Showing posts with label infertility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label infertility. Show all posts

Female Infertility: How Endometriosis Affects Your Ability To Get Pregnant


By Sarah Forbes

Female infertility is a common problem in the world today. There are many reasons why people find it difficult to get pregnant. Endometriosis may be one of the reasons for the difficulties you face when trying to conceive. Here is how this condition affects your ability as a woman to have a baby.

The first thing that you should know when trying to understand how endometriosis affects your ability to get pregnant is to understand how the condition affects your reproductive system. Endometriosis is a common condition among women which causes the lining of the uterus to grow outside the uterine cavity. The result of this is that the tissues of the lining may end up attaching themselves to abdominal or reproductive organs. Further complications may develop during menstruation where this tissue may fill with blood.

Endometriosis usually results in serious complications because of the blood that is trapped within the tissue. This occurs because the lining is out-of-place and thus the blood cannot be shed off through the vagina as it normally would. This usually results in the development of blood blisters. These blisters that result from endometriosis may then develop into scar tissue, cysts or adhesions. This is what usually causes most women with endometriosis to experience a lot of pain.

Endometriosis affects a woman's ability to get pregnant by causing the formation of scar tissues. These scars usually affect the functioning of the female reproductive system, especially the fallopian tubes. It may also result in the secretion of substances into the womb that may affect fertilization and thus preventing a woman from getting pregnant.

In addition to this, this condition is known to increase the chances of a woman having hormonal dysfunction. Progesterone deficiency is one of the dysfunctions that may be caused by endometriosis. By affecting the hormonal balance needed for a woman to get pregnant or keep a pregnancy, this condition reduces the chances of a successful conception. It may also result in early miscarriages.

Given the effects that endometriosis has on a woman who is trying to get pregnant, it is important to treat the condition as early as possible. There are various ways to do this. Stopping a woman's menstruation is one of the medical options that you can choose. Surgery is usually recommended for serious cases. There are also natural ways through which you can prevent endometriosis and which you can take advantage of. Reducing the risks of developing the condition through a healthy lifestyle will definitely increase your chances of getting pregnant.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sarah Forbes writes on ovarian cyst rupture and various ovarian cyst symptoms. She breathes a wealth of experience and expertise in her articles. Through writing, she has transformed thousands of lives of women. She has been writing for sites and blogs on reproductive health for the past 7 years.

Article Source: Female Infertility: How Endometriosis Affects Your Ability To Get Pregnant

What Is Male Infertility?

By Nathan Hapyan

Photo credit: iStockphoto
The term "infertility" is thrown around a lot, but it pays to remember that it can easily take up to a year for a normal couple to get pregnant. As such, infertility is typically said to be the inability to conceive a child after 12 months of unprotected intercourse. The statistics say that about 85% of couples will successfully conceive within this amount of time. The statistics also say that about 15% of couples trying to conceive are deal with some form of infertility, with 40-50% of those cases being due to male infertility. So if you've been diagnosed with some form of male infertility, do not despair, you are far from alone and many options are available to you. The standard forms of male infertility are due to one, or several of the issues of low sperm count, low sperm motility, and poor sperm morphology. In a smaller portion of cases, a physical obstruction or blockage can prohibit normal sperm delivery.

It is important to understand what each of the sperm related terms means.

Sperm Motility
Sperm motility is the ability of the sperm to move forward towards an egg. This is the sperm's "forward progress."

Sperm Count
Sperm count measures the concentration of sperm in a man's ejaculate. Over 15 million sperm per milliliter is considered normal, yet the average today is between 20-40 million. These numbers are just a guideline, and especially with today's technology, men are able to conceive within a wide range of sperm counts.

Sperm Morphology
Sperm morphology refers to the size and shape of the sperm. Certain sizes and shapes of sperm are better at fertilizing an egg than others. It is estimated that up to 10% of sperm has observable defects and will have difficulties fertilizing an egg. It is important to know that sperm morphology is the easiest, and cheapest thing a man can change in terms of his fertility. Basically, the healthier you are the better your morphology. This means eat right, have great morphology.

It is important to remember that successful fertilization relies on a balance of these three factors. Low motility in a high sperm count is not ideal; whereas if you have high motility in a low sperm count you may have no problems conceiving. Also, it will take around 3 months to see changes in these things since it takes about 2 and a half months to grow new sperm.

Here are 6 classifications of male infertility you may have heard about:

  • Oligospermia - "low sperm count", or low concentration of spermatozoa in the semen
  • Aspermia - complete lack of semen
  • Hypospermia - reduced seminal volume
  • Azoospermia - absence of sperm cells in semen
  • Teratospermia - increase in sperm with abnormal morphology
  • Asthenozoospermia - reduced sperm motility

Stay Positive
Being diagnosed with male infertility can be devastating. Believe me, I know. However, the more you learn, the better you will be able to deal with it, and hopefully overcome it. When you make the commitment to undergo treatment, you will be subject to frequent invasive testing and observation. As hard as this will be, keeping a healthy baby in sight will make this part easier. We as humans have an instinct to procreate and often have feelings of insecurity and insufficiency when this basic process does not work. If I get one thing across to you in this article, it is that infertility, both male and female, is very common and can be overcome. Good luck with your journey.

You've only just started your education on male infertility. For a whole lot more head on over to http://ivf-info.org/infertility-male-infertility where the http://ivf-info.org team have written many informative articles. Also, if there is something not explained in the articles there, please don't hesitate to ask on the IVF Forums.
Article Source: What Is Male Infertility?