What is infertility?
Infertility
is the inability of a sexually active couple who are not using contraception
get pregnant after trying for one year.
For
pregnancy to occur, several things must happen:
It should
develop an egg in one of the ovaries of women.
The ovary to
release an egg each month (ovulation). The egg must then be picked up by one of
the fallopian tubes.
A man's
sperm must travel through the uterus to the fallopian tubes to join the egg and
fertilize it.
The
fertilized egg must travel through the fallopian tubes and adhering (implanted)
to the uterus lining.
Approximately
35 to 40 percent of infertility cases are due to female infertility, but a
similar number of cases are due to male infertility. Therefore, before taking
many tests and treatments, your partner should have a semen analysis to ensure
that his semen is normal. Even if abnormal, there are many treatments
available.
What causes female infertility?
Approximately
25 percent of women with infertility ovulate rarely or never. These women often
have irregular periods or not have them at all. Ovulation can be altered due to
changes in the way the pituitary gland (a gland at the base of the brain)
releases certain hormones. These hormones, luteinizing hormone (LH) and
follicle-stimulating hormone (HFS), send a signal to the egg develops and the
ovary releases it.
Among the
problems that interfere with the normal release of LH and HFS are
lesions in
the hypothalamus (part of the brain that works with the pituitary gland)
pituitary
tumors
having too
low or high weight
too much
exercise
extreme
stress
Other
hormonal disorders that interfere with ovulation or affect fertility are
Polycystic
ovary syndrome (PCOS)
hyperthyroidism
or hypothyroidism
diabetes
early
menopause
sometimes,
Cushing syndrome (a disorder that causes a very high level of cortisol,
sometimes called "the stress hormone")
The ability
to get pregnant also can be affected by age, since the number and quality of
eggs gradually decreases from approximately 35 years. Other factors include
reproductive
tract problems.
How is infertility diagnosed?
Your doctor
will begin with a medical history about your menstrual cycle, past illnesses,
sexually, transmission surgeries and any medications you are taking.
Step two is pelvic examination to confirm your reproductive tract (vagina,
uterus and ovaries) is normal and blood tests to measure your hormone levels.
In addition, it will take a medical history of your partner and will do a semen
analysis. According to the results of these tests, your doctor may make them
more tests, including one to ensure that the fallopian tubes of women are not
blocked.
What is the treatment for
infertility?
Treatment for infertility depends on the cause
and age. There are two main categories: one contributes to fertility drugs or
surgery, and the other techniques used in assisted reproduction.
Fertility
drugs (clomiphene pills, and injections of the hormone HFS and HL) are the main
treatment for women with ovulation disorders. It is possible that women without
a clear cause of infertility also use these drugs. Doctors sometimes combine
drug treatment with intrauterine insemination (IUI), in which sperm are
released into the uterus with a catheter (a thinflexible tube) is inserted into
the vagina. IUI is made attime of ovulation.
Assisted
reproductive technology uses techniques such as mixing sperm with an egg
outside the body (in vitro fertilization or IVF) or injecting a single sperm
into an egg and transferring the resulting embryo into the uterus. Some women
who are left with very few eggs in the ovaries opt for IVF using a donor egg.
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