Coping with Infertility

Lesson 1: Suspecting and Diagnosing Infertility

Common Causes

The reasons to suspect infertility and their warning signs are directly tied into the common causes of infertility. About 90% of infertility cases have a cause, male, female or both, but about 10% seem to have no known cause. Here we will look at the more common causes of infertility and what you can do to reduce your risks.

The first main cause of infertility that we should discuss is STDs. Left untreated, many STDs can cause scarring, infection, and permanent damage to both men and women leaving them unable to have children in the future. The best way to guard against getting an STD is to not have sex until you are in a monogamous relationship, or to use condoms with each and every sexual act.

If you suspect that you may have an STD, you should be tested and treated if needed, as soon as possible. The longer you wait to treat an STD, the higher your risk of future fertility problems.

The next most commonly found barrier to conception is poorly timed intercourse. Too many women, and men for that matter, still believe the myth that women ovulate on day 14 of their cycles. If this were true, then everyone would use the Rhythm method of birth control, and it would only take a couple months of trying for others to get pregnant. A woman can ovulate as early as day 8 or as late as day 23 of her cycle. A woman's body gives her clues about her fertility and when it is preparing to ovulate, and in the next section, we will discuss this further.

Another cause of fertility problems is due to ovulatory issues including, irregular ovulation, a lack of ovulation, and luteal phase length. With irregular ovulation, it is more difficult to properly time intercourse as the woman may ovulate on day 10 in one cycle, and then in the next on day 20, and this irregular pattern cannot be predicted. A lack of ovulation, which can be due to several different factors, makes it impossible to achieve conception without assistance of some form. Luteal phase length can be determined by charting and is a factor in many early miscarriages.

Luteal phase refers to the number of days between ovulation and the last day of the cycle. A 'normal' luteal phase is between 12 and 16 days. If it is less than 10 days long, then there may not be enough time for implantation to happen, so a pregnancy cannot become established. This is correctable, and will be further discussed in the next section as well as in Lesson 3.

A low sperm count is the most common fertility issue that men face. This can be due to several different factors including hormones, lifestyle and environment, and previous surgical procedures performed in the reproductive area. Another factor of male infertility is erectile dysfunction, which can be treated with medication, or if that fails, direct removal of sperm from the testicles can be done. Men should also have all of their medications checked to make sure that they are not the cause of low count or erectile dysfunction.

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