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INFERTILITY
What is infertility?
Infertility is defined as not being able to conceive even after trying for one year or so. Women who are able to get pregnant but have repeated miscarriages are also said to be infertile. Infertility is a common problem in most countries.
Infertility is not always a woman's problem.
In only about one-third of cases, infertility may be due to the woman. In other cases,infertility is caused due to male factors.
Infertility in men is most often caused by:
- producing too few sperms or none
- problems with the sperm's ability to reach the egg and fertilize it
What increases a man's risk of infertility?
The number and quality of a man's sperm can be affected by his overall health and lifestyle. And certain factors such as alcohol,drugs,environmental toxins, smoking ,health problems etc
Infertility in women is caused by
- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
- Hypothalamic-Pituitary Disorders
- Endometriosis.
- Premature Ovarian Failure (Early Menopause)
- blocked fallopian tubes
- physical problems with the uterus
- uterine fibroids
- sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
- health problems that cause hormonal changes
Things that increase a woman's risk of infertility include:
1. Age : As a woman ages, her chances for fertility decline .
2. Weight Factors and Excessive Exercise :
It is not surprising that extreme weight levels, either high or low, can contribute to infertility. This includes being Overweight or being Underweight .- Women with eating disorders, such as anorexia
- Women on very low-calorie or restrictive diets
- Strict vegetarians if they lack important nutrients, such as vitamin B12, zinc, iron, and folic acid.
- Marathon runners, dancers, and others who exercise very intensely.
3. Lifestyle Factors
- Smoking. Women who smoke are at greater risk for infertility. Smoking also increases the risk for still births and low birth-weight babies.
- Caffeine. Caffeine is not good for health in general.Caffeine is found in coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate, and a number of common medications.
- Alcohol. Even moderate alcohol intake can impair fertility.
4. Environmental Risks :
Exposure to the following environmental hazards might affect fertility:
- High exposure to chemicals particularly those that have estrogen-like effects
- Cancer treatments (radiation or chemotherapy).
- Exposure to pesticides
- Heavy exposure to electromagnetic wave or microwave
5.Stress and Emotional Factors : Stress hormones have an impact on the hypothalamus gland, which produces reproductive hormones.
How long should women try to get pregnant before calling their doctors?
Most healthy women under the age of 30 shouldn't worry about infertility unless they've been trying to get pregnant for at least a year. At this point, women should talk to their doctors about a fertility evaluation.
Medicines used to treat infertility in women
Some common medicines used to treat infertility in women include:
- Clomiphene citrate (Clomid)
- Human menopausal gonadotropin or hMG (Repronex, Pergonal)
- Follicle-stimulating hormone or FSH (Gonal-F, Follistim
- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (Gn-RH) analog
- Metformin (Glucophage)
- Bromocriptine (Parlodel)
WHAT ARE COMMON FERTILITY PROCEDURES?
Artificial Insemination
Artificial insemination (AI) places sperm directly in the cervix or uterus .
Different types of assisted reproductive technology (ART) : Common methods of ART include
- In vitro fertilization (IVF)
- Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) or Tubal Embryo Transfer
- Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT)
- Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)