Infertility treatment can take a toll on your mental and physical health, confusing many people considering the treatment options. But worry no more because here are 5 questions to ask when you are considering infertility treatment.
- Can your health impact your fertility?
Your overall health plays a crucial role before, during, and after conception. It has to be at its peak and any small deficiency could bring a huge impact on your fertility.
You need to be in perfect mental and physical health. Besides, your relationship as a couple also matters, especially when you are trying to be a parent.
So what form of health should you have before embarking on conceiving? Well, plenty. Some of these are common to both of you, while others are peculiar to male and female genders, respectively.
Diseases brought about by cancer, insulin complications and malnutrition can greatly limit your chances of conceiving. What’s more, lifestyle factors like drinking and smoking can also be counterproductive in this endeavor.
Your fertility indeed diminishes as you age. But your health may accelerate or dampen this situation.
For your partner, thyroid conditions and pelvis disease may affect her ovulation and hence reproductive chances.
According to Mayo Clinic, various health issues like diabetes and infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, mumps, or HIV can have an impact on fertility. Additionally, varicocele, which involves enlarged veins in the testes, can also affect sperm quality. Certain genetic conditions like cystic fibrosis, structural abnormalities like testicular blockages, and damage or injury to the reproductive organs are also factors that can influence fertility.
- What’s the first line of fertility treatment?
Diets and substance consumption are key to your fertility levels. Medications may also temporarily shut down your sexual urge or severe your reproductive pathways.
There is no other way to confirm your fertility level besides a fertility test. Poor lifestyle contributes to dismal fertility results.
You need to be in control of your health to keep the fertility flame alive. So you must watch what you consume.
Drinking is particularly harmful. A 2019 study established that alcohol consumption increases the risk of congenital health diseases in fetuses even when you ditch the vice six months before impregnating a woman.
So the first line of defense against infertility is to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Eat nutritious meals and fruits.
Besides exercise, develop healthy relationships with your friends, co-workers, and spouse. Keep stress levels low and sleep well.
Going for a routine medical checkup also helps. Your physician can provide recommendations that boost your health and improve your fertility levels.
- How do you choose a fertility clinic?
Infertility is a sign that you aren’t ovulating properly or frequently. This phenomenon suggests women of all ages but is most prevalent in women above 35 years.
If you and your spouse aspire to become parents but you have tried for over one year without success, then you have to undergo a fertility check. But here is the start of the problems.
A good fertility clinic can resolve your issue quickly. While a bad choice may just prolong your agony. And so you need to know which fertility clinic to entrust with this delicate assignment.
But how then do you select the right one? And how do your know that your selection will bear fruits?
Here it’s important to use your trusted Ob/Gyn or urologists to help you shortlist two or three clinics.
Then you are to use your initiative to evaluate the shortlist further. You may consider costs, conveniences, facilities, and even location to make your ultimate choice.
As per the research conducted by Fertility Network, it highlights several crucial factors to consider when choosing a fertility clinic. These factors encompass aspects such as the cost of treatments, success rates of the clinic in achieving pregnancies, their policy regarding multiple births, and the level of support they provide to patients. Additionally, it is essential to take into account the location of the clinic and whether they can accommodate appointments that align with your schedule, such as early morning or after work.
- Which fertility cycle suits you best?
There are three distinct infertility treatment procedures. These are intrauterine insemination, in vitro fertilization, and frozen embryo transfer.
Each of these has its advantages and drawbacks. Certainly, some procedures work better than others to cure infertility in some peculiar infertility cases.
IUI is a simple and cost-effective therapy, but its success rate is low. Besides, it’s less invasive for couples who are overly sensitive to their bodies. The process helps maintain quality sperms by chaffing off infectious agents, antigens proteins, and non-motile sperms.
The transfer method is also known as the ICSI or INVOcell IVC procedure. This method has a similar pregnancy success rate to IVF but is a bit cheaper since the fertilized egg is transferred to the womb during ovulation. Thus needs less fertility medication.
The IVF process is more popular for its higher success rate and its ability to unblock clogged or damaged fallopian tubes. It works where the couples have agile sperms but the pathway isn’t clear, thus helping them use their reproductive cells in the process.
- Is surgery necessary?
There are numerous causes of infertility. However, sometimes, the causes of some infertility may be unexplainable.
Tests may establish that sperm count and health are high, yet some men are unable to impregnate their spouses.
Similarly, your spouse may be ovulating frequently but still is unable to conceive. These conditions are known as unexplained infertility.
