Be fruitful and multiply

From AP-

Miami - When Lucinda Hughes heard she would have to down sea moss elixirs while vacationing in the Bahamas, she was sure it would make her sick. Three months later, Hughes is very sick - every morning - and expecting her first baby in April.

As Hughes and her husband Kemry lounged on lush beaches and swam in their hotel's infinity pool, they sipped pumpkin soup and enjoyed couple's massages and reflexology. It was all aimed at enhancing the odds of babymaking during their three-day Procreation Vacation at The Westin at Our Lucaya Grand Bahama Island.

It's part of the latest trend that has hotels around the world luring conception-minded couples by providing everything from onsite sex doctors to age-old fertility boosters promised to hasten the pitter-patter of little feet.

Hotels like The Westin might be on to something. Research shows 61.8 million U.S. couples took a romantic vacation in the past year, said Ty Brassie, director of sales and marketing for The Westin Grand Bahama Island.

Even some obstetricians are promoting the trend. Dr. Jason James of Miami said he often encourages fertility-challenged couples to sneak away for a few days, and he often sees it work.

"One of the most easy, therapeutic interventions is to recommend a vacation," James said. "I think the effect of stress on our physiology is truly underestimated." The Procreation Vacation is a trip designed to help fertility-challenged couples relax.

The Westin Grand Bahama's version, which starts at $1,893 for a three-night stay, incorporates age-old Caribbean fertility concoctions. Sea moss, the Caribbean's version of Viagra, is mixed with evaporated milk, sugar and spices and sipped three times a day. The chain also offers the package at their resorts in St. John and Vieques, off Puerto Rico.

"My husband and I thought that we would go on the vacation and learn all these nice fertility secrets and we'd be practicing them for a number of months for them to work," said Hughes, 35, who conceived the day she got back from the trip. "We were stunned. There's definitely some truths to the foods and the elixirs."

The Hughes had only been trying for two months, since their wedding in May. But like most couples they have hectic schedules in Washington, D.C.

Truthfully three months is nothing. Dear wife and I went 13 years before she got pregnant without almost immediately miscarrying.

The Hughes are too busy and this is an often heard lament. How long does it really take to make nookie?

Speaking for myself and the wife, we wouldn't ever go on a procreation vacation(Even when we were younger). There is no secret to getting pregnant, it involves sex and timing.(For people with infertility issues, medical assistance is often needed) All of the elixirs and nice surroundings have nothing to do with it. The money would be better spent on baby clothes and diapers when the time does come.

What do you think?

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