Couples find it hard to get pregnant because of factors that affect either or both parties. Still, it’s vital to know when you need to go for infertility treatments. According to the ACOG, you may have infertility problems when you do not get pregnant after a year of regular sex without any protection. If you fit into this category, you and your partner might need to go for infertility treatments. While they do not always solve the problem, the good news is that they work for up to 95% of couples.

Overview of fertility treatments

Your doctor will start your infertility evaluation by taking a detailed history. He or she will ask you vital questions. For example, they would need to know how often you have sex, menstrual pattern, history of infections, present medical conditions, and many more. Afterward, your doctor will examine you before starting the tests to find out the cause of your problems. 

Fertility tests

The test involves a semen test to find out the volume, pH, sperm count, shape, and movement for men. The tests for women are tubal patency and ovulation tests. Other tests include hormonal assay, ultrasound, and other baseline tests.

Treatment options

You should try talking with your doctor or going to a fertility clinic if you are worried about conception. It is great to carry out the tests and start infertility treatments as early as possible if you are a woman over 35 years of age. The best treatment for you depends on the cause of your fertility problem. So, we will look at the most common options for couples:

• Ovulation induction agents: A woman’s egg needs to be released from the ovaries into her tubes for pregnancy to occur. So, agents that induce ovulation aim to prime the ovaries to release more eggs and treat any other problem.

Clomiphene citrate is a great option. Taking it orally for five days (between day 2 to 6 of your menstrual cycle) improves your ovarian response. Your doctor might also give you drugs that improve your gonad function along with the drug. Other medical treatment options include aromatase blockers such as letrozole.

• IVF: This is one of the most effective types of infertility treatments worldwide. It is commonly used by couples with fertility problems, same-sex couples, and single parents alike. The health expert fertilizes the egg and sperm in a lab and transfers the embryo to the mother’s uterus, where it implants. The process addresses many challenges with fertility and increases the chances of conception significantly.

You should think of IVF if you have low sperm count, damaged tubes, PCOS, and ligated tubes. Other reasons to choose IVF include recurrent abortions, advanced age in mothers, ovarian problems. The process is almost painless.

• Artificial or intrauterine insemination (IUI): This process occurs when you need a sperm donor or if you have fertility issues. Since sperm and egg must meet for an embryo to form, IUI makes the process easy and through the most effective means.

Your cervix or tubes could be limiting the number of sperm that make it to the egg. Thus, it might be best to inject prepared and highly motile sperm directly into the uterus during ovulation. This reduces the distance that the sperm need to travel and improves the outcome of the process. Some of the best people for IUI are those with sperm count or motility issues, cervix problems, unexplained fertility issues. Same-sex female couples also need a sperm donor if they desire a pregnancy.

• Egg or sperm donation: This occurs when you use someone else’s egg or sperm to achieve a pregnancy for yourself. Thus, this is for couples that cannot provide both the eggs and sperm on their own, as seen in gay couples who want kids. The treatment allows one of the proposed parents to be related to the child by genetics.

Also, it allows the intended female parent to carry a pregnancy if she needs a male donor. Donation materials usually come from known or unknown donors from programs or agencies. A key topic in egg or sperm donation is the medical and legal preparation involved.

• Surrogacy: A surrogate is a woman who agrees to bear a child for a person or couple. Surrogacy is needed if you have an issue that makes pregnancy or birth fatal for you. Other instances requiring surrogacy include those born with an abnormal or even absent uterus, recurrent abortions, failed IVF treatment, chronic health problems, and cancer. It is also an option for same-sex couples.

The process involves a cycle of IVF from intended donors and placing them into the surrogate’s uterus. The entire procedure might take months or years to complete based on the success rate. The process depends on body response to IVF, quality of embryos, and the selection of donors. Surrogates must have a healthy lifestyle and a history of successful pregnancies.

Other infertility treatment options

Sometimes, you might not be able to get pregnant because of less common causes. Therefore, it means that the treatment needed would also be different. For example, women with submucous fibroids and endometriosis require surgery to be able to achieve a pregnancy.

Likewise, men with obstructive defects in their tracts may need surgery to increase the chances of conception. GnRH and dopamine agonists are other medical treatment options in rarer cases.

Bottom line

After carrying out tests, it may show that one or both of you have problems that the fertility clinic can treat. Afterward, your doctor will discuss the best plan for you. Though it is only normal to be worried or sad if conception is hard for you, you should not let those negative feelings stop you from becoming a parent.

You should try carrying out all the necessary tests and do not miss any fertility clinic visits as you look for the best treatment options for you and your partner. You might also find a number of things helpful, like talking with a counselor, joining a support group, and living a healthy lifestyle.

