WHAT ARE THE 4 CAUSES OF FEMALE INFERTILITY?

Not all intercourse results in pregnancy. Only and only when the sperm and ovum fuse in the Ampulla region in the Fallopian tube of a woman, Fertilisation occurs successfully. The fused cell undergoes a division process resulting in a zygote. At this stage, the gender of the child is already decided. After a further division process, the zygote differentiates into an Embryo, which in turn gets attached to the uterus. This entire process is called Implantation, which leads to Pregnancy.

A common condition in females faced by 10% of the population is Infertility. It is the inability to get a successful pregnancy even after trying for straight 12 months due to some limiting factors. In heterosexual couples, 1/3rd of issues are due to male problems, 1/3rd of issues are due to female problems and the rest 1/3rd remain miscellaneous. Infertility caused due to a woman’s limiting factor is called female infertility.

CAUSES OF FEMALE INFERTILITY –

there are many factors affecting infertility. Here are a few points jotted down due to which infertility occurs. Certain factors can be brought under control and certain can be treated with medication or surgery.

1.  Physical issues – to conceive, a woman needs to have a healthy female reproductive organ. It includes ovaries. The fallopian tube, uterus, etc. These organs play an important role in conceiving and pregnancy. Ovulation is the most important factor for a woman who is planning to conceive. Every month a woman of her reproductive age normally releases an egg for fertilization. If intercourse occurs during ovulation and sperm is successful enough to fertilize the egg, it results in fertilization. Due to certain reasons egg is not released regularly. Not ovulating regularly is the main reason for infertility. These include a woman’s hormonal imbalance, eating disorder, disease like thyroid, severe stress, etc. Damage to the fallopian tube is a cause of infertility in women. In this condition, sperm is hindered to reach the egg or the fertilized egg is blocked from reaching the uterus. This occurs due to a damaged or blocked fallopian tube. Certain surgeries and sexually transmitted diseases are factors affecting a damaged fallopian tube.

2.  Issues with egg and their count – a woman is born with n number of eggs which are released every month after she attains puberty. Due to some other reasons, there results in a shortage of eggs released before menopause which results in infertility. This situation is called primary ovarian insufficiency. It can occur due to a genetic defect or chemotherapy.  There can be issues in the egg also; having a wrong number of chromosomes, the egg cannot fertilize and grow into a healthy foetus, etc.

3.  Age factor – the reducing fertility after the age of 30 is observed in women which increases the complications while conceiving. Thus experts advise planning a family before both parents exceed the age of 30. With the increase in age, the count of eggs reduces with degrading quality. This makes conceiving more difficult and the chances of infertility increase.  

4.  Structural abnormalities – a woman can have a few glitches in her body, which become observable during her pregnancy. They include – cervical insufficiency, double uterus, surgeries, etc. Due to these reasons chances of infertility increase. Certain women who have been tested infertile have distinguished features like an abnormally shaped uterus, tumours in the uterus, narrow cervix, damaged cervix, etc. These factors affect primarily infertility. An important issue in implantation is the endometrium, the inner lining of the uterus. Sometimes the inner lining grows in some other region and its removal becomes necessary. The surgical removal of the tissue can cause scars and blockage in the fallopian tube, which results in hindrance in uniting egg and sperm. This condition is called endometriosis.

PREVENTION FOR INFERTILITY –

women who are trying to plan pregnancy should undergo a few screening tests if they are unable to conceive after a year of trying. Modern medical science has made it easy to detect the fault in both genders and give a way forward. Here are some points to keep in mind for better health of the mother to be –

·         Maintaining weight – obesity invites many non-communicable diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. With the increase in weight, the risk of ovulation disorders increases. Being Underweight also causes issues as the required amount of nutrition is received from the women.

·         Quit smoking – side-effects of tobacco include causing harm to the fertility of a woman. It is advised to avoid such products which have a deteriorating effect on women.

·         Quit alcohol – a high amount of alcohol results in decreased fertility. It also affects the foetus’ health if consumed during pregnancy.

·         Control stress – more stress in couples and the family directly affects the fertility of a woman. It is advised to keep a healthy environment around the mother-to-be.

A woman's condition becomes helpless and lowest when she is unable to conceive. All that can help is regular counselling, firm family support and compassion to rebuild her trust. Alternative methods like those mentioned above can also help a woman become a mother.

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