Facts You Must Know About Female Infertility, Causes, Symptoms
Infertility is defined as trying to get pregnant (with frequent intercourse) for at least a year with no success.
Female infertility, male infertility, or a combination of the two affects millions of couples.
An estimated 10 to 18 percent of couples have trouble getting pregnant or having a successful delivery.
Infertility results from female factors about one-third of the time and male factors about one-third of the time.
The cause is either unknown or a combination of male and female factors in the remaining cases.
Female infertility causes can be difficult to diagnose. There are many available treatments, which will depend on the cause of infertility.
Many infertile couples will go on to conceive a child without treatment. After trying to get pregnant for two years, about 95 percent of couples successfully conceive.
Symptoms
The main symptom of infertility is the inability to get pregnant. A menstrual cycle that’s too long (35 days or more), too short (less than 21 days), irregular or absent can mean that you’re not ovulating. There may be no other outward signs or symptoms.
When to see a doctor
When to seek help sometimes depends on your age:
•Up to age 35, most doctors recommend trying to get pregnant for at least a year before testing or treatment.
•If you’re between 35 and 40, discuss your concerns with your doctor after six months of trying.
•If you’re older than 40, your doctor may want to begin testing or treatment right away.
Your doctor may also want to begin testing or treatment right away if you or your partner has known fertility problems, or if you have a history of irregular or painful periods, pelvic inflammatory disease, repeated miscarriages, prior cancer treatment, or endometriosis.
Causes
•Locations of female reproductive organs
•Female reproductive system
• The egg is fertilised and implants in the uterus
•Fertilisation and implantation
Each of these factors is essential for becoming pregnant:
•You need to ovulate. To get pregnant, your ovaries must produce and release an egg, a process known as ovulation. Your doctor can help evaluate your menstrual cycles and confirm ovulation.
•Your partner needs sperm. For most couples, this isn’t a problem unless your partner has a history of illness or surgery. Your doctor can run some simple tests to evaluate the health of your partner’s sperm.
•You need to have regular intercourse. You need to have regular sexual intercourse during your fertile time. Your doctor can help you better understand when you’re most fertile.
•You need to have open fallopian tubes and a normal uterus. The egg and sperm meet in the fallopian tubes, and the embryo needs a healthy uterus in which to grow.
For pregnancy to occur, every step of the human reproduction process has to happen correctly. The steps in this process are:
• One of the two ovaries releases a mature egg.
•The egg is picked up by the fallopian tube.
•Sperm swim up the cervix, through the uterus and into the fallopian tube to reach the egg for fertilisation.
•The fertilised egg travels down the fallopian tube to the uterus.
•The fertilised egg implants and grows in the uterus.
In women, a number of factors can disrupt this process at any step. Female infertility is caused by one or more of the factors below.
Ovulation disorders
Ovulation disorders, meaning you ovulate infrequently or not at all, account for infertility in about 1 in 4 infertile couples.
Problems with the regulation of reproductive hormones by the hypothalamus or the pituitary gland, or problems in the ovary, can cause ovulation disorders.
• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PCOS causes a hormone imbalance, which affects ovulation.
PCOS is associated with insulin resistance and obesity, as well as abnormal hair growth on the face or body, and acne. It’s the most common cause of female infertility.
•Hypothalamic dysfunction. Two hormones produced by the pituitary gland are responsible for stimulating ovulation each month – follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH).