Infertility

 

Infertility is the absence of pregnancy during a year in conditions of regular sexual life without using contraceptive remedies.

 

1 year is a term based on statistical data. It’s proved that 30% of healthy married couples succeed in pregnancy during the first three months of the joint life, 60% - during the next 6 months, and the rest 10% during 11-12 months after the start of sexual life. Thus, one year is an enough period to assess fertility and in case of absence of pregnancy speak about the sterility.

 

Infertility looks like a trap in form of a complicated labyrinth. You don’t know what lies ahead and therefore you can’t build your plans. And you cross the same way again and again constantly getting confused and being in a deadlock. You’re alone, and no one can say where the way out is.

 

You have a plenty of questions, and you can’t get any answer. Who is the best doctor? Which is the most effective method of treatment for your case? What options can be applied to treat infertility?

 

Infertility is a problem which touches not only the couple, but also the whole family. That carries fear, nervousness, anger, guilt, suffering and a hope in spite of everything. This problem deeply penetrates through the emotional sphere and personal relations of couples, deprives you of your power and energy. It can engross time and money, require a kickback and become a delusion.

 

Solution of problems connected to infertility is an issue requiring hard work; it needs time and considerable efforts.

 

Remember that you should be the active actor in the treatment process. Infertility often causes the sense of helplessness, because you can’t have a baby you have been strongly waiting for. One of the ways of getting control over the situation is the awareness that allows to take active part in the process of infertility treatment. You are the rightful member of the medical team; more you know, more effectively you can participate in decision making, which are directly influencing your life.

 

Why is it so important to be well aware? Unfortunately, many infertile couples have to appear in distressing circumstances because of lack of information.  Here are some examples:

 

1. An effective method of treatment for a specific couple may exist which hasn’t been offered. Infertility which has no treatment causes severe emotional experience, but the infertility case that has been treated with incorrect methods is a real tragedy!
2. Misdiagnosing
3. Assigned remedy is in truth decreasing chances to conceive a child.
4. Everyone has limits and that limit can be financial, physical or emotional. Sometimes this limit may be exhausted before the effective treatment.

 

Well awareness can increase your chances to get pregnant which is more important. That will help to find out how effectively your time, efforts and money are spent. That will also help detect the moment when it’s appropriate to stop further attempts of treatment and discuss alternative options (e.g. adoption). Informed approach will enable you to preserve control over your life. And even if you don’t get pregnant, at least you’ll feel satisfaction because you had a conscious approach to your situation and have done everything possible. This knowledge will give you strength in future.

 

What types of infertility exist?

 

If the reason for infertile marriage is abnormalities in woman’s organism, the case is about female infertility. Male infertility is considered as a reason for infertile marriage in case when woman is healthy, but there is a sharp decrease of fertilizing capacities of male sperm.

 

In case of combination of female and male infertility we have the combined form of infertility. Infertility may be observed also in case of totally healthy and well compatible married couples. These are the cases of so called unknown and inexplicable or idiopathic infertility.

 

Female infertility

 

When the failure to get pregnant is connected to female disease, the case is about female infertility. If woman has never got pregnant infertility is considered initial. If the woman has got pregnant at least once (no matter how the pregnancy ended – delivery, abortion, miscarriage or extrauterine pregnancy) but then no pregnancy is achieved within a year in a case of regular sexual life the case is about secondary infertility.

 

For achieving pregnancy the following is necessary:

 

1. Maturing and rupture of follicle with the release of oocytes (ovulation),
2. Passage of the fertilized oocyte to the uterus through fallopian tube
3. Readiness of the uterus to accept the fertilized oocyte and to ensure the development of pregnancy.

 

Lack of ovulation is observed in case of hormonal abnormalities (so called endocrine infertility). The reason of endocrine infertility can be pathological processes in female sexual glands – ovaries, as well as diseases of endocrine organs. Endocrine abnormalities bring to the lack of follicle maturing or slowdown of these processes which excludes the probability of fertilization. Every third infertile woman lacks ovulation in case of regular menstrual cycle.

 

The reason of both female initial and secondary infertility can be the lack of conditions for oocytes to get to the uterine cavity. Thus in case of lack or impassability of uterine tubes the oocyte can’t meet spermatozoa. This is the tubal form of infertility. The reason of such infertility is previous inflammatory diseases of female sexual organs whose causatives are often chlamydia, ureoplasms, gonococcus and other sexually transmitted infections.

 

Pathology of the uterine structure can also be the reason of infertility.

 

Thus inborn uterine deformities (lack or hyperplasia of the uterus, saddled-shaped uterus, availability of septum in the uterus can be the reason of initial infertility.

 

Male infertility

 

Couples may fail to get pregnant also in cases if there are abnormalities in male organism. Male infertility also can be initial (when no one of his sexual partners could get pregnant) and secondary (if at least one sexual partner has got pregnant).

 

It should be mentioned that male infertility is also a reason for infertile marriage. It’s supposed that availability of barriers promotes sperm maturing consisting of several layers of tissues separating maturing spermatozoa from penetration of damaging agents. Its abnormality can arise under the influence of ionized radiation. But usually the reason of male infertility is previous inflammatory diseases (orchitis – testicular inflammation, epididymitis – inflammation of epididymis, prostatitis – inflammation of prostate glands) particularly those caused by Chlamydia and gonococcus. The quality of sperm can change in case of severe general diseases, intoxication (drugs, alcohol), in case of infurance of damaging physical and chemical factors and in case of neuroendocrinal disorders. Rare reasons of male infertility are sexual weakness preventing sperm excretion, deformities in urethra, in case of which the urethra opening is opened in the front or in the back surface of the penis or even in or around the scrotum. In this case the penis is distorted and there is no possibility for sperm to get deep into the vagina.

 

If both couples don’t have abnormalities, but still they can’t get pregnant and the special tests indicate the incompatibility of couples, the case is about infertility conditioned with immunological incompatibility. In this case both couple can have children from other marriages.

 

Infertility can also be observed in case of totally healthy and immunologically compatible married couples. This is the case of so called inexplicable or idiopathic infertility. In case of idiopathic infertility and infertility conditioned with immunological of incompatibility of couples, each of them can conceive a child with other partner.

 

What to recommend to married coupe suffering sterility?

 

What to do not to spend several exhausting years on detecting reasons for sterility and its treatment? How to avoid agonizing and multiple medical procedures and visits to specialists?

 

1. We recommend to immediately visit specialists on sterility – reproductologists. These are gynecologists and andrologists who have got specialization in diagnosing and treating sterility. Such specialists are working at VitroMed Center.
2. Don’t delay sterility diagnosing and fulfill doctor’s recommendations in time. Currently VitroMed Center has all capacities to detect the reason for concrete coupes’ sterility within 1-2 months taking into account that there are at least 22 reasons for female sterility and 16 reasons for male sterility.
3. Fulfill assigned procedures in time.

 

In case of absence of any effect after conservative treatment within a year IVF is assigned. Results of the program in many cases depend on the age of couples. In case of patients over 35 years old frequency of getting pregnant considerably decreases.

 

DON’T DELAY YOUR VISIT TO THE DOCTOR!