Female Infertility

Factors that can Cause Infertility in Women

• Age related factors – The chances of a woman conceiving have proven to be greater in women that are below 34 years of age. The chances of a woman conceiving progressively diminish at the age of 34 and above. This is what is often referred to as a woman’s “biological clock”.  This happens because there is a significant decline in the quality of the eggs produced as a woman gets older.
  
• Ovulation problems – The normal process of ovulations is that every month a woman’s ovary has one or more eggs mature inside of it. Ovulation is when one or more eggs are released at the proper time by the ovary. Once the matured egg reaches a certain size the ovary sends it on its way through the fallopian tube and in the direction of the uterus. There does not seem to be any kind of rotation in the sequence of which of a woman’s two ovaries will release the egg and many women with only 1 ovary are still able to conceive. An ovulation problem is when a condition, that is primarily of a hormonal origin, exists that causes a woman’s ovaries to either not release the egg or to release it at the wrong time in the cycle. The most common symptom of ovulation problems are missing periods, or not having them at all. Extremely heavy or light bleeding, even though the period is coming at regular intervals, can also be a symptom of an ovulation problem. With today’s medical technology, doctors have a very good rate of success with the use of fertility drugs as well as in vitro fertilization.
  
• Uterine problems – Miscarriages or infertility can be caused by a number of different problems of the uterus and the uterus lining. Uterine Polyps, Intrauterine adhesions, and Uterine Fibroids are some of the more common uterine problems. For many of these conditions the most common technology that is used is called “in vitro fertilization”. This is done by harvesting a woman’s egg from her ovary, or by using a donor egg, and beginning the egg fertilization process outside of the womb, to be implanted later.
  
• Tubal blockage – A pelvic infection like PID, or pelvic inflammatory disease, as well as endometriosis or post surgery scar tissue formation, are the primary causes of tubal factor infertility. In most cases the answer to this type of condition is the use of in vitro fertilization (IVF).
  
• Previous tubal ligation – Tubal ligation is a medical procedure that is done with the intention of permanent sterilization. In the process a woman’s fallopian tubes are either blocked, clamped, sealed, or severed in order to stop the progress of mature eggs in reaching the uterus. This is often referred to as “getting your tubes tied”. The comparable procedure for men is called a vasectomy, where a man’s sperm is blocked from entering the seminal fluid. While both of these processes can sometimes be reversed with today’s medical technology, most often in vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most common remedy.

Add a comment