Female Infertility
What is infertility?
Infertility is a very common disorder affecting a number of people worldwide. Infertility is a couple’s inability to get pregnant even after having unprotected sexual intercourse for more than 12 months. Infertility affects both males and females physically, mentally, psychologically, and socially. About one-third times it is the male factor, one-third times the infertility is due to the female factor, while the rest one-third times fault is in both the male and female, either due to combined or unknown reasons.
What causes female infertility?
When the cause of infertility is detected to come from the female, it is called female infertility or female factor infertility. About 10% of women go through infertility at least once in life. The risk of being infertile increases with a woman’s age. The exact cause of female infertility is difficult to diagnose as there can be many causes, some individual, some combined, and some unknown or multifactorial reasons. The most commonly observed causes of female infertility include:
- Problems during Ovulation: Ovulation is the process of release of a mature egg from the ovaries. This process, when becomes infrequent or stops all of a sudden, causes infertility. The most common causes of problems in ovulation include an irregular supply of reproductive hormones by the hypothalamus or pituitary glands or some other problem in the ovary. An imbalance of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) causes the disruption of ovulation which is regulated by the pituitary gland. Excessive stress both physical and mental can have a negative effect on the ovulation process, a sudden gain or loss of weight may also cause irregular ovulation.
- Endometriosis: Endometriosis is the condition in which the uterine tissues grow outside the uterus, in other places. This extra tissue growth and its removal cause scarring and inflammations that blocks the fallopian tubes from uniting the egg and sperm. It may also directly impact the implanting of an egg and its maturation, and indirectly impact fertility by damaging the sperm or egg.
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS): PCOS affects nearly 8% of women of reproductive age. It occurs due to a single cyst or multiple cysts form in the ovaries which block the passage of the egg into the uterus, leading to infertility. It usually occurs because of hormonal imbalance, when androgen, the male reproductive hormone increases in the body causing acne, abnormal hair growth on the face and body, irregular periods, and obesity.
- Blockages in fallopian tubes: Damages or blockages in the fallopian tubes restrict the passage of sperm to the egg or block the entry of a mature egg into the uterus. This may occur due to certain diseases like gonorrhea, chlamydia, and other sexually transmitted diseases.
- Uterine abnormalities: Certain abnormalities with the uterine or cervical causes may interfere with the fallopian tubes and block the entry of egg into the uterus, or increase the miscarriage risk. Abnormalities like uterine fibroids or tumors, uterine defects by birth, cervical stenosis, etc. can increase a woman’s risk of being infertile.
- Unexplained infertility: Sometimes it so happens that the exact cause of infertility cannot be detected. In such cases, both factors might be equally responsible due to minor problems. This problem can be rectified with time and the treatment should not be delayed.
What are the symptoms of female infertility?
The main symptom of infertility is unable to get pregnant, an extremely long menstrual cycle (35 days or more), or extremely small menstrual cycle (less than 21 days), absence of menstrual periods indicating that the woman is not ovulating. As a woman’s age increases, her fertility goes on decreasing. Trying to get pregnant in your 40s can be difficult but not impossible.
What are the risk factors of female infertility?
There are many reasons that may impact a woman’s fertility. These include certain lifestyle choices, diseases, age, genetic factors, and health conditions. Some of the common female infertility factors include:
- Age
- Hormonal balance
- Abnormal menstrual cycle
- Obesity
- Being underweight
- Endometriosis
- Defects in the fallopian tubes, uterus, and ovaries
- Uterine fibroids
- PCOS
- Tumors
- Autoimmune disorders
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Primary ovary insufficiency
- Smoking
- Excessive alcohol consumption
What are the ways to prevent and treat female infertility?
Those women who wish to get pregnant, but are unable to due to some or all of the above-mentioned reasons, the following are some tips that may help:
- Maintain a healthy weight: Being underweight or overweight can cause difficulties while ovulating. Getting your weight checked and keeping it under control by regular exercising can help in increasing the chances of ovulation. Excessive exercising may cause more harm than benefit to the ovulation process.
- Healthy diet: Diet plays an important role in maintaining an overall healthy and functional system. Consuming a diet rich in estrogen may help in regulating the menstrual cycle and eventually with time may even help in ovulation.
- Reduce stress: Stress can be a major reason for irregular periods and thus infertility. Try to find out what causes stress and work towards avoiding it. Discussing your problems with your partner is a great way of reducing stress.
- Lifestyle choices: Along with diet, certain lifestyle modifications are extremely important while trying to get pregnant. Smoking and alcohol are the major reasons that have a negative impact on the body. By avoiding these two, the woman avoids suffering from birth defects during and after pregnancy.
- Taking supplements: Taking certain supplements to boost your low estrogen levels, regularize menstrual cycle, maintain a healthy hormonal balance, maintain a healthy reproductive health, and more.
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