Signs and Symptoms of Infertility

There are many descriptions of what infertility is but the bottom line is infertility is the inability to produce children.  This is a condition that can affect both men and women and is generally determined after trying to conceive after one year of trying.  Women who also have miscarriages repeatedly are said to be infertile as they cannot carry a baby full term.

It is said that infertility affects about 12% of women in the USA each year with the age range of 15 to 44 years of age. As a woman ages, her chances of conceiving a child decrease.  It is said that the best age for a woman to conceive a child is in her 20′s.  Late 20′s and early 30′s is
when the chance starts to decline.  Once a woman reaches her late 30′s the decline speeds up and keeps doing so as she gets older. This is due to
the ovaries being able to produce healthy normal eggs.

There are plenty of circumstances that can affect a male or female with infertility, especially where women are concerned.  Endometriosis is one
of the leading factors in infertility problems.  Endometriosis causes uterine fibroid tumors which can limit her chances for conceiving.  Other
conditions that can lead to infertility are: PID (Pelvic Inflammatory   Disease), polycystic ovarian syndrome and Pituitary tumors.

The main symptom of infertility is having trouble conceiving.  Some couples may not be able to conceive and some women may not be able to carry a child, suffering with numerous miscarriages.  Doctors will advice couples to try to conceive a child over a years time.  If there is no success after a year then the doctor will start testing to see if there is an underlying cause for the trouble.

The doctor may test both the male and female to see if the trouble lies with the man or the woman.  Once the doctor determine what the cause is,
he or she will then take measures to try to help the couple conceive a child.  The first thing would be to help a woman determine when she is
ovulating so that the couple can plan when they have sex.  Other types of treatment may be to clean out the fallopian tubes so that the egg and
the sperm can travel to their destination.

If you suffer with infertility problems, talk with your doctor so that you can determine the best possible treatment for your particular
situation.  There are plenty of treatments available to help you have the child you want.   There are other options such as in vitro fertilization
or even adoption for those that have no way to conceive a child.  Your doctor will help you to come up with the best option for you and your
significant other so that you can become parents with the best method for your particular situation.


Reasons for Infertility: Coping and Preventive Mechanisms, Complications and Treatments

This article seeks to provide a basic guide on the reasons for infertility, from ways to cope and to prevent infertility to the complications and treatment options involved in said issue. At the very least, you will have a general idea of your next steps when trying and failing to conceive during the past 12 months of unprotected sex.

Coping Mechanisms

Understandably, the mere thought of being infertile when you want to bear a child can lead to stress and anxiety in both you and your partner. After all, we still live in a society where one of the main purposes of marriage is procreation not only because it is a symbol of mutual love but also because it is necessary for the survival of the species.

No matter the reasons for infertility in your case, you must maintain a strong relationship between yourselves as partners in pregnancy. Open lines of communication and loving support are necessary to weather this kind of relationship storm.

You may also need to join an infertility support group or seek the advice of a behavioral therapist to reduce your stress and anxiety. It must be noted that these negative feelings affect your fertility, too.

Preventive Measures

Although some of the causes of infertility can neither be helped nor remedied, there are certain things you can do to avoid infertility. These measures often center on making your body and mind as healthy as possible to encourage fertility, which include adopting a healthy diet with plenty of vitamins, proteins and folic acid, maintaining healthy weight, quitting tobacco and alcohol, managing your stress, and engaging in moderate exercise. For lucky couples, unhealthy lifestyle choices are often the easiest of the reasons for infertility to remedy.

Complications Involved

Infertility in itself causes no physical complications unless it is caused by an underlying medical condition such as polycystic ovarian syndrome and endometriosis. After all, you can go on living life without children in it or you can always adopt a baby.

However, infertility does lead to emotional problems especially amongst the people involved. You and your partner will experience stress, anxiety, anger, depression and frustration, to name a few negative emotions, before, during and after the infertility treatments.

And then there is also the fact some infertility treatments lead to physical symptoms such as pain in the pelvic region, vaginal bleeding and discharge and headaches, to mention a few.

Treatment Options

Fortunately, modern medical science has made it possible for infertility to be remedied. The type of treatment depends on many factors, of which the most notable are maternal age, the reasons for infertility, and the personal preferences of the patient.

