Female Infertility Treatment: Our In-Depth Guide On It
Female Infertility Treatment is one of the most asked question. An individual or couple’s inability to conceive and have children is described as the inability to conceive after one year of regular sexual contact without the use of contraception or the inability of a woman to carry a pregnancy to term and give birth to a living child.
Infertility may affect either the male or the female, and various factors can cause it. Infertility affects around one in every ten couples or between ten and fifteen percent of the population.
A woman must be fertile for her to produce a sufficient number of healthy, motile sperm in her male partner, deliver those cells into the vagina, successfully pass the sperm through the uterus and into the fallopian tubes, and allow one of the sperm to penetrate a normal ovum (egg) to become pregnant.
A successful pregnancy also requires the placement of the fertilized ovum in the lining of the female uterus after fertilization. A problem may cause infertility at any of these periods in the life of a marriage.
Throughout recorded history, failure to conceive when wanted has been a source of frustration for women.
Female Infertility treatments have improved dramatically in recent years, making many infertile couples become parents. Physical, mental, and developmental health issues and neurological illnesses such as cerebral palsy are also more likely to occur in these newborns as they grow older.
For women under the age of 35, infertility is defined as a failure to conceive after 12 months of trying and for women over the age of 35, it is defined as a failure to conceive after 6 months of trying.
Repeated miscarriages are also a sign of a reproductive problem for the mother.
Age, health issues, hormone imbalance, and environmental and lifestyle factors are all potential causes of infertility in women. In the remote possibility that you are a woman experiencing infertility, know that you are not alone.
According to the research, one in six married couples have this problem. Infertility caused by the female spouse is referred to as female infertility.
Up to half of all infertility cases are thought to be caused by problems with the woman’s reproductive system. Infertility might have a known or unknown aetiology.
It’s possible that both masculine and female influences are at play here. Many infertile couples who undergo treatment are ultimately successful in conceiving a child, which is wonderful news. Thus, let’s go into the topic of female infertility a little further.
Female Infertility
Female Infertility in women may be caused by various reasons, including ovulatory, cervical, and uterine problems, as well as by old age.
Repeated abortions followed by dilatation and curettage (dilation of the cervix and scraping of the endometrial lining) may create intrauterine scar tissue, which can impede the implantation of a fertilised egg. Having adhesions in and around the fallopian tubes (which are rubbery or filmy bands of scar tissue) makes it difficult for the tube to take up an egg after it has been released from an ovary, and it can also make it difficult for the sperm to move freely through the tube.
Adhesions are a common cause of infertility in women. Congenital anatomical malformations of the uterus, which may result in repeated miscarriages, may contribute to infertility by increasing the risk of conception.
Symptoms Of Female Infertility:
Because infertility is a symptom in and of itself, it’s not necessary to look for any more indicators before assuming there’s a problem. However, you should verify if you are indeed ovulating.
Inadequate ovulation may be the cause of a menstrual cycle that is either too lengthy (35 days or more) or too short (less than 21 days). There may be no apparent signs of infertility, but an irregular or absent menstrual cycle is a clue.
How Does Fertility Happen?
Fertility requires the smooth operation of the whole human reproductive system. Here are the measures that make up this procedure:
- To release a mature egg from one of two ovaries.
- That egg was snatched up by the fallopian tube.
- Fertilization occurs when sperm travel from the cervix, via the uterus, and down the fallopian tube to the egg.
- The fertilized egg travels from the ovaries to the uterus through the fallopian tube.
- When a fertilized egg enters a woman’s uterus, it begins the process
- The uterus is the primary location for the development of a fertilized egg.
It Is Time To See A Doctor…
When deciding whether or not to see a fertility expert, the main issue is the patient’s age.
In general, infertility screenings and treatments are not initiated until after one year of continuous sexual activity has occurred, and this guideline does not change until age 35.
If you are a woman between the ages of 35 and 40, you should wait at least six months after having sexual relations to go to your doctor.
It’s possible that your doctor may go forward with testing and treatments for women over the age of 40 right away.
However, if you have a history of fertility problems, such as painful or irregular periods, endometriosis, chemotherapy or radiation treatment, repeated miscarriages, pelvic inflammatory disease, etc., your doctor may disregard the age-related guidelines and start testing and treating you right away.
If you are experiencing any of the following signs and have not seen a doctor recently, you should do so immediately:
- disordered clotting
- Inflammation of the abdominal region
- Rashes and fevers and other odd things coming out
- Experiencing discomfort or pain during sexual activity.
- discomfort or itching in the vaginal area
Causes Of Female Infertility:
Ovulation: Every month, women who want to conceive must go through the process of ovulation, in which an egg is produced and released from the ovaries.
You can find out whether your ovulation is normal from a fertility professional. But if your ovulation is erratic or nonexistent, it might put a wrench into your attempts to conceive.
The inability of a woman’s ovaries to release an egg normally is a common cause of infertility. The hypothalamus or pituitary gland plays a role in this by controlling the production of reproductive hormones. Issues with ovulation may also be caused by problems with the ovary.