They may be due to a blockage in the tracts. For females, scars in the fallopian tube, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, and polyps may prevent sperm from fertilizing a waiting egg.
For men also, clogged varicoceles may hamper a quick and efficient discharge of sperm. This is a fairly common occurrence.
1 in every 7 men suffers from varicoceles which is a primary factor in male infertility. Surgery to remove varicoceles in males usually resolves unexplained infertility in me.
And surgical processes in women to address the mentioned ailment usually restore their fertility.
In such situations, surgeries may treat infertility.
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- After how should we start infertility treatment?
Infertility is fast becoming a common occurrence and is increasingly affecting even young couples. The duration it takes to diagnose this condition varies with the age of the couple.
If you are younger than 35 years, the fertility clinic generally gives you one year to assess your conception result. Trying to conceive involves having regular sex without using any form of protection or birth control pills.
If you are older than 35 years, a fertility unit may only start diagnosis after six months of regular unprotected sexual activity.
Sometimes though, couples may have different ages. You may be older than 35 while your spouse is younger than this age. A Vice versa situation also happens.
In this situation, the older one could opt to begin fertility treatment earlier. But this isn’t beneficial.
First, you have to know what the trigger of infertility is. Studies indicate that the sources of infertility are almost equally divided between the man, the woman, and the unknown causes.
Hence, it would be counterproductive, to begin with one partner while the other isn’t enrolled.
According to the March of Dimes, before initiating any infertility treatment, a thorough evaluation of both partners is vital. This step plays a crucial role in identifying potential causes of infertility and devising an effective treatment plan. The evaluation process may involve a comprehensive assessment of medical history and physical examination for both partners, a semen analysis for the male partner, blood tests, and other specialized tests tailored to each individual’s unique situation.
- Will stress affect my chances of pregnancy?
A stressful environment is always bad for fertility, whichever your gender. Excessive stress initially interferes with the blood vessels.
Stress induces the release of glucocorticoid. Cortisol works by narrowing the blood vessels, thus restricting blood supply to the small capillaries, which lead to the groin area.
With inadequate blood, the nutrients supply to the reproductive system is reduced, causing subdued development of sperm, testosterone, and estrogen.
In women, stress accelerates infertility by preventing the proper maturation of eggs. Research shows that women with lengthy depression tend to be infertile.
Excessive cortisol due to a stressful environment interferes with estradiol secretion. This affects the granulosa cell function within the follicles.
Hence the activity of the ovary and oocyte is compromised, resulting in poor-quality eggs.
Further, stress could lead to other chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, which are all harmful to the reproductive system.
Either way, if one partner is infertile due to stress, the probability of pregnancy diminishes.
In conclusion, we provided people with five questions they should ask when considering infertility treatment. We hope that the information can help you learn more about the treatment options and that you can decide what you think is best for your health.
SIMILAR QUESTION
What Questions Are Asked During Infertility Screening?
Introduction
Infertility is a condition that affects millions of people worldwide. While the exact cause of infertility is still unknown, there are a variety of tests and screenings that can be done to determine the cause and help couples struggling with infertility to conceive. In order to diagnose and treat infertility, doctors may ask couples a variety of questions during infertility screening. This paper will discuss the types of questions typically asked during infertility screening.
Questions About Medical History
When undergoing infertility screening, couples will typically be asked questions about their medical history. These questions may include:
- How long have you been trying to conceive?
- Have you or your partner ever been diagnosed with a reproductive health disorder?
- What medications do you or your partner take?
- Are there any family members who have been diagnosed with fertility issues?
- Are there any medical conditions or illnesses that could be affecting fertility?
Questions About Lifestyle
Couples undergoing infertility screening may also be asked questions about their lifestyle. These questions may include:
- How often do you have sex?
- Do you use any form of contraception?
- Do you or your partner smoke or use any recreational drugs?
- Do you or your partner have a healthy diet?
- Do you or your partner exercise regularly?
Questions About Symptoms
In addition to questions about medical history and lifestyle, couples undergoing infertility screening may also be asked questions about symptoms. These questions may include:
- Are you or your partner experiencing any unusual physical symptoms?
- Are you or your partner experiencing any pain or discomfort during intercourse?
- Are you or your partner having any trouble with ejaculation?
- Are you or your partner having any unusual menstrual cycles?
Conclusion
Infertility is a common condition that affects millions of people worldwide. In order to diagnose and treat infertility, doctors may ask couples undergoing infertility screening a variety of questions about their medical history, lifestyle, and symptoms. This paper has discussed the types of questions typically asked during infertility screening and has provided examples of each type of question.
