The word infertility, at first glance, may sound like something terrifying. Couples become stressed after several unsuccessful efforts and start to give up their hope. Rule number one is to never overreact  and don’t get depressed about the situation that has many solutions. Parents might not even have a serious problem and their negative attitude will only intensify the tension. So let’s discuss what infertility is and what are the factors that cause it.

Couple might consider visiting specialist – reproductive endocrinologist, after unsuccessfully trying to conceive after a year of unprotected interourse. So where is the problem hiding?

Steps leading to pregnancy

• Release of eggs from female’s ovary, known as ovulation.
• Male’s sperm joining and fertilizing the egg.
• Fertilized egg going towards the womb and attaching to the inside.

Problem is hiding and occurring in one of these processes. Normally we can not say in advance which parent is having a fertility issue as both genders are likely to have one. Sometimes it can happen that both parents are completely fertile, but they simply can not make it together. Specialists will do all of the necessary tests to spot the source of a problem. According to the results and prescription,  parents will then know how to continue their way to parenthood.

In today’s world, infertility is quite common. People tend to discuss it more, as the means of solution, including the existence of surrogacy agencies, have changed the attitude of society towards the issue a lot.

Today we will be focusing on female infertility.

What are the risk factors to be aware of?

• Age *

As women get older, their chances of getting pregnant decrease. This happens due to several reasons :

•  Ovaries are less capable of releasing eggs.
•  The number of eggs left are small in number or are not healthy enough.
•  With age, female is more likely to have a health condition that causes fertility  problems.
•  Chances of miscarriage are increasing.
•  Menopause  – age specific condition when female period is becoming irregular.  Ovarian function is declining and so are decreasing the chances of pregnancy.

In order to avoid issues connected with age, women are advised to have a child until the age of 35.

• Extreme change in weight

• Physical and mental exhaustion

• Smoking

• Frequent alcohol consume

• Drug use

As you can see, leading healthy lifestyle and taking care of your mental state can contribute a lot to overcoming/ not experiencing fertility problems. However there exist several health conditions that result in infertility.

Common medical reasons of female infertility

• Pelvic inflammatory disease – infection of female reproductive organs

• Polyps in the uterus

• Endometriosis –  tissue that normally lies inside of uterus, grows outside of it.

• Fibroids – tumors in female reproductive system

• Chronic illness

• Hormonal problems

• Irregular and painful periods – females with irregular periods are likely not ovulating.

When one of the above mentioned issues are present, then women have to act exactly according to doctor’s treatment. It may vary from taking medicines to medical procedures.

What we can say without doubt is that all of the above mentioned problems have a solution and with the right treatment and attitude all of the couples are just one step away from becoming parents. Please don’t forget to take care of your health on regular  basis and you will make the best contribution ever !