Due to hormonal imbalance, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) may interfere with ovulation and cause infertility.
Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) are two pituitary hormones that affect ovulation and are affected by hypothalamic dysfunction.
A number of circumstances, including mental and physical stress, fluctuations in body weight, and so on, may interfere with the body’s natural production of these hormones. The most prevalent warning signal is cyclical changes in menstruation.
A broken fallopian tube is a serious problem since, as you probably know, your ovaries are responsible for making eggs. The fallopian tubes are responsible for transporting the egg to the uterus, where the embryo develops. However, scars from vaginal infections or pelvic surgery may ruin or harm these eggs. This may prevent sperm from reaching an egg.
In order to maintain fertility, your body must go through its natural hormonal transition. Your uterine lining will get thicker and an egg will be released as a result of hormonal changes.
Some sperm may not be able to make it through a woman’s cervical canal due to cervical factors.
Problems with the uterus, such as polyps and fibroids, might make pregnancy less likely. They form when there are an excessive number of cells in the endometrium (the lining that covers the uterus). Infertility may also be caused by uterine abnormalities.
“Unexplained” infertility occurs when the precise reason of a couple’s inability to conceive is unknown. Some researchers believe that infertility is caused by a confluence of multiple apparently unrelated variables. It could get better on its own, but waiting around for that is not a good idea.
Risk Factors:
If any of the following apply to you, know that you may have a higher chance of infertility.
With increasing years under your belt, your oocyte pool becomes less fertile and your egg count drops. Follicle loss accelerates in one’s mid-30s, leading to a decrease in egg quantity and quality. Because of this, it becomes more difficult to conceive and there is a higher chance that the pregnancy may end in miscarriage.
Miscarriage and ectopic pregnancies are more likely among smokers, and the habit also harms the cervix and fallopian tubes. This condition might cause your ovaries to produce fewer eggs than normal.
Ovulation is most successful when the woman’s weight is proportionate to her height. Ovulation and, by extension, a woman’s ability to conceive naturally, may be negatively impacted by being either overweight or underweight.
Infections spread via the genital tract, such as chlamydia and gonorrhea, may have a negative impact on the health of the fallopian tubes. Fertility issues are a possible long-term consequence of engaging in unprotected intercourse with several partners since this behavior might increase exposure to STDs and other sexually transmitted illnesses.
The greatest strategy to maintain a high fertility rate is to abstain from alcoholic beverages.
Tests For Infertility:
In order to diagnose infertility, your doctor may order a battery of tests, including bloodwork. Testing your hormone levels and doing an endometrial biopsy to look at your uterine lining are both options.
If your doctor suspects anything is wrong, he or she may do a full physical examination, which may include a thorough examination of your breasts and pelvis.
Biopsy of cervical mucus or tissue: To rule out any underlying abnormalities, a biopsy of your cervical mucus or tissue may be performed.
Examination of the uterus and fallopian tubes using ultrasound or X-ray is called hysterosalpingography (HSG). Your cervix is the opening to your reproductive system, and your doctor may inject a dye, saline, or air into it to examine your fallopian tubes. Your doctor will be able to tell whether your fallopian tubes are obstructed in this manner. Due to the limitations of HSG imaging, the test is losing relevance.
Laparoscopy, sometimes known as “Keyhole surgery,” involves making a tiny incision in the area around the patient’s belly button and inserting a thin tube equipped with a camera. Laparoscope is the name of the instrument used to perform the procedure. With this tool and its associated screen, your doctor may examine the areas around your reproductive organs for any signs of abnormality. In addition, the doctor may check to determine whether your fallopian tubes are clear of any obstructions.
Treatment Of Infertility
In most cases, this treatment is done when a woman has at least one average fallopian tube; however, unlike traditional IVF, GIFT necessitates sedating the woman throughout the surgery. In the same way, IVF is done, oocytes are extracted and fertilized in a laboratory.
The fertilized egg is transported to the free fallopian tube before it splits (i.e., at the zygote or pronuclear stage) before it divides.
Compared to GIFT, ZIFT and IVF offer a benefit in that fertilization has already taken place. Multiple births are a contentious danger connected with these treatments; for example, more than one-third of IVF pregnancies end in twins or triplets, and 1 percent result in even higher-order multiples, according to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.
Several medications, including clomiphene citrate, bromocriptine, and human menopausal gonadotropin, have shown to be quite effective in reversing hormonal imbalances that cause inconsistent or absent ovulation in women after menopause.
These “fertility medications,” on the other hand, boost a woman’s chances of having multiple children since they cause her to release more than one egg at the time of ovulation while under the effect of the drug.
Women who are unable to conceive due to severe uterine illness or congenital lack of the uterus may be candidates for uterus transplantation, which involves transplanting a healthy donor’s uterus into a recipient who is unable to conceive.
Candidates and donors for uterus transplants must fulfil strict medical requirements, including having no uterus or having a condition that has failed to respond to all previous treatment alternatives. In 2014, the first healthy child was born to a uterine transplant recipient, according to published reports.
