Infertility: What's wrong with me?
Infertility occurs when couples are sexually active with no contraceptives for 12 months without the woman conceiving. Such couples are usually labeled infertile. Often times that term “infertile” engenders more worry on the couple consigned and make it even harder for them to conceive. Regarding them as people who have hard time conceiving makes it much easier for the couple to cope or bear emotionally and this makes it much easier for them to conceive since stress reduces a woman’s ability to conceive.
The body of a woman gets physically ready to give birth at a much younger age than it does as the biological clock ticks down when she reaches 40 years of age. On the other hand, the soul clock of a woman is much more prepared to have a baby at a more matured age. A woman who gave birth at a more matured age is much more able to take care of her child and have unconditional love for the child than a woman who gave birth at earlier stage of life.
It would have been great if the soul clock and the physical biological clock of a woman coincides together but, in reality, it does not. Thus, most women during the early stage of their life take various steps to avoid pregnancy but in the later part of their life when the soul is ready to have baby, they discover that the baby is not forthcoming. Thus, expert advises women to be conscious of the two clocks in their reproductive cycle and to work hard to balance it off for best chance to conceive. There a few treatable causes of infertility.
We have provided five possible causes of infertility and how you can treat them below:
1. You have little or no ovulation
About five to 10 percent of women suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome. This situation can cause irregular menstruation and boost male hormones in a woman’s body. Polycystic ovary syndrome is one of the major reasons women have ovulation problem. Apart from this, obesity, underweight and thyroid imbalance can cause a woman’s ability to ovulate to halt.
The solution: Healthy weight encourages fertility. You need to get checked for any signs of polycystic ovary or any other medical conditions that may hamper your reproductive cycle and ovulation. If you discover that you don’t ovulate, immediately book an appointment with your doctor to discuss the treatment options you have.
2. The problem is not from you but from your husband
The reason why you are not able to conceive may be caused by your husband. About one-third of infertility cases are caused by this condition. If your man is obese, corpulent or smokes, it could be what is preventing you from becoming pregnant. Also, an infection or irritation of his prostate gland can prevent you from carrying a child.
The solution: Your guy must quit smoking and engage in weight loss activities. Above all, he needs to visit his doctor for his semen to be analyzed. Depending on the result of the analysis, the solution may be medication, Intra uterine insemination (IUI) or IVF.
3. You produce insufficient amount of healthy eggs
Every woman is born with a certain number of eggs. The number of eggs you have decreases as you get older. Also, the health of these eggs produced decreases with time. In reality, according to the American Society for reproductive medicine, a healthy woman in her thirties has only twenty percent opportunity to conceive in a month.
The solution: You need to boost the health of your egg. If you are overweight, get fitter and if you smoke, quit smoking as soon as possible. Discuss your available solutions with your doctor including IUI, IVF or the use of donor egg.
4. Endometriosis disorder
This is a medical condition that results when the lining of your uterus develops in your abdominal cavity. This can cause painful menstruations and excessive bleeding. It also results to about thirty to fifty percent of infertility cases in women.
The solution: If you are suffering from endometriosis disorder, you’d find it difficult to get pregnant. Try to find out from your doctor any treatment option you have. If you have open fallopian tubes, you may be placed on Clomid. It is a medicine that helps you to ovulate. You may also be offered an IUI option. If you have tried for over 3 months or you’ve got blocked fallopian tubes, IVF may be your best option.
5. You have blocked fallopian tubes
If you’ve got injured or blocked fallopian tubes, it can result to tubal factor. This condition causes infertility in 35 percent of women. The cause of tubal factor may be prior surgical procedures, endometriosis or an STD particularly Chlamydia.
The solution: The tube must be made open or else the egg cannot travel from the fallopian tube and be mated by the sperm for fertilization to occur. Your doctor may have to pass you through some medical screening to rule out the possible effects of tubal factors. X–ray can be used to determine this. If your fallopian tubes are blocked, your best conception remedy is to try IVF.
If you are having difficulty conceiving, don’t jump into a conclusion that the only option you have is In vitro fertilization (IVF). Try to rule out these treatable causes of infertility first before you succumb to IVF.