Infertility 101

It’s unknown exactly how many people struggle with infertility. Roughly 10-15% of the population. Infertility is defined as an inability to conceive after six months of unprotected sex. One usually expects the road to creating a family to be an adventure, filled with eager anticipation, maybe even some fun, along the way. For couples who go that six months without results, it becomes instead a path of insecurity and doubt, even anxiety and mournful sadness.

Of couples that experience infertility it’s about fifty-fifty between men and women where the problem lies. Unfortunately in as many as a third of infertility cases, the cause is never known.

Women can look to age, irregular ovulation cycles, perhaps abnormal anatomy or scarring and blockages like those caused by endometriosis as a source of their infertility. There are also medical conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and fibroids which make pregnancy challenging. Lifestyle factors, especially weight, also is a contributor to the inability to achieve pregnancy.

For men, they can expect their fertility to decline with age, just like women. Usually some dysfunction with sperm, either with quantity, motility or shape will cause a problem with conception. Injury to the testicles can also reduce their function and lead to infertility.

For both men and women, medical treatments and prescription drugs can effect fertility either short term or irreparably.

But there is new hope every day in new treatments and advanced technology. Sometimes treatment can be as simple as losing weight or getting the ovulation cycle regulated. Other times something much more complicated like in vitro fertilization or ICSI is required. People who anticipate medical treatments that will threaten their fertility can take pre-emptive actions to ensure their ability to try for a baby in the future. For many couple, adoption is their calling. But for people who want a family, the good news is that there is a way. You need to talk to your doctor and find that path that is right for you.

Source: WebMD, Dr. Richard Waldman, American congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.