Infertility is defined as trying to get pregnant with frequent and unprotected sexual intercourse for a year or more without success. A partner may not be able to contribute to conception or a woman may not be able to carry a baby to term.

Infertility in women causes can be hard to diagnose. There are a lot of treatments, depending on the cause of infertility. A lot of infertile couples will conceive a child untreated.

Symptoms of Infertility in Women

The main symptom of infertility is that you can’t get pregnant. A menstrual cycle that is too long (35 days or more), too short (under 21 days), irregular or absent can keep you from ovulating. Perhaps there are no additional signs or symptoms.

Causes of Infertility in Women

In order for pregnancy to take place, every step of the human reproductive process must take place correctly. The major steps in this procedure:

• One of the two ovaries releases a mature egg.
• The egg is picked up by the fallopian tube.
• Sperm swim up the cervix, through the uterus, and into the fallopian tube to reach the egg for fertilization.
• The fertilized egg travels down the fallopian tube to the uterus.
• The fertilized egg attaches (implants) to the inside of the uterus and grows.

A variety of variables can block this process in women at any point. Infertility in women is caused by one or more of the reasons listed below.

Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a condition whereby little bits of the womb lining (endometrium) begin to grow in areas other than the womb, such as the ovaries. Scarring from this additional tissue growth — and its surgical removal — can clog fallopian tubes and prevent an egg and sperm from joining.

Endometriosis can potentially prevent the fertilized egg from implanting. Indirect effects of the illness, such as damage to the sperm or egg, appear to have an impact on fertility.

Damage to Fallopian Tubes

Damaged or closed fallopian tubes prevent sperm from reaching the egg or prevent the fertilized egg from entering the uterus. Damage or restriction of the fallopian tube can be caused by a variety of factors, including:

• Pelvic inflammatory disease, a uterine and fallopian tube infection caused by chlamydia, gonorrhea, or other sexually transmitted illnesses.
• Previous abdominal or pelvic surgery, such as ectopic pregnancy surgery, in which a fertilized egg implants and develops outside of the uterus, generally in a fallopian tube

Sterilization

If they don’t want to have any more children, some women choose to get sterilized. The fallopian tubes are blocked during sterilization to prevent an egg from reaching the womb. It’s rarely reversible, and even if it is, you won’t be able to have children.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

PCOS results in a hormonal imbalance that interferes with ovulation. PCOS is linked to insulin resistance, obesity, abnormal facial or body hair growth, and acne. It’s the most common cause of infertility in women.

Risk factors

Factors that increase the risk include:

• Age: The quality and quantity of a woman’s eggs reduce as she gets older. The rate of follicle loss accelerates in the mid-30s, leading to fewer and lower-quality eggs. This makes it more difficult to conceive and raises the chances of miscarriage.
• Smoking: Smoking raises your chances of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy, in addition to harming your cervix and fallopian tubes. It’s also known to prematurely age your ovaries and reduce your eggs. Before starting fertility treatment, you should quit smoking.
• Sexual history: The fallopian tubes can be damaged by sexually transmitted illnesses including chlamydia and gonorrhea. Having unprotected intercourse with several partners raises your risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection, which can lead to fertility issues in the future.
• Alcohol: Too much consumption of alcohol reduces fertility.
• Weight: Ovulation might be hampered by being overweight or very underweight. Increasing the frequency of ovulation and the likelihood of conception by achieving a healthy body mass index (BMI).

Prevention

This advice may be useful for women who are planning to become pregnant soon or in the future:

• Maintain a healthy weight: Ovulation issues are more common in overweight and underweight women. Moderate activity is recommended if you need to lose weight. Ovulation has been linked to strenuous, intensive activity for more than five hours per week.
• Quit smoking: Tobacco has a number of harmful impacts on fertility, general health, and the health of a fetus. If you’re thinking about starting a family, now is the time to quit smoking.
• Avoid alcohol: If you’re pregnant, or planning to become pregnant, avoid alcohol. Heavy alcohol use can affect the health of the developing fetus.
• Reduce stress: According to certain findings, stress can lead to couples having less success with infertility therapy. Before attempting to conceive, try to lower your stress levels.

Diagnosis

If you or your spouse are having trouble conceiving, consult your doctor for an infertility evaluation and treatment. Your doctor will take a thorough medical history and perform a physical examination on you. You and your spouse should be evaluated, and therapies should be evaluated as well.

Fertility tests might include:

• Ovulation testing: You can also confirm if you’re ovulating with a blood test for progesterone, a hormone produced after ovulation. The spike in luteinizing hormone (LH) that happens before ovulation is detected using an over-the-counter ovulation prediction kit. Other hormone levels, such as prolactin, may be tested as well.
• Ovarian reserve testing: The quality and amount of eggs accessible for ovulation are determined by this test. This series of blood and imaging tests may be given to women over 35 who are at risk of having their egg supply decreased.
• Imaging tests: A pelvic ultrasound examines the uterus and fallopian tubes for signs of uterine or fallopian tube illness. A son hysterogram, also known as a saline infusion sonogram or hysteroscopy, is sometimes used to see details inside the uterus that a standard ultrasound can’t show.

Treatment

Treatments might either try to restore fertility by medicine or surgery, or they can assist you in getting pregnant using advanced technology. Because infertility is such a complicated condition, it necessitates substantial financial, physical, psychological, and time obligations.

Medications to restore fertility

Fertility medicines are medications that regulate or induce ovulation. Fertility medicines are the most common treatment for women who are unable to conceive because of ovulation problems.

Also, fertility medicines promote ovulation in the same way that natural hormones like follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) do. They’re also utilized to try to trigger a better egg or an extra egg or eggs in women who ovulate.

Fertility drugs include:

1. Clomiphene citrate
2. Gonadotropins
3. Metformin
4. Letrozole
5. Bromocriptine

Surgery to restore fertility

Several surgical procedures can help women conceive or increase their fertility. Surgical fertility therapies, on the other hand, are becoming less common as alternative treatments become more effective. They are as follows:

1. Laparoscopic or hysteroscopic surgery
2. Tubal surgeries