Fertility: Treatment, Procedure, Cost and Side Effects

Fertility treatment refers to the medical management that aims to enhance the ability of humans for producing offspring. Fertility treatment is a remedy to infertility that indicates the incompetency of a married couple to produce offspring. Infertility does not always speak of the female who holds the baby, it can be from both male and female. The condition of infertility comes to focus when a female does not get pregnant within one year of unprotected intercourse. Infertility symptoms demand the couple to go for an immediate check-up and proceed towards medical assistance. Research proves that females are born along with infinite numbers of eggs that decreases as the reproductive years of the female increase. This is one of the most rising reasons why infertility is more in females of higher age groups. Medical research shows that the chances of being pregnant diminish by 3%- 5% every year once they turn 30.

However, there remain various other reasons for infertility. Damage or malfunction in the fallopian tube of the female remains one of the main issues where the incompetence of the fallopian tube to create the contact of the egg and the sperm. Fallopian tube often gets disturbed if the person undergoes pelvic surgeries or endometriosis. Cervical problems also tend to restrict the passage of the sperm directly through the cervical canal. Further, Epileptic issues are regarded as the most common cause of infertility in females. Medical science speaks that Epileptic seizures generally result in enhancing the serum prolactin along with a strong influence on female reproductive hormones. Nevertheless, advanced techniques of medical science have paved the way for inventing techniques that overrule the crisis of infertility. The primary step is to visit a concerned doctor, diagnose the problem and find accurate treatment for it.

If you are experiencing infertility, do not hide it. You are in need of medical assistance. On visiting the doctor, you are supposed to inform each and every information related to your sexual life. This is often necessary to evaluate a proper diagnosis the cause both at the part of the male and the female. The doctor would primarily match his evaluation with various test results that remains essential in the process to figure out the cause and final step towards implementing the treatment option. The exceptional growth of technology for fertility treatment has brought forward multiple treatment procedures. Most of the times it is only the female who undergoes the treatment, whereas sometimes treatment norms are required to follow by both male and the female. ART (Assistant Reproductive Technology) enhances the process of fertility treatment with techniques that are much flexible and risk-free. This has increasingly helped the sperm to fertilize the egg along with implantation of the egg within the female uterine lining.

The most common and hugely preferred fertility treatments are IUI (Intrauterine insemination) and IVF ( In Vitro Fertilization). The treatment process of IUI collects healthy sperm of male and further injected directly into the uterus. On the other hand, IVF process involves the collection of sperm and eggs from the couple and fertilize it in a lab. Finally, they get develop into embryos. The next step is to insert the embryos into the uterus. Other fertility treatment process includes embryos donations, cryopreservation, application of fertility drugs, surrogacy, Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer and many more. However, it is always recommended to consult a fertility specialist and let him choose the best treatment for you.

A woman is the most Fertile in a particular phase of time in her menstrual cycle, referred to as the ‘’Fertile window’’. It is specifically marked by the day of the ovulation i.e the day at which an egg is released from the ovary.

The length of the Fertile window varies in different women depending upon the length of the menstrual cycle. The chances to get pregnant for a woman is highest in this time period.

Fertility Treatment is eligible for couples who are suffering from infertility. Infertility gets confirmed when the female fails to reproduce even on having unprotected intercourse for more than one year. Couples experiencing the same are required to visit a gynaecologist and further ask her to suggest a fertility specialist guide you throughout the process.

The couples who can reproduce normally are not eligible for fertility treatments.

The female undergoing fertility treatment is sure to come across some side effects. If you are suggested with fertility drugs by the doctor, the dosage of medication may result in a headache, nausea, hot flashes. These drugs may also result in giving multiple births and often end up producing ovarian cysts. In case Of IVF, excess consumption of fertility drugs is necessary. This results in side effects of those drugs. Added to that, common side effects in the course of fertility treatment remains upset stomach, head pain, abnormal weight gain, acne, mood swings and often unusual menstrual bleeding. You may also be a victim of upper respiratory tract infection.

Couples who are undergoing fertility treatment needs to follow strict rules post implementation of the treatment. Primarily, the female should prepare her body for pregnancy. This takes few months of time. The female receiving fertility treatment should avoid consumption of alcohol that may harm the foetus growing inside. Even, person indulging in smoking habits should immediately stop smoking; it is highly dangerous for a pregnant lady along with life risk for the foetus developing inside. Often excess or low body weight may be a cause for complications in pregnancy. Intake of caffeine should be restricted and kept under control. Generally doctors suggest not to consume caffeine more than 200gm while experiencing pregnancy. However, general rules like not carrying heavy items, taking least stress, intake of healthy and avoiding fast foods are to be followed extensively throughout the pregnancy. The last but not the least, regular doctor’s check-up regarding the update on the fertility treatment is a must.

Fertility treatment aims at injecting the capability in females to reproduce. The entire process involves tests and consultation with the doctor, the preparation on the fertility treatment option suggested by the fertility specialist, medications to make the female capable for handling the pregnancy and finally the triggering part that involves fertilisation on retrieval of the eggs. The entire process takes around 4-6 weeks of time or even more in some cases.

The cost is entirely based on the type of fertility treatment adopted by the couple. On a general note, fertility treatment costs around 1,20,000 INR and rises up to 4,50,000INR for respective female. An ICSI treatment process generally involves an additional cost of around 1, 50,000 INR – 2,50,000 INR.

The fertility treatment options like IVF depends on various factors like maternal age, reproductive history and lifestyle issues. However, the treatment process involves various steps and success in every step provides the person with permanent results. Often post-treatment irregular habits have an adverse effect on the foetus and end up harming them.

The common alternative to fertility treatment is the general capacity of the couple to reproduce offsprings. Added to that, fertility boosters like diet and various supplements, Acupuncture (a process that aims at enhancing chances of fertility by reducing stress and increasing the flow of blood in the reproductive organs), and adopting therapies for gaining fertility are some alternative treatment options.

Summary: The condition of a woman to get pregnant or conceive naturally is known as Fertility. Fertility in the case of women as well as men commences as they enter their puberty phase. They become sexually mature during this period as the male gonads start producing sperm and the female gonads start producing the egg. It may be adversely affected due to the occurrence of chlamydia or gonorrhea which remains untreated, inability to ovulate, and blockage in fallopian tubes in women. Although a man is Fertile throughout his life, his ability to reproduce decreases with his age.