Infertility Signs And Tests For Problem Areas
The first sign of infertility is the failure for a couple to conceive for a full year of trying. There are many reasons for this, but one of them is aging.
And two reasons that aging reduces a woman’s fertility are diminished health of her eggs and a reduced ability of the ovaries to release them. They also have a higher risk for miscarriage and other health problems that affect their fertility.
In her twenties is when a woman’s fertility is highest with a steadily increasing difficulty in conceiving into her thirties – as her ovaries stop making eggs at the rate they once did. The risk of miscarriage generally doesn’t become an issue until she reaches at least thirty-six. Drinking and smoking increases the level of infertility in all women. Today, aging is the most common fertility problem as women are choosing to have their first child at 35 or older.
Infertility is categorized as Primary or Secondary: Primary is when a woman can’t get pregnant after a year of trying and Secondary Infertility is when she can’t after a year of trying – but she had already become pregnant in some year past.
Both males and females have infertility problems, with the split being roughly 50-50, according to some experts on fertility. But the ratio is 60-40 – with the females having 60 percent of the infertility issues according to others. One in ten of couples trying to conceive will have difficulties, with four out of five being successful inside a year. What is a normal amount of time? Up to two years of trying, say experts.
In order to assess their fertility, many partners must both have complete medical exams done. Many of the males in relationships have the problem with fertility, therefore it’s important that both partners get a complete physical.
In order to get a base for comparison, the first tests normally done by a doctor are for the female’s levels of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH). The tests for these two hormones are normally done on a woman’s first visit to her specialist as well as her third. Since FSH and LH are both critical to male fertility (they are important to sperm health and production), these tests can be done on the male, at the discretion of the fertility specialist.
Some of the other tests routinely done (female) include ultrasound tests, a cervical mucus test, and additional hormone testing. A post-intercourse test that’s not done as much today, the cervical mucus test looks for active sperm from a sampling of the vaginal mucus. Two to eight hours following intercourse, the female is examined by the fertility specialist. Sometimes a bacterial test is done at the same time.
A pelvic ultrasound test will take from 20 to 30 minutes, and is a great way for a doctor to assess the overall condition of the female’s uterus and ovaries, and the follicle development on the ovaries. It is also used to see if an egg has been released from an ovary.
The reproductive endocrinologist has many other hormone tests that he or she has available to them. The main ones are tests for prolactin, free T3, free testosterone, total testosterone, progesterone, estradiol, DHEAS, and androstenedione.
Infertility can make couples go to great lengths to fix any problems in order to conceive. And the treatments can get very expensive, especially considering that most treatments for infertility are not covered by any insurance. Hopefully, any problems can be remedied with prescription drug therapy, such as taking metformin and clomiphene for PCOS infertility. (PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome).
Failure to ovulate can be treated by clomiphene, with the next level of treatment being hormone therapy. One of the more undesirable side-effects of hormone therapy is the increased likelihood of having 3 or 4 babies all at once.
One of the most expensive and emotionally taxing (as well as physically taxing) fertility treatments is in vitro fertilization (IVF). Regular blood tests, daily hormone injections and frequent monitoring by the doctor is what this treatment requires of you. Nevertheless, it works one out of three times, but out of this 33.33%, one-third of these (33.33% also) will have twins. It should be noted that acupuncture by trained personnel is shown to raise the success rate of IVF.
Janet has been publishing helpful articles on fertility and pregnancy for years. Discover more about acupuncture and infertility and ways to monitor fertility with innovative solutions such as the Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor and other methods on the website.
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Tags: babies, Baby, fertility, health, infertility, pregnancy, women, women's issues
