What Is Infertility?
Infertility is defined as being unable to conceive a child after trying for one year. Far from being a rare condition, infertility affects more than five million Americans, or approximately nine percent of the population of reproductive age.
Even the healthiest of couples do not get pregnant that easily. According to some authorities, only 20 percent of women who are trying to conceive manage to do so during the first month. (“Trying to conceive” is defined as having frequent sex without using any means of contraception.)
For a woman to become pregnant, she must have sex during her fertile time of the month--just before and just after her ovulation. Because it is not easy to pinpoint the exact time of ovulation, the odds of getting pregnant are obviously enhanced by having sex as often as possible during the approximate time.
Should I Consult A Physician?
After a year of frequent intercourse without using any means of contraception, a couple may want to seek an evaluation from a healthcare professional such the Infertility Specialist at UT Medical Group, Inc. In fact, women over 30 may want to go ahead and seek an evaluation without waiting for an entire year.
A woman may also want to seek an evaluation if:
- She is not menstruating regularly.
- She has had three or more miscarriages.
- She or her husband have had certain infections which may affect fertility. (These include pelvic infection in a woman and mumps or prostate infection in a man.)
- She or her husband suspect they may have a fertility problem. (For example, they may have had problems getting pregnant in a previous relationship.)
His Fault Or Hers?
Fertilization is an intricate process, so infertility can be the result of any number of problems that can occur at various steps along the way.
- A healthy egg must be released by the women’s ovaries into her fallopian tubes.
- Her partner’s sperm must be healthy enough to swim into her fallopian tubes.
- The fertilized egg, called an embryo, must make its way through the open end of fallopian tube into the uterus and then adhere to the lining of the uterus.
The exact cause of infertility is not always easy to diagnose. In fact, it can be diagnosed in only 80 percent of cases. Of those, about half are the result of male factors, and half are the result of female factors.
Male factors
- Azoospermia, when a man produces no sperm.
- Oligospermia, when he produces too few sperm.
- Alcohol, nicotine, and drugs such as marijuana or certain medications can reduce sperm quality.
- Past injuries or illnesses such as mumps or sexually transmitted diseases, as well as diabetes, prostate surgery, high blood pressure medication, or impotence.
Female factors
- Problems with ovulation which may be indicated by irregular menstruation or amenorrhea (a lack of periods altogether).
- Blocked fallopian tubes, which can be the result of past problems such as pelvic inflammatory disease, surgery for ectopic pregnancy (in which an embryo implants itself in the fallopian tube instead of the uterus), or endometriosis (in which uterine-like cells appear in other organs).
What sort of help is available?
How infertility is treated depends on what your doctor finds after talking with you and your partner, and probably running some tests. Between 80 and 90 percent of infertility cases are treated with drugs or surgery.
Surgery to repair a woman’s ovaries, fallopian tubes, or uterus may be considered if there is damage there.
There are several FDA approved fertility drugs, such as Clomid, Pergonal, Metrodin, Humegon, or Fertinex. These represent another option you may wish to explore with your physician.
What about artificial insemination?
Some cases of infertility may be more complex or difficult than others. After talking with their physician, a couple may wish to try newer, more “high tech” methods, called assisted reproductive technologies (ART).
- IVF
One of these is in vitro fertilization (IVF). In this method, several eggs are removed from the woman’s fallopian tubes. These are combined with the man’s sperm in a laboratory culture dish. If fertilization occurs, three to five embryos are transferred to the woman’s uterus.
- GIFT
In gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT), the man’s sperm, along with three to five eggs, are placed inside the woman’s fallopian tubes.
- ZIFT
In zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT), the eggs from the woman’s ovaries are fertilized in the lab, then implanted in her fallopian tubes.
Your physician can discuss these options and help you decide which one or ones may be right for you!
For more information about these and other health issues, call UT Medical Group at 901-448-6610.
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