INFERTILITY IN FEMALES - HK Technical PGIMS

The blessing of a baby for some couples is among one of the happiest moments in their life.But some couples struggle to conceive just because of rising infertility.

women looking at the pregnancy test — source – Gunjanivfworld

Contents

What is infertility?

Infertility means inability to get pregnant. Infertility is getting common and nearly 10% of the women around the world deal with it.

So it is important to identify the cause of Infertility and treat it. Infertility tests should be carried out for both male and females but here we are going to specifically talk about infertility in women.

Symptoms:-

The only symptom is you will not get pregnant.Menstrual cycle will be long or too short.That means you are not ovulating.

Causes:-

There are many causes its difficult to predict one but some of them are

Problem with uterus – It includes polyps, Cervical fibroids inside the cavity of the uterus.
Problem with ovulation– the reason why eggs are not getting released might be hormonal imbalances, thyroid secretions and PCOS .
Problem with egg count – you might be born with eggs which have the wrong number of chromosomes causing the egg to never fertilise.

Infertility checks in for women :-

Infertility checks means to determine the cause of not being able to conceive.

Fertility for women relies on eggs.The ovaries release healthy eggs and this is called ‘ovulation’ and then it reaches the fallopian tube.Here the sperm join and it gets converted to egg .This egg then travels to the uterus to attach the lining.

There is no single best test for infertility .Doctors might give you a variety of tests to identify the problem and they might also want to know your history, medications and long ,short term conditions. Below listed are a few of the tests.

Ultrasound–

Doctor place an ultrasound ‘wand’ into vagina and brings it closer to pelvic organs.Using Sound Wave generated , they will be able to see the images of ovaries and uterus to check the problems there.

Image showing Ultrasound — Source – what to expect

Laparoscopy –

doctors make small cuts into your belly and insert tools including camera .This can check entire pelvis and potentially correct the problem.

Follicular stimulating hormone –

blood test might also be told to check the FSH hormone which triggers ovaries to prepare an egg for release each month.High FSH can mean lower fertility in women .It can be checked in early menstrual cycle phase.

Hysteroscopy-

thin flexible tube with camera on end is inserted into cervix and then into uterus.They can see problems there and take tissue samples if needed.

image explaining process of Hysteroscopy — Source – Wikipedia

Thyroid test–

this is a blood test that has to be done if the doctor thinks your infertility might be related to the thyroid gland .If gland makes too much of the hormone then it could be a reason for the infertility.

FACTORS AFFECTING INFERTILITY:-

The factors which might affect the fertility are general health conditions, genetic traits ,lifecycle and age but specific may include

Fertility begins to decline after 30 years
Obesity
Ovarian cyst
PCOS (polycistronic ovarian disorder)
Smoking

Doctors might ask you to take a urine test to check the hormone level of Luteinizing hormone (LH) or to check the Progesterone level in blood.As these factors affect the ovulation process.

Following are the tests that you can take to identify the cause of Infertility. Infertility might be a serious health issue but you should not give up with the right treatment you will be able to conceive. Consult your doctor and take the test right away.

Treatment :-

Treatment is based on the cause.

Surgery – if the cause is structural like scarring or blockage surgery might be the option.
Medications- taking medications can reduce hormonal imbalance and can help the eggs to get released helping to get pregnant.
Antibiotics- it can treat the infections in the reproductive organs.

Conclusion –

Infertility is inability to get pregnant. It is getting common around the world.Symptoms for this is that you will be unable to conceive and too short or too long menstrual cycle.Causes might be structural cause, problem with ovulation or egg count.There are various test that the doctor might consult you to do and infertility can be treated based on the cause like surgery ,antibiotics or medications.

References:-

Written by Sabira Athanikar