There are many factors that can lead to female infertility:
Turners Syndrome
Turners Syndrome, a chromosomal abnormality, occurs in about 1 out of 2500 live female births. The female is missing one of the x chromosomes in most of her cells, and has a fragmented x in a few others. According to the Turner Syndrome Society, most (90%) TS individuals will experience early ovarian failure. Although most women with Turner syndrome are infertile because of abnormal ovary development, the Cincinnati Children's Heart Center reports there have been case reports of women with Turner syndrome becoming pregnant on their own.
STDs And Infertility
STDs could be the reason you're having problems getting pregnant. If you have a few youthful indiscretions in your past, or simply a new partner with a nasty surprise, you might be one of the 87 million people with a new case of sexually transmitted infection or disease. And you might not even know it.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
PCOS is the most common female infertility cause, affecting as many as one in every ten American women. Normally, within the ovary the follicles that hold the eggs release them when they mature. In PCOS, these follicles bunch up and become cystic (lump together). As such, they don't release mature eggs, preventing a woman from having a regular period or in many cases, any period at all. Infertility is a common effect.
In general, ovulation disorders such as PCOS represent the most common female infertility causes.
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a painful, non-cancerous condition in which the endometrium, the tissue that lines the uterus, begins to grow outside of the uterus. Typically a woman sheds the endometrium during menstruation, but in endometriosis, that tissue isn't shed; it builds up, causing inflammation, internal bleeding and scar tissue. As a cause of female infertility, endometriosis is sometimes but not always treatable. An estimated 5.5 million North American women have endometriosis.
Endometriosis, and pelvic inflammatory disease, can lead to the blockage of the fallopian tubes, which is another one of the common female infertility causes.
Premature Ovarian Failure (POF)
Affecting hundreds of thousands of women under 40, POF is used to define when the ovaries no longer make eggs or certain hormones, which typically (but for unknown reasons, not always) inhibits a woman's ability to get pregnant. When it does, diagnosable POF is considered an untreatable infertility cause.
Regularity in a woman's monthly cycle is a solid indicator of her overall health. As a result, irregular or missed periods can be symptomatic of POF (along with other issues), and should always be reported to one's physician or health care provider.
Uterine Fibroids
These non-cancerous tumors, found in and around the uterus, are the most common such tumors in women of childbearing age. Research indicates that uterine fibroids are a cause for infertility, but no one can yet say precisely why. Painful periods, along with excess bleeding and bleeding between periods, can be symptomatic of uterine fibroids, and each year they are responsible for over 200,000 hysterectomies.
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