Know More About Infertility

Causes, symptoms and treatment of Infertility

Hi, I am Dr. Jayanti Kamany. I am an IVF Consultant practicing at Srishti Fertility Centre and Women's Clinic in Mumbai. So, today i'll be talking about Infertility. The problem of infertility is on a steep rise. Some of the causes for the rise in inferility are increased age at the time of marriage for women, postponement of child bearing. Even if a women gets married earlier she postpones her child bearing for various purposes like her career.

Increased stress levels today, increased levels of sexually transmitted diseases and of course Tuberculosis, which is a very common disease in our country. So, who is to be blamed for the infertility. We have found that 3 out of 10 couples are battling with this problem of infertility. 30% of the faults is found in the female, another 30% is found in the male partner, again 30% is found in both partners and about 10-15% cannot be explained because inspite of all the tests being normal, there is no problem which can be found and we call it unexplained infertility.

There are two types of infertility:

1. Primary infertility- Primary infertility is when the couple has never conceived

2. Secondary infertility-  Secondary infertility is when the couple had a child but cannot conceive again, or the couple has conceived, has had an abortion but there is no conception again.

When should a couple consult or take treatment for infertility? 

Usually if the ovum is young, if she is below 28 years she can wait for one year after trying to consult an Infertility Specialist. Even after one year if the couple doesn't conceive inspite of having regular sexual intercourse without having birth control measures they should see an Infertility specialist.

Now there are certain conditions where a couple irrespective of the duration of marriage or age should see a doctor immediately. So, what are those conditions? In the female, if she is having any problems regarding her menstrual cycle, suppose her menstrual cycles are irregular or she is getting very scanty bleeding or scantimensis or she has very severe pain during mensis or otherwise if she had a surgery where her one ovary is removed or a problem of polycystic ovarian disease which is very common today the she needs to see a Gynaec immediately. If she has recurrent abortions, that is, she can conceive but cannot carry the pregnancy to 9 months then definitely there is something wrong with her so she has to consult an Infertility specialist.

What are the causes in a male?

A male, if he has had a surgery in the testes or if he has a history of a disease called mumps in his childhood, or if he has a low sperm count or he cannot feel his testis in his scrotum then he needs to see a Fertility specialist.

For further information on this topic of Infertility or if you are planning to conceive, you can consult me on Lybrate.com.