The post Infertility Treatments – what are your options? appeared first on Easy Conception.

Fertility challenges are common among couples, and the only way to deal with them is to learn about the factors behind them. If you are thinking of starting a family or having kids, you should know how these issues occur over time. Let’s go over the most common factors that influence your chances of pregnancy.

Factors influencing fertility

Both male and female factors play an equal role in influencing fertility. Below are the causes of why some people have a difficult time having kids:

• Female factors (30-40%)
• Male factors (30-40%)
• Combined factors (15-20%)
• Unexplained (1-5%)

This shows that if you and your spouse have a hard time having kids, you can trace the problem to either partner in 95% to 99% of cases. In rare cases, it might be hard to see the cause of the problem with conception.

Let’s take a look at some of the key personal and lifestyle factors that affect fertility:

• Age: Most times, the best period to carry a pregnancy is in your 20’s or early 30’s. After that, conception starts getting a bit more difficult. Studies clearly show that increased age (women in their late 30’s and above) are less fertile. Therefore, it is important to consider your age when planning your family or career. For men, age only starts to become important after 50 years of age, and even then, it plays a minor role.
• Obesity: The ideal Body Mass Index is 18.5 to 25 kg/m2. Obesity starts from 30kg/m2 and inclines both men and women toward reduced fertility. Also, kids born to obese mothers are at a higher risk of coming out with congenital disabilities. While it is unclear how being overweight affects a man’s fertility, that of a woman is pretty clear. Obesity causes menstrual cycle problems because of the hormonal imbalance, which affects ovulation, leading to reduced pregnancy rates. Weight loss can improve your chances of a successful conception.
• Exercise: The role of exercise is to help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight. A little exercise and very intense workouts are two extremes that could affect your pregnancy attempts in a negative manner. Hence, it is best to exercise moderately three to four times a week. Male fertility’s association with exercise has not been adequately studied. However, females could have problems if they do not work out.
• Diet: Poor diet habit might be making your fertility clinic visits futile. Certain diets such as vegetarian diets, low-fat diets, vitamin E, glycemic index carbs, multivitamin supplements are great food options. They reduce menstrual disorders and improve sperm conditions.
• Alcohol intake: Studies show that women who drink alcohol have a decreased ability to conceive. Also, male partners seem to show gonad problems and decreased sperm production. Also, experts have not agreed on the safe levels of alcohol intake for expectant couples. This is why a good fertility clinic will recommend total abstinence. Besides, alcohol intake in pregnancy affects the fetus and may cause problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome.
• Caffeine: There is not much evidence to suggest a negative effect of caffeine intake on conception and pregnancy. In other words, you can consume coffee at modest levels before and during pregnancy. Still, because of the unhealthy habits linked with caffeine and the risk of excess intake, you and your partner should limit your daily coffee intake to one or two cups. Also, since caffeine tends to store in fetal tissues and produces several effects, you would want to avoid it when you can.
• Stress: There are several claims that stress reduces your chances of getting pregnant to some degree. The release of stress hormones such as cortisol affects heart rate, blood pressure, and many other body functions. Therefore, prolonged high levels of stress could cause a poorer disease course in already existing medical issues in you or your partner. Though clinical trials have not proven many of these claims, studies have shown a strong link between stress and fertility.
• Tobacco use: Tobacco intake causes reduced fertility in both males and females. Cigarette smoking comes with multiple health risks. For females, they become less fertile with consistent smoking of more than ten cigarettes a day. Tobacco could damage the gametes and cause changes in tubal and cervical tissues. Also, several studies have linked smoking to early menopause.
• Recreational Drug Use: Drugs should be avoided because of the general health risks they come with. All of these risks could affect the conception to varying degrees. For instance, some fertility clinics have linked marijuana use with a reduction in conception chances. However, this link could be direct or indirect. All the same, we have limited data on the exact role of these drugs in being fertile.
• Sexual History: A poor sexual history marked by recurrent sexually transmitted diseases could lead to females’ childlessness. Untreated or poorly treated gonococcal and chlamydial infections may lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, which could cause scarring of the inner tissues, making it difficult for you to get pregnant. Consider adopting safe sexual practices for months or years leading up to your pregnancy attempt.

Bottom line

So, why can’t I get pregnant? When starting your pregnancy journey, it is important to consider many of these factors influencing fertility. Maximizing your chances of conception means optimizing your body to give yourself the best chance of success. 

You should pay regular visits to your fertility clinic and undergo the necessary tests with your doctor. This would help you manage any pregnancy issues that you might have.

The post Why can’t I get pregnant? appeared first on Easy Conception.

