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Womens Health
Infertility
Female infertility is, in basic
terms, the inability of a pre-menopausal woman to become pregnant.
While the entire process from egg to healthy newborn baby is
immensely complex, there are relatively few steps leading up
to the start of a pregnancy: producing a viable egg, a sperm
fertilising the egg, and the fertilised egg implanting in the
uterine wall.
In some cases, a woman's ovaries may simply not be producing
eggs. This can be caused by malnutrition or extremely low body
fat (amenorrhea, or cessation of the monthly cycle, is often
seen in advanced anorexia and competitive athletes), or a physical
disorder of the ovaries (cysts, tumors, etc.), among other things.
Proper use of hormonal birth control (the pill, Norplant, Depo-Provera,
etc.) works by preventing egg production.
An egg may be produced, but be blocked from completing its
journey down the fallopian tube by pelvic inflammatory disease
(PID), or other physical obstructions. Tubal ligation, the most
common method of elective surgical sterilisation, works by blocking
the fallopian tubes.
And finally, if a viable egg is produced and fertilised, it
may not succeed in implanting in the uterus. Failed implantation
can be caused by physical obstruction (commonly PID), or hormonal
imbalance preventing the uterus from properly 'preparing' itself
for implantation. Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) prevent pregnancy
as a physical barrier to implantation, while the "morning
after pill" prevents implantation via hormonal means.
In all cases, a normal, healthy, fertile woman can expect
to naturally experience more than one of these things repeatedly
during her lifetime. However, she's unlikely to ever realize
her ovaries skipped a month, or produced a bad egg, or perhaps
a fertilized egg or two never implanted. However, when such occurrences
are a constant part of a woman's monthly cycle, a diagnosis of
infertility often follows.
Some cases of infertility, especially hormone imbalances,
are relatively easily treated. A woman suffering amenorrhea will
often see a resumption of her menstrual cycle following changes
in her diet and/or exercise regimen. Other hormone-related fertility
problems may be treatable with synthetic hormones administered
via pill or injection.
Some cases of physical infertility can be treated surgically,
if a relatively simple blockage is involved. In other cases,
a fertility doctor may be able to harvest a number of viable
eggs, and perform in vitro fertilisation (fertilising the egg
in a laboratory), followed by implanting the fertilized egg in
the uterus.
However, in some cases, there is no way to treat infertility
so a woman can bear her own biological child. While donor eggs
for in vitro procedures are available, and in some cases a surrogate
mother can carry the child through pregnancy, in cases where
a woman is unable to bear her own children, depression and relationship
stress can take a heavy toll. As part of any fertility treatment,
and especially in cases where fertility specialists are unable
to help, professional counseling can make all the difference.
Infertility Links
Department of Health
HFEA
- Guide to Infertility
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