Effective Fertility Treatments For Different Causes Of Infertility

Do you know how important fertility is in the life of every individual who is looking to contribute to society through procreation? Have you thought of how a family can be completed without children? Has fertility ever been a concern in your life?  If yes, have you ever thought of treating the condition? 

Currently, the world is running behind in everything that can be bought with money. Most of you are planning to delay marriages as now your focus is on education or your career. Double income is certainly amazing, but having no time to build a family is causing a major imbalance in the normal life cycle of society. You don’t need to get to enjoy parenthood when you want. It will only come to you in the best condition of your health.

This is why it is said that age is one of the major criteria for fertility. Often, you tend to look at women when someone points out that aging causes trouble in procreation. Whereas in reality, not only women, but men also will experience a lack of ability to impregnate a woman after their 40s. Therefore, you should learn to look at yourself too before blaming your partner for infertility. There is a plethora of treatment options available to treat infertility, but your doctor can only choose a personalized treatment plan after finding the cause. 

In this article, we will learn more about the available treatment options for fertility that might come to your benefit. But, before that, should you not know what are the other causes of infertility? Scroll down. 

What Is Infertility And What Are The Different Causes Of Infertility? 

Infertility is a common condition that makes an individual unable to procreate. Women affected by the condition face difficulty conceiving and men find it hard to impregnate women. Infertility is said to be a common condition because around 15% of US-based couples are infertile. If one of the partners is diagnosed with the condition, you will have to look for the cause to find the appropriate treatment. 

The causes are as follows: 

The Causes Of Female Infertility

• Ovulation disorders 
• Irregular or absence of menstruation 
• Previous miscarriages 
• Damaged fallopian tube 
• Fertility issues such as endometriosis 
• Cancer treatments 
• Overexposure to certain environmental factors 
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome
• Genetic reasons 

Causes Of Male Infertility 

• Lowered sperm count 
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Fertility problems 
• Overexposure to certain environmental factors 
• Cancer treatments 

Although there are various reasons for infertility, it cannot be identified that easily. You will only be diagnosed with the condition if the doctor is convinced that you couldn’t procreate after trying continuously for a year or more. Hormonal problems, irregularity in the periods, and unnatural hair growth in women are the symptoms of infertility. 

Since the reasons are different, the treatments will also vary accordingly. However, let us discuss the set of available fertility treatment options in the next section of this article. 

What Are The Effective Fertility Treatments? 

If you have fertility problems, you will eventually be asked to take necessary treatments because not everybody cures the condition naturally. Although treatments often start with ovulation-stimulating medications such as clomifene, tamoxifen, gonadotrophins, and metformin, they don’t bring the desired results in most affected individuals. So, let’s see which are the other common treatment options recommended by fertility experts. 

1. Ovulation induction
2. Intrauterine insemination (IUI)
3. Assisted reproductive technologies (ART)
4. Third-party reproduction (egg/sperm donation, surrogacy)
5. Fertility preservation

Even though these are the five different types of fertility treatments available, they cannot be chosen according to your preference. Each method is designed in such a way that it treats infertility caused by specific reasons. While some are expensive, others are painful. However, positive results cannot be guaranteed regardless of how much money you spend on it. 

✅ Ovulation Induction 

As the name suggests, ovulation induction is the exogenous stimulation of ovulation via both direct and indirect methods. To be precise, ovulation induction is carried out in women of reproductive age who experience anovulation. With the help of this technique, fertility experts analyze the potential of a female to ovulate and the chance of an ovulating female to ovulate with the use of assisted ovulation induction. 

Generally, ovulation induction stimulates egg development using hormonal therapy. They are drugs used to induce ovulation. These drugs also help in maximizing the number of eggs reaching maturity in a single cycle. Moreover, these medications are recommended for women who are undergoing In Vitro Fertilization as it requires several matured eggs. 

This type of treatment is also recommended for those females who are identified with unexplained infertility. This is because unexplained infertility is often caused by small defects in ovulation. When these women take such medications, either their bodies will release multiple eggs or their quality will be enhanced. 

✅ Intrauterine insemination (IUI)

Intrauterine insemination is a procedure for treating infertility. Collected sperm is placed into the fallopian tube so that it may fertilize the egg. This type of technique is used by couples who are suffering from unexplained infertility, endometriosis, cervical factor infertility, mild male factor infertility, ovulation factor infertility, and others. Before letting the sperm enter a woman’s body, it is washed in a way that removes all the unwanted elements from it. It is an important step to be followed as female bodies often react to semen.

The sperm can be collected from your partner or it can be a donor sperm that is collected on the day of the procedure. In case your donor is only available before a few days of the surgery, his sperm can be collected and frozen. Before making the sperm enter a female body, you are supposed to identify your ovulation period. You can keep an eye on this at home with the help of a urine ovulation predictor kit or your doctor will examine it via transvaginal ultrasound. Normally, intrauterine insemination is carried out a couple of days after detecting ovulation. The process will only require a maximum of 30 minutes and it is usually done in a doctor’s office. 

✅ Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART)

According to the Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act of 1992, Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) is a type of infertility treatment in which sperm and eggs are handled. It is different from other procedures like intrauterine insemination which only handles the sperm. Unlike such treatments where women are given medications to assist in their ovulation, ART focuses on eggs or embryos as a whole. Sometimes, ART use donor eggs, or previously frozen eggs and the process may also involve a surrogate or a gestational carrier. 

However, ART is causing a major public health concern as it increases the rate of multiple pregnancies and low-birth-weight delivery. This not only causes trouble to the mother but the baby’s health would also be put in question. The only way multiple deliveries can be limited is by controlling the number of embryos placed in the womb of the female partner. 

✅ Third-Party Reproduction (egg/sperm donation, surrogacy)

Third-party reproduction refers to the pregnancy of a couple that involves eggs, sperm, or embryos of a donor, who is a third person. This type of pregnancy is recommended when the infertility affected by the partner is not cured. This is entirely different from the traditional method where a woman only accepts the sperm of her partner. This is also the reason why third-party reproduction is not commonly used. This method is also recommended to those individuals who want a child but do not have a partner. These people consider this therapeutic alternative as a realistic solution without which experiencing parenthood would have been only a dream. 

In third-party reproduction, people donate their eggs or sperm to known or unknown couples to help them conceive. Back in the day, the donor details were completely kept confidential from the couple, especially the newborn. However, now a child has the right to know the biological parents after the age of 18. The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority says that the law should be updated in such a way that donor-conceived children should be given the right information during their childhood itself. 

✅ Fertility Preservation

Fertility preservation is a type of infertility treatment where a person is assisted with medical procedures that will preserve their fertility before undergoing treatments like chemotherapy or radiation therapy that may otherwise have led to infertility. Examples of fertility preservations include egg freezing, sperm banking, embryo freezing, and in vitro fertilization. 

Normally, radiation therapies carried next to the reproductive organs cause abnormalities in their functionings which will eventually cause infertility. This is why doctors recommend a fertility preservation program before such therapies. 

Conclusion 

Infertility is not the end of everything. It is only another condition that can be cured when treated properly. In rare cases, a cure may not be possible, but there is plenty of treatment options available for infertile couples to conceive like ovulation induction and intrauterine insemination. But if you cannot hold the baby in your womb, you can also look for surrogates and the options are endless.

Therefore, you need not be worried about the condition, instead, you should look for ways by which you can overcome the effects of infertility. However, remember that mental support is the first thing an infertile person looks for. So, if you know someone who is struggling with infertility, introduce them to the various fertility treatments or share this article, and let them know that you do care.