Infertility is defined as inability to naturally conceive a baby or carry it out. A couple is concerned to be infertile when it cannot conceive a baby or carry the pregnancy to term after a year of practicing normal sexual intercourse.
Healthy couples in the middle of their 20’s have an estimated chance of 25% to become pregnant in every month.
Infertility causes
6.1 million of adults are infertile in the United States. One third of cases is due to female infertility, another one third accounts for male infertility, 15% of infertile cases is due to the factors of both partners and the rest is considered to be unexplained cases.
Infertility is classified as primary and secondary infertility.
Primary infertility is when a couple cannot conceive a baby and they have had no babies before. For example, Robertsonian translocation in the chromosomes causes recurrent abortions or complete infertility.
Secondary infertility is defined when a couple have already had a baby but is not able to conceive another one or carry the pregnancy to term. This may occur due to many medical conditions, illnesses, traumas etc. In addition, a couple may not be able to have a baby due to age or because they are in a big stress of becoming another baby. If either of the partners in a couple has been changed, infertility is not considered to be secondary.
Female infertility
Female factors include various hormonal disorders, such as diabetes, thyroid disorders, adrenal disease. Also, female infertility may be caused by serious diseases of the liver and kidneys. Even psychological factors play an important role. There are several central factors, associated with different hypothalamic-pituitary disorders, such as hypopituitarism and hypothalamic dysfunction. Many gynecological diseases and syndromes may impair reproductive function. These include ovarian disorders, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, luteal dysfunction, ovarian neoplasm and many others. Tubal occlusion, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease and pelvic adhesions are the most frequent reasons of female infertility.
Some conditions, related to the uterus, cervix and vagina may also affect fertility. These are vaginismus, vaginal obstruction, cervical stenosis, antisperm antibodies found in the cervix, insufficient cervical mucus, so the sperm cannot travel further and survive.
Certain genetic or inborn disorders also result in female infertility. These include uterine malformations, Asherman’s syndrome, intersexed conditions, turner syndrome.
Male infertility
Males may also be infertile due to hormonal disorders, which affect the development of their reproductive system and the sperm. Such disorders include diabetes, thyroid, hyperprolactinemia, hypopituitarism, hypogonadism. Fertility may be affected by psychological factors, alcohol, drugs and smoking. Some genetic causes impair the fertility function, such as Klinefelter syndrome. There are also many specific testicular reasons which result in infertility. These are cryptorchidism, hydrocele, varicocele, seminoma, neoplasm of the seminal cells. Mumps, a simple childhood disease, may affect the reproductive function. Different posttesticular factors, such as obstruction of the vas deferens, infection, impotence, retrograde ejaculation, when the sperm does not come out from the urethra but redirects to the urinary bladder, affect reproductive function of a man. And finally, the quality of the sperm, which is defined by its motility and number of sperm present in the ejaculate, is also very important for a man to fertilize a woman. A man may produce too few sperm or it can be of poor motility.
Combined factors
The couple may be infertile if both of the partners are infertile or only one of the partners have reproductive deficiency or, in a woman’s case, she is not able to carry the pregnancy to term. Also, there are cases when individually both partners are fertile but being together, they need assistance in having a baby.
Infertility treatment
There are various treatment options, which are used depending on the disorder. Fertility medicines, such as clomifene citrate, are used to stimulate ovulation. Obstructed Fallopian tubes can be treated with surgery, called tuboplasty. In vitro fertilization is especially popular these days. In in vitro fertilization donor egs or sperm may be used when a couple’s reproductive cells are unusable or impaired. Intracytoplasm sperm injection, zygote intrafallopian transfer and gamete intrefallopian transfer are three modifications of in vitro fertilization.
Will I’m getting my IUD remmoved this month wishme luck on my removeal
what are the chances of not ever getting pregnant again?
