The Little Joys in Life
Infertility is defined as the inability to get pregnant after a year of trying or repeated failure to carry a pregnancy to full term. There are many causes for infertility both in men and women. Some of the more common causes among women as well as options for overcoming them are below.
Fallopian Tube Problems
Half of all couples who suffer from infertility problems on the side of the woman do so because of problems with fallopian tubes. The egg waiting to be fertilized in a normal environment travels from the ovary down the fallopian tubes to the uterus. However, many women's fallopian tubes can be blocked due to scarring or infection. Tube compression is also a common problem making it difficult for the eggs to move beyond the ovaries let alone make it to the uterus to be fertilized. The most hazardous problem encountered when trying to get pregnant while your fallopian tubes are blocked is the danger of ectopic pregnancy in which the egg starts to develop outside the uterus.
|
|
Solutions: This problem usually does not have a natural solution. You can either try to clear the blockage through surgery or in vitro fertilization (IVF) and implantation. While surgery is a viable option to fixing the problem, your doctor should recommend a laparoscopy first to see how much damage there is and if it is repairable. IVF has been the most successful solution to this problem as it is typically only the fallopian tubes affected and not the uterus, sperm, or eggs.
Ovulation Problems
About a third of couples who are experiencing infertility problems on the woman's side do so because of ovulation problems. This is usually caused by hormonal imbalances that cause a woman not to ovulate or to ovulate infrequently. Hormonal imbalances that cause ovulation problems can also result in eggs not maturing fully before they are released.
Solutions: There are fertility drugs available to increase ovulation as well as to help eggs mature fully before they are released. A fertility specialist can help you decide which is best for you. If fertility drugs do not work to help you become pregnant naturally, IVF, donor eggs, natural therapies available, and adoption are all viable options.
Cervical Mucus Problems
A very rare couple will find that they have cervical mucus problems. There are two extremes to this problem, one in which the cervix produces too little mucus making it difficult if not impossible for sperm to move past the cervix up into the uterus and the other that is produces too much mucus making it too thick for the sperm to travel. Both problems can be further complicated by the cervix producing antibodies which kill the sperm. Everything about the reproductive system is working properly except that the sperm can't get in. The lack of cervical mucus is often caused by lack of ovulation, which the solutions are presented above. Weight can also be a problem with it comes to cervical mucus. If you are too thin to have a period, you are not going to produce cervical mucus. If you are overweight your body could produce too much estrogen causing the cervical mucus to thicken.
Solutions: Fertility drugs can be a solution if your lack of cervical mucus is due to not ovulating. However, some fertility drugs can also dry out your mucus so be sure to consult a fertility specialist. If weight is the issue, it can be resolved through diet. Eat more or less, drink more water, and get to your ideal body weight and you'll see a normalization of your cervical mucus.
