Female infertility is on the rise nowadays due to lifestyle changes, environmental factors and many women planning their pregnancy later in life. This problem is not only specific to age factor and may affect a woman at any age. Sometimes the reason is genetic and sometimes it may be due to other factors. An experienced gynecologist and in some cases, a genetic counselor can be of immense help in understanding the various options available for one in getting pregnant. After a woman reaches 35 years of age, her chances of getting pregnant reduces and the risk of miscarriage relatively goes up.
Reasons for Fertility Problems and Solutions
Endometriosis – It is a condition which takes place when the endometrial tissue develops outside the uterus commonly in the abdominal-pelvic cavity. In such cases, a woman might face pain during menstruation or intercourse, pelvic pain, and excessive bleeding. Under such a circumstance, the possible solutions are endometrial tissue removal operation, surgery for abnormal tissue removal or unblock tubes, assisted reproductive technologies (ART), fertility drugs with artificial insemination, or adoption. It has been estimated that after surgery approximately 40 percent of the women conceive.
Poor egg quality – As one ages, the number and the quality of eggs in the ovaries decreases. IVF (In vitro fertilization) is a solution here. In such a case, medicines help the eggs in a woman to mature. Then the doctor removes the eggs and put them together with the semen in the laboratory. When some of the eggs fertilize, one or more of them is placed into the uterus.
Ovulation problems – It is a condition that does not allow a mature egg in the ovaries to develop which causes irregular periods resulting in either too heavy or very light bleeding. The solutions to this problem are IVF (In vitro fertilization) and taking fertility drugs.
Tubal factors – If a woman possesses blocked or damaged fallopian tubes, it does not allow the sperm in reaching the eggs and also forbids the mature egg from reaching the uterus of the partner. It can be caused due to any past sterilization surgery, sexually transmitted infection, and inflammatory disease. The solution to it is a surgery so that the tubes can be opened. If surgery does not help, then IVF (In vitro fertilization) is the next solution.
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) – It is a situation whereby the smaller follicles in the ovaries fail to develop into bigger follicles. This causes excessive hair growth, irregular periods, obesity, and acne. To treat this problem, one needs to follow a proper diet plan and exercise regularly. Other solutions include taking fertility drugs or going for IVF (In vitro fertilization). In some women, a diabetes drug known as metformin help in restoring a steady ovulation.
Unexplained fertility – There can also be some infertility problems which the doctors fail to explain as the test result show everything to be normal.
According to some experts, this kind of infertility problem might develop due to excessive workout, environmental toxins etc. This problem can be treated by taking fertility drugs together with artificial insemination or other assisted reproductive technologies (ART) like IVF (In vitro fertilization).