Ihave my marina in for 4 years and now have discharge does anyone know where i can find out what this means and other side effects of it. thanks
i have had my marina coil in for about 3years now i have put on 2 stone in weight and im now wanting to have it removed to have a baby.do you have to be on a pariod to have it removed 🙂
i had my copper coil taken out on the 24/1/07. cos myself and my husband want to have another baby. we where hoping it would happen right away but it has not happened. can anyone tell me how long it could take for me to get pregnant? only i starting bleeding today and i was upset.
are you serious? Well I asked 3 doctors before I had my IUD put in if it would affect my chances of getting pregnant in the future and they said ‘NO’. So obviously someone has their facts wrong. Please clarify.
Why are they still selling the IUD? Shouldn’t they stress these “rare” side effects? I can’t believe that my doctor didn’t even tell me about this. I wonder if there is a law suit pending the makers of this birth control. Anyone know? The monitary pigs! :upset
to the guest who asked what the discharge is: It is from your string aggrivating your insides. I had the same problem with mine. It was a discharge similar to the plug coming out in someone who is pregnant. God was I scared. I asked my doctor and they did test to make sure that it wasn’t an infection or that I was pregnant. Luckily it was just my string rubbing. 🙂 I would ask your doctor just the same though. It can’t hurt to be informed.
im 16 years old and am spose to be getting an copper iud inserted on the 3rd dec, i have never being pregnat before, i live with my partner, i have tried several pills and depo a resint vist to fpc has now got me all booked in but im freaking out, i love the idea of not worrying about getting pregnant for 5+ years but still has anyone and an iud inserted and not being pregnant? if so can you email me and tell me what it’s like, thank you mealzbmw@hotmail.com
I think the author of this article needs to do a lot more research. I had an IUD for 2 years, hated it the whole time. But I am just one person. I am neither for it or against it. It just wasnt for me. Thats what everyone here needs to understand. Every women is different. Every body will react different. Do your research, look at the numbers. Do not take one persons word for the truth. This is obviously a very opinionated article, with no facts included. Do not trust your body with somebodys misguided advice. For those worried about getting it removed. I had no trouble with mine. Didnt hurt at all. But I am different then you.
Im 27, I had the Merina for 5 yrs with little to no side effects (lighter period). I now have the copper IUD that was put in 6 months ago (suggested by my Dr.) I now have major cramps around my cycle, severe lower back pain, yeast infections, fatigue, muscle weakness and full body aches all day, and worst of all absolutley no sex drive!!! Pls let me know if you or anyone you know have these side effects. HELP!!
this is my first time here, i was just reading up bcus i’m thinking about getting my iud removed soon. actually, i had an appt 2day bt when i told my husband he suggestd we wait a lttle more. we hv a 20 mnth old daughter and dnt want to hv a bb too far aprt from my bb girl. anyway, i chose the iud bcus i thought it was the safest &easiest method 4 me, i’m horrible w/pills, but after rdng all theses msgs i’m afraid i ‘ll b one of those cases where i cannot conceive! first i just wanted to read how long ppl had to wait before they tried to get pregnant or if a wait time was recommended but this is scary. i’v had the mirena iud in since last april and the truth is i havnt been checking it regularly. what happens if they cant find the string? do they recommend a wait time b4 u try to get pg? are miscarriages that common? OMG. wonder if i made the right choice after all!