The three most common treatments involve the use of fertility drugs like clomiphene citrate and other hormones, surgery for removal of blockages in the reproductive system, lifestyle changes and assisted reproductive technology like intrauterine insemination, in vitro fertilization and egg donation. You must consult with your doctor about these treatment options to find the best one for you although it must be emphasized that you may have to try two or more options before conception is achieved.

Infertility nowadays is not too much of a problem, thanks to the advances in medical science and technology. Just seek to know of the reasons for infertility as it applies to you and then take appropriate action.


Infertility Stress

What effect does infertility stress have on someone’s inability to get pregnant? And why does infertility stress happen at all?

Simply, when you are under circumstances your body perceives as threatening, the body responds to these structures with the so-called “flight or flight” response. With this type of stress response, the hypothalamus releases a hormone called corticotropin releasing factor, or CRF. In turn, CRF activates what is called the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal system, and the HPA system, as it is known, releases stress hormones to help manage the situation.

How this affects infertility is still not quite understood, but it is known that because the presence of infertility in itself can cause stress, that can actually lead to greater infertility stress, such that it becomes a vicious cycle. Experts do say, indeed, that stress reduction can often increase the chances for pregnancy in couples who have been deemed infertile but for whom no significant cause of infertility can be found. Because the hypothalamus regulates stress responses and sex hormones, the connection between infertility in women and stress is quite clear. In fact, stress can actually lead to complete cessation of the menstrual cycle. Even if the menstrual cycle does not completely cease, it can cause something called anovulation, or irregular menstrual cycles. Excess stress also causes the pituitary gland to produce increased amounts of catecholamine, which can cause ovulation to be irregular.

Strides in infertility stress

Within the last 20 years or so, psychoneuroimmunology has focused on how the mind can affect the body’s function, and this is especially of interest in infertility stress; neuropeptides are released in response to the emotions, and go to every cell, including those in the immune system. This leaves the mind and body inseparably connected, which means that indeed, there is a direct connection between stress and infertility.

Women are also not the only ones affected by infertility stress. Men, too, can experience lower sperm count because of stress, and can also experience physiological/psychological effects of stress with such things as temporary erectile dysfunction or lower sex drive. This, of course, will probably reduce how much a couple has intercourse, which can also reduce the chances of pregnancy.

What can help

If no physical problem is found for infertility, simply relaxing (although that can be difficult) can greatly increase a couple’s chances of becoming pregnant. Because methods differ between people and one method can work for someone while another will not, it’s useful to try a number of different approaches to reduce your own stress if you find yourself in this situation. There have been a plethora of books written on the subject, and all can benefit you by teaching different stress management techniques. Other possible destressors include using biofeedback, imagery, acupuncture or massage.

A surprising final note on infertility stress is that oftentimes, when people are trying to become pregnant and simply can’t for no apparent reason, they suddenly and unexpectedly find themselves pregnant once they relax and just “let things be.” And even though science is making great strides in correcting infertility problems, this is one of the “tried and true” adages that really work and make sense when it comes to infertility stress.


What Is Infertility? And Other Questions Answered

If you have been trying and failing to conceive during the last 12 months of unprotected sex, you may well be asking yourselves many questions. There is no need to fret too much, however, as you are not alone in your question for answers to questions along the lines of “What is infertility?” If it is any consolation, more than 7 million Americans have sought treatments for infertility and many of them have found solutions to their fertility issues.

How Is Infertility Defined?

Simply put, infertility is the absence of fertility, be it in a man or a woman or in both partners. As previously mentioned, you must have been trying and still failing to get pregnant through natural methods.

Maybe you have adopted just about all the positions in the book of Kama Sutra. Maybe you have adopted a healthier lifestyle to kick start your reproductive systems into gear. Maybe you have taken all the natural supplements and tried alternative methods like acupuncture with claims to promote quick pregnancy. And still, nada on the conception. Now, that is the answer to the “What is infertility?” question.

What Are the Symptoms of Infertility?

Unfortunately, beyond the fact that you cannot get pregnant even from an enthusiastic 12 months of unprotected sex, there are no signs and symptoms that will allow you to say with a measure of certainty that, indeed, you are infertile.

