Female Infertility
Uploaded by mumsa1 on Dec 07, 2011
Although there are no guarantees, there are treatments that can help a number of people with female infertility.
In this article:
What is female infertility?
Effect on your life
Advice & Support
Causes
Treatments
Diagnosis
How Chemist Online can help
What is female infertility?
Female infertility is where a woman experiences difficulty in getting pregnant despite regularly having sex without contraception with her partner over a period of about a year.
The good news is that, although there may be fertility problems, it is still possible to get pregnant with medical help.
Causes
Lots of things can affect female fertility, but the most common cause is ovulation problems that can occur as a result of things like early menopause, hormone problems, damage to the fallopian tubes or the urinary system, sexually transmitted diseases and genetic issues.
Diagnosis
If you are experiencing fertility problems, then arrange an appointment with your GP. As well as carrying out a general physical examination, he or she will ask you various questions (how long you have been trying to conceive; how often you have sex; if there are any sexual difficulties, etc). You will also be asked about your periods, contraception, diseases and illnesses, what medicines you are taking, your lifestyle and so on.
Your GP may also run some blood tests and then send you for further tests to check if you are ovulating regularly.
Effect on your life
Female infertility can be extremely stressful and may put your relationship under enormous strain.
Many women find that counselling and joining a support group helps.
Treatments
Female infertility treatment options include:
Fertility drugs – these work like your body’s hormones and tell the ovaries to make or release eggs;
Egg and sperm donation – help from women aged 18 to 35 who donate eggs, and men aged 18 to 45 who donate sperm;
intrauterine insemination (IUI) – some of your partner’s sperm is put into your womb at the same time as ovulation takes place in order to make conception more likely;
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) – your eggs are removed from your ovaries, fertilised with sperm in a laboratory dish, and then put back inside you to develop into a foetus.
You can increase your chances of being able to conceive by not delaying parenthood, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and treating or preventing existing diseases.
Also try to keep fit (but do not engage in excessive exercise as this can actually lead to decreased fertility), stop smoking, avoid over-consumption of alcohol and caffeine, and eat...