Female Infertility Treatment – By Jaspal Hospital
Infertility is defined as trying to get pregnant (with frequent intercourse) for at least a year with no success. Female infertility, male infertility or a combination of the two affects millions of couples in the United States. An estimated 10 to 18 percent of couples have trouble getting pregnant or having a successful delivery.
Infertility results from female factors about one-third of the time and male factors about one-third of the time. The cause is either unknown or a combination of male and female factors in the remaining cases.
Female infertility causes can be difficult to diagnose. There are many available treatments, which will depend on the cause of infertility. Many infertile couples will go on to conceive a child without treatment. After trying to get pregnant for two years, about 95 percent of couples successfully conceive.
Reasons
Some other causes of Female Infertility
- You need to ovulate. To get pregnant, your ovaries must produce and release an egg, a process known as ovulation. Your doctor can help evaluate your menstrual cycles and confirm ovulation.
- Your partner needs sperm. For most couples, this isn’t a problem unless your partner has a history of illness or surgery. Your doctor can run some simple tests to evaluate the health of your partner’s sperm.
- You need to have regular intercourse. You need to have regular sexual intercourse during your fertile time. Your doctor can help you better understand when you’re most fertile.
- You need to have open fallopian tubes and a normal uterus. The egg and sperm meet in the fallopian tubes, and the embryo needs a healthy uterus in which to grow.
Symptoms
The main symptom of infertility is the inability to get pregnant. A menstrual cycle that’s too long (35 days or more), too short (less than 21 days), irregular or absent can mean that you’re not ovulating. There may be no other outward signs or symptoms.
When to seek help sometimes depends on your age:
- Up to age 35, most doctors recommend trying to get pregnant for at least a year before testing or treatment.
- If you’re between 35 and 40, discuss your concerns with your doctor after six months of trying.
- If you’re older than 40, your doctor may want to begin testing or treatment right away.
Treatment
Infertility treatment depends on the cause, your age, how long you’ve been infertile and personal preferences. Because infertility is a complex disorder, treatment involves significant physical, psychological and time commitments.
Although some women need just one or two therapies to restore fertility, it’s possible that several different types of treatment may be needed.
Treatments can either attempt to restore fertility through medication or surgery, or help you get pregnant with sophisticated techniques.
Treatments
Type Of Treatments
- Fertility restoration: Stimulating ovulation with fertility drugs
- Fertility restoration: Surgery
- Laparoscopic or hysteroscopic surgery
- Tubal surgeries
- Reproductive assistance
- Intrauterine insemination (IUI)
- Assisted reproductive technology
Fertility restoration: Stimulating ovulation with fertility drugs
Fertility drugs regulate or stimulate ovulation. Fertility drugs are the main treatment for women who are infertile due to ovulation disorders.
Fertility drugs generally work like the natural hormones — follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) — to trigger ovulation. They’re also used in women who ovulate to try to stimulate a better egg or an extra egg or eggs.
Fertility restoration: Surgery
Several surgical procedures can correct problems or otherwise improve female fertility. However, surgical treatments for fertility are rare these days due to the success of other treatments. They include:
- Laparoscopic or hysteroscopic surgery: These surgeries can remove or correct abnormalities to help improve your chances of getting pregnant. Surgery might involve correcting an abnormal uterine shape, removing endometrial polyps and some types of fibroids that misshape the uterine cavity, or removing pelvic or uterine adhesions.
- Tubal surgeries: If your fallopian tubes are blocked or filled with fluid (hydrosalpinx), your doctor may recommend laparoscopic surgery to remove adhesions, dilate a tube or create a new tubal opening. This surgery is rare, as pregnancy rates are usually better with IVF. For hydrosalpinx, removal of your tubes (salpingectomy) or blocking the tubes close to the uterus can improve your chances of pregnancy with IVF.
Reproductive assistance
- Intrauterine insemination (IUI): During IUI, millions of healthy sperm are placed inside the uterus close to the time of ovulation.</li
- Assisted reproductive technology: This involves retrieving mature eggs from a woman, fertilizing them with a man’s sperm in a dish in a lab, then transferring the embryos into the uterus after fertilization. IVF is the most effective assisted reproductive technology. An IVF cycle takes several weeks and requires frequent blood tests and daily hormone injections.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main reason for female infertility?
The most common overall cause of female infertility is the failure to ovulate, which occurs in 40% of women with infertility issues. Not ovulating can result from several causes, such as: Ovarian or gynecological conditions, such as primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
What tests are done to check female fertility?
- BBT charting. If you haven’t already been doing it, your doctor may recommend that you begin charting your basal body temperature as a way of checking ovulation. …
- Postcoital test. …
- Transvaginal (pelvic) ultrasound exam. …
- Hysterosalpinogram. …
- Hysteroscopy. …
- Laparoscopy. …
- Endometrial biopsy.
What qualifies as infertility?
In general, infertility is defined as not being able to get pregnant (conceive) after one year (or longer) of unprotected sex. Because fertility in women is known to decline steadily with age, some providers evaluate and treat women aged 35 years or older after 6 months of unprotected sex.
What is the most common cause of infertility in females of childbearing age?
PCOS is the most common cause of female infertility. Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is another cause of ovulation problems.
Can cell phones cause female infertility?
In-fact, continuous exposure to cell phone radiation is considered to be very harmful for women trying to conceive. The long- term exposure and proximity to cellular radiation leads to infertility in women as it affects the normal activity of ovaries.
Why is my wife not getting pregnant?
There are many possible reasons, including ovulation irregularities, structural problems in the reproductive system, low sperm count, or an underlying medical problem. While infertility can have symptoms like irregular periods or severe menstrual cramps, the truth is that most causes of infertility are silent.
Are regular periods a sign of good fertility?
There’s a very good chance if you are experiencing a regular monthly period, you are fertile. While it is true that women have a finite number of eggs, lack of conception is predominately due to other causes. From the moment a girl is born, she typically has between one and two million eggs in her ovaries.
How long should a couple try to get pregnant?
Of course, how often you have sex also plays a role. Most couples are able to get pregnant within six months to a year. If you’re unable to conceive after a full year of trying, it’s a good idea to consult a fertility specialist.
Why has infertility increased?
Lifestyle factors are having an impact
Smoking and being either over-weight or significantly under-weight are known to have the biggest impact on fertility and the chances of conception. “Poor nutrition, increased BMI, smoking and excessive alcohol and drug use are major factors contributing to infertility.