As per Resolve, one out of eight couples finding it difficult to conceive or sustaining pregnancy. Underlying infertility can be due to a man or a woman or both marking it hard to conceive a child. If some women get pregnant, they find it hard to maintain the pregnancy as well. So, all these problems come under infertility- female infertility Or male-related infertility.
So, in this article, we will address infertility in women and what are the top causes of female infertility.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) says that infertility is “a disease of the reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.”
According to a study by Resolve, it is estimated that around 65% of the couples have successfully conceived after going to a fertility specialist. So, if you have unprotected sex for more than a year without conceiving, then you might need to see a fertility specialist.
The infertility specialist will do through tests and check-ups for both partners to find out the cause and proper plan to treat infertility.
Top causes of infertility in female are
Cause #1.
Endometriosis – Endometriosis occurs when a tissue named endometrium which lines your uterus grows outside your uterus.
Endometriosis includes the ovaries, Fallopian tubes, and the tissue surrounding your pelvis most commonly. Endometrial tissue may seldom spread past pelvic organs. Some of the symptoms of endometriosis are painful intercourse, painful periods or dysmenorrhea, excessive bleeding, infertility, nausea, bloating, fatigue, and others as well.
Possible solutions to endometriosis might be to remove the growth from outside the uterus via surgery or open the blocked fallopian tubes. It can also be cured by using fertility drugs and IVF as well.
It is found in a study that a woman who undergoes laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis has a 30% success rate in conceiving within three years of surgery. Also, when it is treated with the help of artificial insemination and fertility drugs in an early stage, the success rate of pregnancy is between 9 to 15%.
Cause #2.
PCOS – PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. PCOS is a condition where the small follicles in the ovary are unable to develop into mature, larger follicles that releases eggs. The polycystic ovary releases many small follicles, but not mature eggs.
It is a syndrome that affects the hormones produced and affects the ovulation as well. The word Polycystic itself means the development of multiple cysts in the ovary. Some of the symptoms are cysts in the ovary, irregular ovulation, obesity, acne, and excessive hair growth.
It can be treated by injecting fertility drugs, ovary drilling. Ovary drilling is a surgical procedure that will help in the ovulation. Clomiphene citrate and lifestyle changes in the diet and exercise can also help you a lot.
Most patients with overweight who lose 5 to 10 percent of their body weight start ovulating regularly. Approximately 50 percent of women treated with ovarian drilling get pregnant within one year.
Cause #3.
Ovulation issues – Ovulation issues come into a picture when a woman releases the immature eggs or when it fails to release a mature egg. There is no egg to be fertilized, without ovulation. Hence, no pregnancy. It is common among the woman who is suffering from infertility. Symptoms of this include irregular menstruation, heavy menstrual bleeding, light menstrual bleeding, and lack of premenstrual symptoms like breast tenderness or bloating. Possible solutions include taking fertility drugs, maintaining a correct BMI that is between 18 to 30, or going for in vitro fertilization.
The success rates of the In Vitro Fertilisation are very impressive. The success rates are 40% for women below the age of 35, 37% for women between ages 35 to 37, 21% for women between ages 38 to 40, 11% for women between ages 41 to 42, and 5% for women age 43 and above.
Cause #4.
Tubal problems – Blocked or damaged Fallopian tubes block sperm from entering your egg and prevent the fertilized egg from reaching your uterus as well.
Many factors trigger these tubal problems some of them are – sexually transmitted infections like chlamydia, sterilization surgeries, and pelvic inflammatory disorder. There are no such symptoms for the disease.
Hence, it takes more time to get diagnosed. While there are possible symptoms, there is a possible solution to this problem. The possible solution is to open the fallopian tubes via surgery. If your tubes are unable to repair and are damaged to an extreme extent, in that case, your fallopian tubes are removed before going for the IVF procedure to ensure success rates. Assisted reproductive technologies like IVF or IUI can is used for tubal blockage related infertility.
The pregnancy rates after the surgery vary from woman to woman. This will depend on the location of the surgery and also on the amount of fallopian tubes blocked. Also, it will depend on the postoperative scar tissue that will develop.
Cause #5.
Quality of eggs– The quality of the eggs produced in ovaries of women will decline after the age of 35. There are no possible symptoms of this condition except infertility.
The solution to the problem includes taking fertility drugs, using donor eggs, going for an IVF procedure, or freezing your egg. The freezing of egg can be done in two ways – vitrification or slow freezing. Freezing of eggs will ensure that the quality of the egg is maintained.
A woman who uses the eggs from the donor rather than suing her own eggs has 55% chances of conceiving a child per IVF cycle.
Cause #6.
Unexplained infertility factors – This is a situation where your all tests are normal and there is no specific cause of infertility. This may happen due to subtle changes in the way how the female reproductive system works.
Some of the differences might be in the sperm function and follicular development. There are no possible signs and solutions to this problem. But, it is found that if you have too much alcohol or caffeine, and if you are overweight or underweight, this might result in your pregnancy getting affected.
When artificial insemination is used in combination with fertility drugs, the pregnancy rate is between 9 and 26 percent per treatment cycle.
Conclusion
Therefore, there are many reasons for infertility in females, but knowing which one is specific for your case, is not easy. That is why to have the best possible chances of success in the early stages, seek a fertility specialist.
Most of the IVF clinics are equipped to assist the infertile couples in their parenthood journey. However, having patience with emotional and financial stability is expected in any form of infertility treatment.
If you are looking to become parents via Assisted Reproduction Technique (ART) or Third Party Reproduction Services with affordable surrogacy costs, we are here to help with a free consultation. You can check out the rest of our website at IVF Conceptions.
Author Bio:
Neelam Chhagani: Since 2010, Neelam is working as a full-time International Fertility and Surrogacy Consultant representing IVF Conceptions. She is the mother of a lovely girl. She is the writer of surrogacy related blogs in numerous online platforms including IVF Conceptions Blog
