens the immune system, increases susceptibility to cancer, and even affects family harmony. How can such contradictory things be?"

I believe there are two main issues. First, individual differences exist. Some people do have exceptionally healthy livers, capable of breaking down alcohol and eliminating toxins. However, for most people, the scientific advice that excessive drinking is harmful to health should not be doubted. Second, it's about finding the right balance. Moderate drinking has some benefits, such as promoting blood circulation, improving mood, relieving stress, and a few drinks with friends can liven up the atmosphere-after all, "no feast is complete without wine!" However, drinking can easily become an addiction, and once addicted, it's often difficult to control the amount consumed. Excessive and prolonged drinking is definitely detrimental to health. For men, in addition to the aforementioned adverse effects of drinking, the most significant impacts are on sexual function, the prostate, and fertility. Clinical observations show that approximately 40% of male alcoholics experience erectile dysfunction, and about 5% to 10% have ejaculation disorders. This is because alcohol slows down testosterone production. Alcohol irritates the male prostate, easily inducing inflammation and exacerbating hyperplasia. Therefore, men with acute or chronic prostatitis or benign prostatic hyperplasia should abstain from alcohol. Alcohol is also a killer of sperm; long-term excessive drinking can cause about 70% of sperm to be underdeveloped or lose their vitality. Alcohol also easily causes birth defects; the "Saturday babies" in developed countries are a severe punishment for parental alcoholism. The modern urban lifestyle leads many people to release work stress through weekend revelry. The result of this revelry is a decline in sperm quality. Why? Revelry inevitably involves staying up late and sleeping less, which Traditional Chinese Medicine believes depletes kidney essence, leading to decreased sperm motility. Revelry also involves excessive drinking; heavy drinking results in poor sperm motility and an increased rate of sperm deformities. The third adverse factor of revelry is excessive physical fatigue. How can a baby conceived when both parents are fatigued and intoxicated be healthy? "What you sow, you reap." Babies conceived on Saturdays in the West often have relatively lower intelligence and may even have birth defects. Alarmingly, the same trend is now emerging in China, with a number of "Saturday babies" being born. Some young people are following trends and imitating the Western weekend revelry lifestyle, which is something to be wary of. Therefore, I advise all men, especially those experiencing sexual dysfunction, prostate problems, or those planning to have children after marriage, to abstain from alcohol. This will undoubtedly benefit your health and your ability to have healthy offspring. To all patients who come to our urology hospital for treatment, I invariably advise them: Abstain from alcohol!

**Spring planting, autumn harvest-Spring is the best season for conception.**

Having a healthy child and curing male infertility have no shortcuts or tricks. However, in my experience treating over ten thousand male infertility patients, I've discovered many natural laws governing human fertility. Following these natural laws makes conception easier and reduces the need for medication, leading to faster and more effective treatments. One such law is that spring is the best season for conception.

According to the traditional Chinese medical viewpoint of the unity of man and nature, humans and all things in nature have a symbiotic relationship, and human survival and reproduction are influenced by the natural environment. Therefore, people should master science, adapt to the laws of nature, seize the season for optimal childbirth, and skillfully arrange their reproductive activities.

Of the four seasons in nature, spring is the most vigorous season for the growth and reproduction of all things. Plants sprout, take root, bloom, pollinate, and bear fruit in spring; animals are full of vitality, mate, and conceive in spring. Similarly, in spring, human yang energy rises and yin energy declines. Men's sperm production is at its peak, and their libido is strongest. Women are most easily aroused in spring, and their follicles develop faster and better than in other seasons. People's physical condition is also at its best in spring. For example, some people who have survived the winter often recover completely in spring. Spring is the best season for human beings and all things in the world to survive and reproduce.

By scientifically understanding this natural law, we can use it to treat various types of infertility in both men and women. Treating male issues like low sperm count and motility, or female issues like irregular menstruation and poor follicle development, is easier in spring because the body has a natural revitalizing force that promotes growth and development. Combined with the assistance of external medications, various infertility issues are easier to treat than in other seasons. This is somewhat like "using minimal force to achieve maximum effect"-medications are much more effective in spring than in other seasons.

A couple, the man in his fifties and the woman in her forty-four, had been married for twelve or thirteen years without conceiving. Tests revealed the man had a low sperm count and low sperm motility, while the woman suffered from irregular menstruation. Two winters ago, they took a course of medication, but the man's sperm count and motility improved slowly. The following spring, he continued the medication. Due to the seasonal change, the woman's irregular menstruation quickly improved, and the man's sperm count increased rapidly with the rise of Yang energy, along with his sperm motility. As a result, the woman became pregnant before completing the second course of medication.

Another woman had suffered five miscarriages, developing a history of recurrent miscarriages. Her husband also had issues with sperm quality, with unstable sperm count and poor motility. He was an only child, and the whole family was very worried about not having an heir. During treatment, in addition to prescribing their usual medication, I consciously chose to have the woman conceive in the spring. As a result, the fetus was successfully saved, and his wife recently gave birth to a son.

Besides these two cases, other infertile patients also exhibit this phenomenon, with a particularly high number of women conceiving in the spring.

Clinical experience suggests that, besides seasonal differences, a second pattern is that more pregnancies occur in the first ten days of each month, while fewer occur in the second ten days. This is likely closely related to the cyclical movement of the sun and moon and the human body's biological clock. From the perspective of traditional Chinese Yin-Yang and Five Elements theory, the first ten days of each month are considered Yang, while the second ten days are considered Yin. The rising Yang energy in the first ten days is more favorable for conception.

The third rule is that intercourse in the morning is more likely to result in conception, while intercourse at night is less effective. This is because, according to traditional Chinese medicine, the yang energy rises and the yin energy recedes during the early morning hours (1-3 AM and 3-5 AM), making it easier to conceive.

The reproduction of all things, including human reproduction, follows objective laws. Generally speaking, conception is most likely in spring, the first ten days of January, and the morning. By understanding these laws, seizing the optimal season for conception, choosing the best time to treat infertility, and arranging intercourse at the best month and time, it becomes easier to achieve the goal of having children.