Some couples have trouble getting pregnant because of several issues in their reproductive health. Fertility becomes a concern when you do not get pregnant after 12 months of regular, adequate, unprotected vaginal sex. In other words, you must have had sex for more than three days on different days every week within a year before saying you have fertility problems.

What is normal?

There are many myths about conception and pregnancy. Therefore, it’s important to start with what is considered normal. What you have been hearing from that friend or family member might not be correct. You need the right information to have a successful fertility journey. Below are a few truths about what is normal:

• Pregnancy is not always easy: Up to six million couples struggle to give birth every year, and there is no way to know who will face such trouble.
• Regular periods do not translate to quick pregnancy. Since regular periods suggest ovulation, it is tempting to think that’s all there is to get pregnant. Yet, other factors affect conception. If your flow is off or you do not see your period at all, something is wrong. Using a ovulation calculator can help you time your cycle to increase your odds of conception.
• Fertility naturally decreases with age: This happens because of a reduction in the number and quality of eggs. Women less than 35 years old have a 20% chance of getting pregnant every month, but this value drops to 5% in those over 40 years old.
• Weight affects fertility: A healthy fat storage correlates with estrogen production but obese, overweight, and underweight women may experience menstrual cycles that are not regular. This affects ovulation and could also pose a threat to the pregnancy. Weight loss can improve your chances of a successful conception.
• Fertility problems affect both sexes alike: There is a widespread myth that pregnancy troubles happen because of women, but studies have shown otherwise. Both men and women have equal chances of being the cause of infertility.
• Annual Ob/Gyn exams are not enough: Thorough exams check your breasts, vagina, uterus, ovaries and screen for cervical cancer, yet they do not replace testing. You need to visit a fertility clinic for proper testing and treatment if you have a hard time getting pregnant.

Am I infertile?

You can only get answers to this question after taking several tests to find the problem’s cause. In many instances, it is simply a matter of not trying enough. There are two types of infertility to note:

• Primary: Couples that have never conceived have a primary fertility problem.
• Secondary: If you have conceived in the past regardless of the outcome, then the problem is secondary.

You might have spent time and money for several years trying to avoid getting pregnant only to find out that it’s much tougher to conceive. You are not alone.

Many couples experience anger, frustration, and depression because of the stress of being seen as infertile. If you experience anything different from the normal we have discussed, you should get tested as soon as possible.

Testing

Fertility is a problem of couples, so testing involves both partners within a menstrual cycle. While baseline tests cover both genders, there are certain tests for males and females.

Male

Semen analysis is the mainstay for testing in males. Your doctor will collect your sample three to four days after abstinence. The results are most accurate within an hour of sample collection. Semen testing involves checking for sperm count, semen movement, form, volume, white blood cell count, and pH. According to WHO or ACOG, all factors must fulfill certain minimum criteria for a man to be cleared of any issue. Other tests for men include blood tests, ultrasound of the vas deferens, urine tests, and the testes’ biopsy.

Female

Women undergo tubal patency tests such as HSG and via a laparoscope (this involves putting in a small camera through the skin to look at the organs). These methods also help to reveal pelvic adhesions and tubal problems better. 

Also, different tests reveal a woman’s ovulatory state. They include LH urine strips and hormone assay. Other tests for women include blood tests, ultrasound, x-ray, and cervical factor tests.

Treatment

Both partners should go for treatment at a specialist clinic. The treatments address both the male and female factors involved in a pregnancy. Sometimes, the problem might be from a spouse or both. In rare cases, tracing the problem might be hard. Still, there are various treatment options for you to explore:

• Ovulation induction agents: These drugs aim to help the ovaries to release more eggs. They also improve the quality of eggs. A great example of such a drug is clomiphene citrate. Other drugs like letrozole improve gonad function.
• IVF: This treatment helps both parties with fertility problems. It is also a great choice for same-sex couples and single parents. The health expert fertilizes the sperm and egg in a lab before implanting them in the mother’s uterus. IVF addresses low sperm count and damaged tubes.
• IUI: This process requires a sperm donor, and it involves injecting prepared sperm into the uterus at the time of ovulation. It is also a great choice for people with low sperm count and cervix problems.
• Egg or sperm donation: Sometimes, couples might not provide eggs or sperm, as seen in same-sex marriages. Also, older women finding it hard to conceive may require donations.
• Surrogacy: This treatment option is useful in cases where pregnancy is too risky. It also helps in cases with an abnormal uterus, failed IVF treatment, and chronic health problems.

Other treatment options include different types of surgeries to treat certain causes in men and women.

Take charge of your fertility today

Whether you are just starting your fertility journey or already into treatment, it is important to know the basics. Knowing what is normal and visiting a clinic for exams and tests will most likely address your condition. Do not give up!

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