What Is Female Infertility?

Infertility is a disease in which the ability to get pregnant and give birth to a child is impaired or limited in some way. In many couples, this is usually diagnosed after one year of trying to get pregnant. One-third of causes of infertility are due to a male problem, one-third are due to female problems, and one-third are due to a combination or unknown reasons. When the cause of the infertility is found to come from the female partner, it’s considered female infertility or “female factor” infertility.

Infertility is a common problem nowadays. At least 10% of women deal with infertility of some kind. The chances of being infertile increase as a woman ages.

What Causes Female Infertility?

There are many causes of infertility in females. However, it can be difficult to know the exact cause, and some couples have “unexplained” infertility or “multifactorial” infertility. Some possible causes of female factor infertility can include:

Problems with the uterus:  There are many problems with the uterus including polyps, fibroids, septum or adhesions inside the cavity of the uterus. Polyps and fibroids can form on their own at any time, whereas other abnormalities like a septum are present at birth. Adhesions can form after surgery like dilation and curettage (D&C).

Problems with the fallopian tubes: The most common cause of female infertility is  “tubal factor” infertility is a pelvic inflammatory disease, usually caused by chlamydia and gonorrhea. Damaged or blocked fallopian tubes are also a common cause of female infertility

Problems with ovulation: There are many reasons why a woman may not ovulate regularly. Hormonal imbalances, a past eating disorder, substance abuse, thyroid conditions, severe stress and pituitary tumors are all examples of things that can affect ovulation. Ovulation problems can also be a result of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Problems with egg number and quality: Women are born with all the eggs they will ever have, and this supply can “run out” early before menopause. In addition, some eggs will have the wrong number of chromosomes and cannot fertilize or grow into a healthy fetus. Some of these chromosomal issues may affect all of the eggs. Others are random but become more common as a woman gets older.

Treatment

Some tests may be done to diagnose female infertility.

Physical exam: An overall physical exam may have a general physical exam, including a regular gynecological exam. Also may include ultrasound scans that can provide information on the ovaries, endometrial lining, and uterine shape.

Blood tests: Samples of your blood can be tested for a hormone level of follicle-stimulating hormone or FSH. also includes thyroid testing, prolactin levels, tests of ovarian reserve and progesterone.

X-ray hysterosalpingogram (HSG): This test is done to check whether the tube is open or closed. To check a dye is injected into the cervix and watches how the dye moves through the fallopian tube with an X-ray.

Hystero-Laparoscopy: In this test, a small monitoring instrument called a laparoscope is inserted into the abdomen to look at the organs. A device called a hysteroscope a flexible, thin device with a camera is inserted into the vagina and through the cervix to view the inside of the organ. This procedure is called Hystero-Laparoscopy. This procedure is effective to detect and treat various structural abnormalities in multiple sites like the pelvis, tubes, and uterus at the same time.

Transvaginal ultrasound: In Transvaginal ultrasound, the probe is inserted into the vagina to get a better view of organs like the uterus and ovaries.

How Is Female Infertility Treated in Jabalpur?

Once the diagnosis is completed and pinpointed the cause, there are a variety of treatment options. The cause of infertility guides the type of treatment. For example, structural problems may be treated through surgery, while hormonal problems like ovulation issues, thyroid conditions can be treated with medications. Many patients will require artificial insemination called Intrauterine Insemination in which washed sperm is injected into the uterus after ovulation or in vitro fertilization IVF in which fertilizing eggs with sperm in the lab to make embryos, then transferring the embryo into the uterus.