SUCCESS. The primary symptom of infertility is the focal challenge when achieving pregnancy. What are the most common female infertility signs and symptoms? Is female infertility a serious problem? Find out the most common infertility signs, causes and treatment options.
Female Infertility is the inability of a woman to get pregnant after at least one year of trying (or six months if the woman is over age 35). Frequent miscarriages can also lead to the same diagnosis.
Millions of couples in the United States have encountered Female infertility. An estimated 10 to 18 percent of couples have trouble getting pregnant or having a successful delivery. Such troubling numbers are a representation of the pain women have to go through on their journey to motherhood.
The effects it plays on the psychological and emotional wellbeing of women around the world is a heavy burden to bear. This is further compounded by a lack of knowledge of what female infertility is and what it means to women.
Below are some of the things you need to know about female infertility.
Common female Infertility Signs and Symptoms
There are many possible signs of female infertility symptoms.
A woman’s inability to get pregnant is the main symptom of infertility. The menstrual cycle can also indicate a lack of ovulation. For example, a cycle that is more than 35 days or less than 21 days, irregular, or absent can mean that ovulation is not taking place.
There may be no other outward signs or symptoms. Therefore, it is always important to know When to seek help can depend on age:
- Anyone under the age of 35 is advised to try and get pregnant for at least a year before seeking out any form of testing or treatment.
- Anyone between the ages of 35 and 40 should discuss their concerns with a doctor after six months of trying.
- Women older than 40 years are more likely to receive fertility testing and treatment as soon as possible.
- Women above 40 are recommended to consider Egg Donation IVF for better chances of a successful and healthy pregnancy.
- Age will play a role in the quality of the Oocytes. This can be the difference between a successful and a failed procedure.
What Causes Female Infertility
For pregnancy to occur, several things have to happen. Most cases of infertility in women result from problems with producing eggs. Female infertility can result from age, physical challenges, hormone problems, and lifestyle or environmental factors.
For example, in dominant ovarian insufficiency, the ovaries stop working before natural menopause. In polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the ovaries may not release an egg regularly, or if they do, the egg will not be healthy.
Other causes of infertility in women include:
- Untreated chlamydia or gonorrhea
- Not ovulating (not releasing eggs from your ovaries)
- Blocked fallopian tubes preventing sperm from getting to the egg
- Poor egg quality
- Abnormal shape of the uterus making it hard for a fertilized egg to implant
- Endometriosis
- Uterine fibroids
- Irregular Menstrual Cycles
- Cysts, fibroids, myomas, or any foreign mas that can interfere with the production of eggs and or normal ovulation cycles.
- Endometrial scar tissue
Sometimes, there’s no known reason for infertility. This is called unexplained infertility. It can be frustrating, but there are still usually treatment options you can try. Seeing a doctor that specializes in infertility can help you figure out what’s causing fertility problems and find the best treatments.
Female Infertility Genetic Causes
Many women are not able to conceive and deliver a healthy baby due to genetic factors. This is, sometimes, caused by an inherited chromosome abnormality. Other times it is due to a single-gene defect passed from parent to child.
Female Infertility Risk Factors
At the LIV Fertility Center, our fertility specialists in Mexico understand that there are several female infertility factors for women. As such, we encourage our patients to take preventative measures to reduce the risk.
- Age: A woman’s fertility declines with age. It is no surprise that a woman in her late 30s is significantly less fertile than a woman in her early 20s.
- BMI: Your body mass index will affect your fertility. Make sure to check your BMI as too much or too little body fat is likely to affect ovulation.
- Some ailments, especially those that are considered chronic, and their medications can affect fertility. Diseases include diabetes, hypertension, lupus, and thyroid conditions are also known to affect fertility in women.
- Endometriosis: Endometriosis is known to cause infertility. It is a condition where uterine tissue grows outside the uterus. Usually, endometriosis presents no symptoms. However, it can cause painful and heavy periods, in addition to pain during sexual intercourse.
- Lifestyle factors: How you live your daily life will affect your fertility, Avoid exposing yourself to toxins at home or work, reduce or avoid behaviors such as smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.
- Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs): STDs are more likely to be transmitted to women. Left untreated, they can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Some of the most common fertility complications due to STDs include adhesions, ectopic pregnancy, blocked fallopian tubes, uterine scarring, and miscarriages.
Female Infertility Tests and Diagnosis
At the LIV Fertility Center in Mexico, our expert fertility specialists are very selective when it comes to fertility testing. Not every fertility test is completed per case. Fertility diagnosis is personalized and completed on a case by case basis.
More invasive fertility tests and female infertility diagnosis are completed when symptoms or testing indicates fertility issues, or when a cause for infertility is unknown.
For women, fertility testing may include:
- Gynecological exam
- Sexually transmitted disease testing
- Blood tests, which may check for thrombophilia and antiphospholipid syndrome (in cases of recurrent miscarriage), as well as a variety of hormones.
- Ultrasound, to look for polycystic ovaries, larger ovarian cysts, fibroids, and, sometimes, to support ovulation is occurring.
- HSG, or hysterosalpingogram, to check that the fallopian tubes are open and not blocked, as well as to assess the shape of the uterus.
- Hysteroscopy, which involves placing a telescope-like camera through the cervix into the uterus to take a closer look at the inside of the uterus.
- Diagnostic laparoscopy is only done when symptoms reveal possible endometriosis, as part of treatment for blocked fallopian tubes, or in some cases of unexplained infertility.
Treatment for Female Infertility
The first step of treatment for female infertility in many cases is to treat the underlying cause of infertility. The most common medications used to treat infertility help stimulate ovulation. Examples of these types of drugs include:
- Clomiphene or Clomiphene Citrate
- Letrozole
- Gonadotropins or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG)
- Bromocriptine or Cabergoline
If a disease of the fallopian tubes is the cause of infertility, surgery can be used to repair the tubes or remove blockages in the tubes.
Surgery to remove patches of endometriosis has been found to double the chances for pregnancy. Surgery can also be used to remove uterine fibroids, polyps, or scarring, which can affect fertility.
The LIV Lifeline
Regardless of your situation or reasons for female infertility, our leading infertility specialists work closely with you to develop a personalized fertility treatment plan.
We offer intended parents a unique fertility lifeline and are creating a unique vision for the everlasting dream of parenthood. LIV reimagines, refines, and redefines every aspect of reproductive medicine.