You may be able to pinpoint problems like abnormal menstruation and a decreased sexual drive as signs of infertility. Take note, however, that these conditions can be attributed to other causes like stress and anxiety brought by the pressures of a modern lifestyle.

When Do You See a Fertility Specialist?

You need not be concerned about infertility if you have been trying for a year. This is because majority of couples, about 85 percent, will become pregnant in the first 6 months of trying, of which the remaining half will conceive in the next 36 months. Now, if you fall into the other half or if you cannot wait for more months to pass without results, then it is time to seek medical care.

What Are the Risk Factors for Infertility?

The issue of infertility is still vague on some issues, of which the risk factors are thankfully not included. You have higher chances of not successfully getting pregnant if you are:

  • Over 32 years old for women and 40 years old   for men
  • A tobacco smoker and an excessive alcohol   drinker for a number of years before trying to conceive
  • On the overweight or underweight side of the   weighing scale
  • An overly enthusiastic exercise fanatic or an exercise-averse individual
  • A coffeeholic in the extreme sense of the word

What Are the Available Treatments for Infertility?

Fortunately for you and millions of others asking the all-important question of “What is infertility?” there are many treatment options for overcoming lack of fecundity. The type of treatments provided depends in large part on your age, the reasons for your infertility and your personal preferences. Just to name a few, you have fertility medications, surgery, and assisted reproductive technology. Talk to your doctor about them.

In conclusion, getting pregnant is one of life’s pleasures. It may not be within your reach now but with the help of medical science, it will be soon enough.


How Infertility Groups Can Help You When You’re Struggling with Infertility

If you’re struggling with infertility or you know someone who is, infertility groups can help greatly with the stress that happens even in the best of situations. Friends and family may try to help you through your time of difficulty, but they won’t entirely understand what it’s like to struggle with infertility and therefore can’t provide the knowledge and compassion of someone who’s actually been through what you’re going through. That’s where infertility groups can help.

Infertility groups can help support you during the stress of trying to get pregnant, and they can also provide information that may help you actually become pregnant. Most infertility groups are local, but you can also find infertility groups online whereby you can visit forums, etc., and get the same kind of support and information “virtually” that you would normally get in a physical group. This may be a perfect solution for you if you want to stay completely anonymous, or you can still find an infertility group local to you; these online fertility groups can also often provide the needed information so that you can find an infertility group nearby.

Infertility groups can help you if you’re struggling with trying to get pregnant simply because everyone in that group is or has been through what you’re going through in your struggle to have a child. Although friends and family can help, of course, they can’t simply “be in your shoes” entirely and therefore can’t understand just what a struggle it is. They don’t altogether “get it,” in other words, whereas infertility groups will.
Perhaps surprisingly, even though infertility groups provide much-needed information on various treatments to try when it comes to addressing and overcoming infertility, many people struggling with this issue have really felt at the emotional support was most important. It’s no accident, either, that getting the support of infertility groups can actually help you become pregnant. That’s because stress can be a major factor in your inability to become pregnant; finding support for this central issue in your life can actually alleviate that stress and therefore actually lead to your becoming pregnant.

Becoming a member of an infertility group can help ease stress on marriages, too. Spouses and life partners can help and can listen, but again, it’s the woman going through the experience of trying to become pregnant (and failing) who is having the most prevalent day-to-day struggle with infertility. Because infertility groups’ members support each other, this can take a lot of the stress off of life partners or spouses who want to help, but don’t quite know what to do. And that in turn can help relationships and marriages.

What kinds of infertility groups are there?

Again, there are virtual, online infertility groups, whereby everything is handled online via forums and the like, and then there are face to face infertility groups where members actually meet each other on a regular basis. Within those two types of groups (online or virtual), the groups themselves can also be informal and led by a group “leader,” or they can be led by a trained therapist who’s versed in infertility issues. Either way, groups are generally limited in size so that everyone has time to talk, and will usually run for about 12 weeks before they reach their end, at which time another may start again. Everything can be talked about, including depression, self-care, reducing stress, relationship issues, options for addressing infertility including surrogacy, and even discussing the possible eventuality of having to remain childfree.

To find an infertility group in your area or online, simply do a Web search to find one.