I had the merina in for almost a year. I had severe cramps and pains the entire time and went in to get it checked… they said everything looked fine, so I just thought it was something I had to deal with. I finally had enough when the pain moved into my hips and was to the point that I couldn’t even walk comfortably. My periods were never light… I pretty much bled the entire time. Having a year of bleeding and severe pain just did not seem worth it at ALL. I just got it taken out and now I’m in even more pain! The doctor said it shouldn’t bleed, and I just finished my period when I went in for the removal…. but that night I started passing large clots (gross I know, but I want to be honest) and have been bleeding heavily for the past two days. The pain is from mid-back down into my upper legs…. It’s a weekend so I wasn’t sure about calling, but it just doesn’t feel right… I’m wondering why I had so many problems when it seemed to be the easiest option and was highly recommended??? :upset
i had an IUD inserted two and a half years now, lots of cramp, recently i have been having painful intercourse along with bleeding. if anyone had experience these symptoms i will be happy to hear from you. lcraol@yahoo.com :upset
Hi . i am new i have been reading a lot of posts about not getting pregnant after having an iud. i had one for almost 3 years. i had my mirena taken out the last week of september . i had my first period oct 5th. i just had a positive pregnancy test this morning i am pregnant with baby number 4. so yes you can still have kids after having one.
HI MY NAME IS KRISTINA AND I’M 21 YEARS OLD I GOT THE MIRENA PUT IN THIS PAST FEBRUARY AND EVERYTHING HAS BEEN FINE UNTIL LIKE A WEEK OR SO…I HAVE BEEN PUKING AND NOT FEELING WELL I AM VERY TIRED…I HAVE NO ENERGY TO CHASE MY ONE YEAR OLD…AND I BELIEVE I AM PREGNANT..AGAIN! I FEEL LIKE SLEEPING ALL THE TIME AND I AM HAVING TONS OF HAIR LOSS AND EVERYTHING…I HAVE BEEN SPOTTING FOR ABOUT 3 DAYS NOW…IT GOES FROM RED TO BLACK TO BROWN…AND I HAVE ABDOMINAL PAIN…I CAN’T EAT BECAUSE I JUST THROW IT UP…I FEEL LIKE I DID WHEN I WAS PREGNANT WITH MY DAUGHTER…I AM VERY SCARED BECAUSE IF I AM THIS WAS SO NOT PLANNED…AND I AM ALSO VERY SCARED IF I AM THAT I WILL MISCARRY…I AM NEW TO THIS WHOLE I.U.D. THING AND LIKE I SAID EVERYTHING WAS FINE UP UNTIL ABOUT A WEEK AGO WHEN I LAST HAD INTERCOURSE…SO PLEASE HELP ME I AM GOING TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL PROBABLY TOMORROW AND GET CHECKED OUT…I AM VERY SCARED ABOUT THE OUTCOME….THANK YOU…
~*KRISTINA*~
hi my name is ann and i have 2 beautifull little boys. i am 26 years old and i have the mirenaIUD since 07. everything was going ok. recently my period stoped. i havent had my period since nov. it has been two months now and no period. i have been feeling very tired and i am braking out with acne. my breast are a bit tender. could be pregnant???? i am worried . why all of these changes all of a sudden?? i took a pregnancy test and it came out negative. is this normal?????? has anybody felt like this or had this symptoms? 😕 :sigh 😕
Hi everyone I justwanted to drop a message to let you all know i had a positive test this morning 2-10-10. I had my iud removed on Dec 7th 09 after having it 4 years with no period for 3 years. I had AF from the 9th to the 12th of jan also lite spotting the 18th &19th. good luck to you all TTC it is possable. 🙂
Hi everyone. I’ve I’ve had my IUD Paragard in for aout a year and I don’t like it at all!!!! I feel nautious all the time, dizzy, tired and I’ve been gaining weight, I’m the heaviest I’ve ever been , even when I was pregnant. I’ve had three children and my body is acting the way it does when I’m pregnant. I have really bad water retention in my legs and ankles and even a lil in my hands. I had pain in my lower stomach so I went to get checkedout. I have ovarian cysts! That’s serious stuff !! I’ve never had them b4 getting the paragard put in. I’ve even started bleeding and had alot of pain while I was peeing two days after I had intercurse. I think it’s the position we were in. probably pushed the IUD to far and pocked my bladder causing me to pee blood. That’s never happened b4. One person said that my kidney could be damaged. I’m not bleeding any more TG but I’m still concerned. I’m having the IUD removed very soon.