Pregnancy Symptoms; Signs of Pregnancy

Fertility Treatments
Written by Jane Brown   

Fertility treatments offer hope to couples

Infertility is a relatively rare problem, impacting less than 10 percent of couples trying to have a baby. However, if you're one of those couples, this statistic is not insignificant. Infertility can be an extremely emotionally difficult issue in a relationship, and if not handled with love, patience and understanding, it can be the cause of great turmoil.

Infertility is best defined as an inability to conceive after about a year of intercourse without the use of contraception. Infertility affects both men and women and has many causes. About one-third of infertility problems are related to problems with the woman , another third are related to problems with the man and the remaining cases are related to problems with both partners.

Medical advice regarding infertility should be sought if you've tried to have a baby for about a year to no avail, or:
  • if you're a woman over 30 who hasn't had a menstrual flow for over six months.
  • if you have a history of miscarriages, pelvic pain or irregular or painful menstrual cycles.
  • if you're a man with a history of sexual dysfunctions or if your reproductive organs have been hurt or damaged.
Fortunately, fertility problems need not come between couples and their dream of starting a family. In the past 30 years, fertility treatments have been steadily improving, offering renewed hope to couples who want to have a baby on their own.

Among men, most infertility problems are caused by problems in making enough sperm or problems making healthy sperm. Various factors, such as stress, sexual dysfunction, trauma to the reproductive organs, hormone problems and illness can result in male infertility.

Men with hormone problems can be treated with medication. Men with damaged reproductive organs, or organs with structural deficiencies can be treated by surgery. In cases of mild sperm abnormalities, men can be treated with clomiphene citrate tablets. This treatment can sometimes improve sperm count or sperm mobility.

Men who have had vasectomies can also have this procedure reversed, reconnecting the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles into the semen. Only about half of these surgeries are successful, however.

Common causes of female infertility include damage to or blockage of the fallopian tubes, disorders in ovulation, pelvic adhesions, polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis and early menopause. Other, less common problems can stem from medications, cancer treatments or caffeine use.

For women, there are a wide variety of fertility treatments. Fertility drugs are the most common treatment, being used to stimulate egg production or to better regulate egg production. Also, laparoscopic surgery can be employed to correct problems with the fallopian tubes. Human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG can be used in conjunction with other drugs to stimulate ovulation. Clomiphene citrate can be used to step up egg production.

With the use of fertility drugs comes the risk of multiple births. This can be a problem because multiple fetuses can increase the risk of premature labor, thus putting the fetuses at risk for not surviving. The use of fertility drugs must be carefully monitored to prevent too many fetuses from developing.

For couples unable to conceive naturally even after fertility treatments, artificial insemination and other assisted reproductive technologies remain an option. In in vitro fertilization, a doctor retrieves mature egss from a woman, and then uses collected male sperm to fertilize the eggs in a lab dish, and then implants the embryos in the uterus a few days later. IVF is usually recommended when there's a blockage of the fallopian tubes and is also used when there are male fertility problems. Other assited reproductive technologies include removing sperm directly from the testicles, injecting sperm into the egg and use of electrical stimulation to cause ejaculation. The use of electrical stimulation to cause ejaculation is commonly used on men with spinal cord injuries who can't achieve ejaculation on their own.

Infertility treatments can be very costly. IVF alone can cost anywhere from $8,000 to $15,000. Added to the costs of having a baby, these costs can be very burdensome for couples. There's also the risk that the treatment may not work. Before deciding on fertility treatments, consult your health insurance plan to see whether it will contribute to fertility treatments. Some IVF clinics offer shared risk plans, in which you pay a certain amount toward the total cost of treatment, and if the treatment is unsuccessful, you don't have to pay the balance.

If fertility treatments don't work, or if they're out of your price range, you may want to consider fostering or adoption. It's not quite the same as having your own baby, but there are lots of deserving kids out there that need the love and care that you can offer them.
 
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