What is Infertility?

Infertility is when a woman is unable to conceive a child and become pregnant despite engaging in sexual intercourse with a man or receiving artificial insemination. This inability is often an unwelcome reality with regards to family planning for a man and woman, as well as for others who wish to become parents outside of the standard familial arrangements. Women can be very distressed over infertility, and particularly so when it is prolonged and if assisted reproduction technologies like IVF are ineffective. 

What Causes Infertility?

Being of an advanced reproductive age is the most common cause for infertility in women, and conceiving is easier for women to when they are under the approximate age of 35. That age range may vary based on individual physiologies, but most women who experience infertility will be in their later 30s or older. Other factors that promote infertility are smoking, substance abuse, chemical exposure, and a woman using contraceptives for a long time in her younger years. 

Endometriosis, ovulation disorders, sexually-transmitted infections, and uterine abnormalities may also be contributors for infertility. Being overweight can also be detrimental when a woman is trying to get pregnant. Pregnancy struggles may also be related to the man, as a low sperm count or sperm motility problems can also prevent a woman from conceiving. 

Signs of Infertility

Failed pregnancy tests any time after 3 weeks of unprotected sex will indicate that a woman may be infertile, or alternately that her partner’s reproductive capacities are compromised for some reason. This diagnosis will be more likely accurate if the inability to get pregnant continues after the woman receives assisted reproduction technologies. 

Infertility Treatment

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most common approach for infertility treatment, and medications like Follistim AQ will be used with IVF to stimulate the development of follicles in the ovaries and spermatogenesis in the testes for men. Timed intercourse and finding a woman’s fertility window may also be something a doctor advises trying, and this is based on determining the woman’s ovulation cycle and timing the sexual intercourse so that it is more likely she gets pregnant. 

IUI (intra-uterine insemination) is also a treatment that may be possible for women. With IUI healthy sperm are placed directly in the uterus around the time that the ovary releases one or more eggs that are ready for fertilization. This process is more complicated, but if a woman is seen as a good fit for IUI it can be discussed with a doctor at a fertility clinic for women.