Infertility

What is Infertility?

Infertility is a situation in which a couple fails to have a baby or a woman is not able to conceive after trying for a year without using birth control measures. In some instances, a woman conceives but faces complications, such as frequent miscarriages or stillbirths, which also fall under the term infertility.

Click on the link given here to know the male infertility treatment.

What are its main signs and symptoms?

Some of the signs and symptoms that can help identify your fertility status include

• Irregular menstrual cycle
• Severe pelvic pain
• No pregnancy even after attempting for a year, your age is more than 35 or 40 years or having regular sexual intercourse without using any contraceptive methods
• History of frequent abortions or miscarriages

What are its main causes?

A few causes of infertility include

• Lack of or irregular ovulation in females
• Problems in the testes affecting formation and functioning of sperms in males
• Other common factors causing infertility in females include
  • Advanced age
  • Issues related to hormones or reproductive organs
  • Scarring or blockages of the fallopian tubes (generally occur due to sexually transmitted infections or endometriosis)
  • Improper functioning of the thyroid or pituitary gland
• Other common factors causing infertility in males include
  • Blockage of the sperm-carrying tubes in the testes

How is it diagnosed and cure?

The diagnosis of infertility can be made by the physician after considering all the signs and symptoms, taking a thorough medical history of the couple, conducting physical examinations, and advising the following tests to confirm the suspected diagnosis:

• Blood Tests
  • Progesterone test (around day 23 of the woman's menstrual cycle)
  • Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
  • Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH)
  • Thyroid function tests
  • Prolactin level test
  • Ovarian reserve detecting test

• Urine Test

• Imaging Tests and Procedures
  • Ultrasound
  • Hysterosalpingography
  • Sonohysterography
  • Hysteroscopy
  • Laparoscopy

• Semen Analysis

The different treatment modalities for infertility include

• Sex education
• Medications that can induce egg development and ovulation, which include gonadotropin injections and clomiphene citrate pills
• Insemination for achieving a higher concentration of motile sperms, and it is made to bypass the cervix by washing and directly placing it into the uterine cavity
• In vitro fertilisation (IVF) in which the eggs are fertilised outside the body by the sperms
• Surrogacy wherein a third person donates sperm or egg or a woman is ready to carry the foetus
• Surgery includes removal of uterine fibroids using abdominal myomectomy

1. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Evaluating Infertility. Washington, DC; USA
2. National Institutes of Health. How is infertility diagnosed?. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. [internet].
3. Mentalhelp. Introduction to Infertility. American addiction center. [internet].
4. MedlinePlus Medical: US National Library of Medicine; Infertility
5. University of California. Infertility. Los Angeles. [internet].

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