Getting Pregnant When You Have Fallopian Tube Problems
Fallopian Tube Problems
Problems with the fallopian tubes also account for a significant percentage of infertility cases. Sometimes, the tubes may be blocked or they may be scarred as a result of disease or infection.
When an egg is released from one of the ovaries, it travels through one of the fallopian tubes, which are narrow ducts that connect the ovaries to the uterus. Normally, the egg will join with the sperm in the fallopian tubes during conception and the now-fertilised egg will continue on to the uterus. However, the fallopian tubes are extremely fragile. If they are blocked, there’s no way for the egg to become fertilised by the sperm.
The fallopian tubes can be damaged by diseases such as endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, infections and sexually transmitted diseases.
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a medical condition where the kind of tissue that usually lines the womb also grows in other parts of the body. These ‘growths’ are called endometrial implants and may be small or larger in size. Like the lining of the womb, they build up and are shed every month. But, unlike period (menstrual) blood, the tissue that is shed in the abdomen cannot leave the body, so inflammations and scars often develop.
During a normal menstrual cycle, the lining of your uterus – called the endometrium – begins to thicken in preparation for becoming pregnant. If you don’t become pregnant that month, your body sheds the endometrium during menstruation and the process starts over. In endometriosis, for reasons that researchers do not entirely understand, tissue very similar to the endometrium begins to grow outside the uterus in various places that it should not. It can appear in or on the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, the various structures that support the uterus, and the lining of the pelvic cavity. Sometimes, it’s found in other places as well, including the cervix, vagina, rectum, bladder, bowel, and elsewhere.
Getting Pregnant When You Have Fallopian Tube Problems
To determine whether your fallopian tubes are blocked, your doctor may suggest a laparoscopy or a hysterosalpingogram (HSG). In an HSG test, liquid dye is inserted by catheter through the vagina (cervix) into the uterus. Then, X-rays are taken to see if there is a blockage or if the dye flows freely into the abdomen. Another method of HSG can be done with ultrasound instead of X-ray and that uses saline and air or foam. If you have problems with your fallopian tubes, your doctor may recommend surgery to correct the damage or unblock the tubes.
If you are ovulating normally, your doctor might also consider assisted reproduction techniques that bypass the fallopian tubes entirely. These can include intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and in vitro fertilisation (IVF).