Getting an Infertility Diagnosis is always a devastating moment for the couples who are struggling to conceive. Couples are usually advised to visit a fertility specialist if they haven’t been able to conceive even after a year of unprotected sex.
If we talk about the women within the Age group of 35 years, this limit comes down to six months. Infertility has emerged as a big threat for the happiness of lot of couples in India and if we have a look at the numbers, there is every 1 in 5 Indian couples who is going through the situation in the current context. Having talked about the problem, we can also say that the solution can be found keeping into mind the nature of their Infertility issues.
Let’s take a look at some of the key issues for Infertility in both men and women, nowadays.
Causes of Female Infertility
There are few instances where Infertility in women can be detected within the earlier stages due to the hormonal disorders. Apart from hormonal issues, there can be multiple other reasons for the Infertility issues in Women and they are listed below.
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- Endometriosis
Heavy and painful periods are one of the first indications of endometriosis. As we know that during, usual menstruation, the uterine lining created in expectation of pregnancy gets discarded and removed from the body. However, if women have endometriosis, the uterine lining wouldn’t completely shed. Instead, it would start getting attached with other parts of the body. That’s why Endometriosis is known as one of the most common reasons for infertility in women with 30-50% cases of female infertility being attributed to endometriosis.
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- Irregular periods
If a woman is getting irregular periods, the same may result in unpredictable ovulation cycles. PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) can be termed as one of the biggest reasons for irregular periods in women and another biggest cause for infertility issues in women. PCOS can also be a due to some other reasons apart from irregular periods. These could be obesity, painful periods, unusual hair growth along with various skin disorders. Other factors which results in irregular periods are stress, pychological factors, unexpected weight loss or weight gain.
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- Age
Age is another biggest factor which can impact the fertility in women. By the age of 35, both the quality and quantity of eggs start decreasing and the same keeps on depleting with every year passing. Even, if the woman hasn’t reached menopause, she would still possibly be facing infertility issues due to diminished ovarian reserve. Advanced maternal age can also be a factor responsible for repeated miscarriages.
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- Any issues with Fallopian tubes
Once an egg is fertilized by a sperm, it has to pass through the fallopian tube to reach the uterus. Therefore, if the fallopian tube is not healthy, it can impact a woman’s chances of getting pregnant in a big way. Various Infections may result in scarring of the fallopian tube. Endometriosis is one of the other issues which can result in various deformities in the tube. Moreover, any previous surgeries or an ectopic pregnancy may also lead to some irreparable damage.
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- Lifestyle factors
There are some other factors from our daily routines which impact fertility in both women and men. Factors like smoking or alcohol consumption can even lead to miscarriages in some cases. Other factors like consuming recreational drugs, being underweight or overweight, high dosage of birth controlling pills can also result in Infertility issues in women.
Causes of Male Infertility
While women have mostly been connected with this term “Infertility”, it’s the male infertility which contributes to as much as 40% in most of the Infertility cases. Moreover, it’s really hard to detect the symptoms of Infertility in men as compared to women and this, as a result, makes it more complicated. Let’s take a look at some of the factors which causes Male Infertility.
The following are the most common causes of male infertility.
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- Varicoceles
Varicoceles are distended veins in the scrotum which often result in complications with usual sperm production. Though, it’s one of the main causes of male Infertility, luckily it’s curable. Moreover, most of the infertility specialists quote the ability of varicoceles to increase the inner temperature of the scrotum as the main reason. As the sperm requires most favorable temperature to get on with development, any variation within the same can result in the occurrence of abnormalities. Varicoceles has also been responsible for low sperm count, sperm morphology and sperm quality.
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- Retrograde ejaculation
Even if a man has got healthy sperm, various other issues with ejaculation can avoid conception. Retrograde ejaculation, also been known as dry ejaculation, comes about when semen reaches the bladder as a result of orgasm and not directly out of penis. There are a number of factors responsible for the retrograde ejaculation like any damage to the spinal cord, any previous surgery or diabetes. If a man has healthy sperms and is suffering from retrograde ejaculation, then there are procedures to retrieve the sperms from the urine and using the processed semen sample for Intrauterine insemination process.
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- Tubal issues
While, we understand the fact that sperms have to travel via a number of tubes before coming out the penis during the ejaculation, if either of the tubes are found blocked, this would result in low sperm count and Infertility as a result. It’s the deformities or no presence of the vas deferens which can be quoted as some of the reasons for the sperm blockage. This could be a congenital disability or could be due to some physical trauma. Other tubules which can also result in blockages are epididymis, the urethra and the ejaculatory ducts. Abnormalities within the tubules can be caused by some of the previous surgeries, infections and cysts.
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- Infections
All those infections which are left without any treatment since long, can seriously result into a lot of damage to the sperm and tubes. STIs like Gonorrhea can also result intoirritationin the testicles as well as the epididymis. Further complications with healthy sperm production and transport can be caused by HIV.
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- Lifestyle factors
Various issues with lifestyles and daily routines can also cause a lot of trouble when it comes to infertility in Men and Women. Smoking can be quoted as the biggest one of them followed by alcohol and recreational drugs consumption. As of now, more than 17% population of India is affected by various health issues including Infertility in both men and women. Excess weight, exposure to various environmental factors like heavy metals, harmful chemicals and radiation can also affect fertility.
Apart from these common causes of infertility, there are many other specific causes which can affect men and women. However, a diagnosis of infertility does not have to put an end to your dreams of becoming a parent. we offer you the latest advancements in infertility treatment along with our years of expertise to help you experience the joy of parenthood.