Infertility Problems and Fertility Testing

Fertility testing should be considered if you and your partner have been having difficulty conceiving a child after at least one year of unprotected sex. Simple fertility testing, such as tracking ovulation cycles, can start at home and may alert the female partner to a potential problem. If an abnormality is found, a visit to an infertility specialist is warranted. Once testing has been completed by both partners, the specialist will be able to determine what is hindering conception.

According to americanpregnancy.org and other numerous sources, male infertility is a factor in approximately 50% of cases, which is why a semen analysis is so important. Sometimes even after extensive testing, an exact cause cannot be found, which can be greatly discouraging, but there are steps that can be taken to improve the odds.

Before treatment for infertility can begin, factors such as the woman’s age and ovulatory cycle patterns need to be considered when determining if testing and treatment should be pursued. A physical exam of the female partner will be done first, in addition to a pelvic ultrasound to assess the thickness of the uterine lining, to monitor follicular development, and to assess the overall condition of the uterus and ovaries. Blood fertility testing is ordered at specific intervals to check for abnormalities, which usually include follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), progesterone, and estradiol.

A sample of the cervical mucous and an endometrial biopsy can also be obtained early on to determine hormone abnormality, and if any bacteria is present, which can prevent sperm from penetrating and surviving. Other diagnostic tests may also be done, such as a hysteroscopy, hysterosalpingogram, or laparoscopy that are done on an outpatient basis, to look for possible scarring, cysts, fibroid tumors, or any other abnormalities.

As you can see, fertility testing can be quite vigorous and stressful for couples seeking treatment for infertility. On the bright side, two out of three couples that seek medical intervention give birth eventually (fertilityjourney.com). This is very encouraging, but on the downside, more advanced testing and treatment measures may not be covered by health insurance companies in states that don’t mandate coverage for infertility. Basic infertility testing may be covered, but procedures like in vitro fertilization (IVF) or gamete intra-fallopian transfer (GIFT) would not be covered. Many couples have taken out personal loans and second mortgages to pay for a chance at conceiving a child, and many more are successful than not.

Why Infertility Support is Important

While it is estimated that one in every six couples will battle infertility, it can certainly feel like you are the only one in this situation, without any infertility support at all. When everyone around you is building their family according to their plans, you and your spouse are stuck in a never ending cycle of doctor’s visits, procedures and failed attempts at conception. That is why infertility support is so important to help a couple deal with these difficult circumstances emotionally and physically.

Making Sense of the Doctor Visits

When a doctor says ‘this may pinch a little’ it may cause profound discomfort for some women. Some women who are relying on their doctor to help them conceive find that infertility support can help them prepare for the many tests and procedures that lie ahead. After all, the only one who can truly tell you what an endometrial biopsy is like is someone who has “been there, done that” already. It can also be helpful to bounce concerns and ideas off of other infertility patients in terms of where you want to go with your treatment and when it’s time to stop the medical process.

Talking through your Feelings

Even between spouses, a husband will not understand exactly what his wife is going through and why she sometimes feels like a human guinea pig and pin cushion. He may not be able to listen to her voice her feelings – and even whine a bit about her situation – as much as a woman may believe she needs to talk about them. Infertility support provides you with a source to go through to work through your feelings and frustrations about the infertility process by offering an experienced, empathetic ear to listen to your woes.

Learning your Options

The infertility process will eventually end in one of three ways; couples will achieve a successful pregnancy, the adoption route or choose to live a child free life. These options are dictated in part by the infertility process itself, and an infertility support group can offer a couple the information they need to head down the right path of resolution. Many infertility support organizations will provide help in surviving a high risk pregnancy, offer information about the different types of adoption available, and prepare couples for a life without children.

Infertility support is a critical part of surviving this very difficult process, providing emotional support and information that you need. To find an infertility support group, contact your local Resolve chapter or talk to your doctor about the options available.

What Is An Infertility Specialist?

When most couples decide it is time to start a family they expect that within a few months they will be pregnant, but that is not always the case. Most doctors recommended that couples under the age of 35 try for at least a year before visiting with a medical professional and those over 35 try for six months.

When couples do begin the process of seeing a doctor most will start with their own family physician or the woman’s gynecologist before seeking help from a fertility clinic.
Most gynecologists and family doctors can run some base line tests that can tell a lot about what is happening during the monthly cycle.

This can involve something as simple as blood tests and screening tests to see if a woman is ovulating. A physician may recommend using an over the counter ovulation predictor kit or basal thermometer to determine if a woman is ovulating. The male can be seen by an urologist for some simple evaluations including a physical and a sample will be needed to evaluate the sperm’s mobility and count.

All of these tests can be done before seeking the advice of an infertility specialist. But, some patients find that they will in the end need to see a doctor with more training in order to continue in their pursuit of having a baby.

What an Infertility Specialist Can Do

An infertility specialist is someone that has had additional medical training in infertility. A reproductive endocrinologist is a doctor that has passed their boards and done extra training in the field of gynecology. These infertility specialists can treat both men and women and are familiar with the field of infertility. This type of infertility specialist may be the right doctor to see for couples who have already gone through basic testing and treatment and are still not pregnant.

Not all doctors who work in the field of infertility are necessarily an infertility specialist in training. Many physicians who are working with infertile patients did not specialize in that field, but come to it through the field of gynecology. This doesn’t mean they don’t know what they are doing, and it is important as a patient to ask what training a doctor has and how many years they have been working with infertile couples.

Patients need to be proactive about their infertility care and aware of the experience that a doctor has in the world of infertility. If a physician isn’t a reproductive endocrinologist, but has been working with infertile patients and has a high success rate with pregnancy they may still be the best choice for a couple. Be sure to interview all potential physicians and check into their credentials before choosing an infertility specialist.

What Can Cause Female Infertility?

Most couples assume that when they are ready to start a family that it will occur in a timely manner, but for many couples this isn’t the case and the journey through infertility treatments is started.

Before beginning to look into infertility treatments and workups a couple should try and conceive for at least a year. It is suggested that couples that are over 35 try for six months before they begin pursuing an infertility workup.

There are standard tests that are run to discovering just what is happening during a monthly cycle and in 70 to 85% of the cases a cause of infertility can be determined. Infertility in women can be caused by many different issues, and does take some time to determine the main cause.

Female infertility can be caused by several different factors including physical problems as well as hormonal. Female infertility can be complex and require many tests before a physician can get the full picture of a woman’s monthly cycle.

Hormones are what drives the fertile cycle and if any of these are not working properly can be a cause of female infertility. A blood test is generally conducted first when looking at female infertility. This test can check to see if specific hormone levels are normal such as prolactin, thyroid and FSH. Once blood levels have been evaluated and considered to be normal there are other factors involved in female infertility that need to be considered.

Ovulation must occur for a woman to conceive. In many cases of female infertility the process of ovulation is not occurring properly. There are fertility drugs that can assist with ovulation, but it may take time for conception to occur.

If a woman has normal hormones and it appears that she is ovulating, the next step is to discover if there is a physical problem that is prohibiting conception. Endometriosis is a condition that affects many women. The endometrial lining is found inside the uterus and for some unexplained reason some women develop this tissue outside of the uterus. The tissue cause adhesions and can deform organs by sticking to them and pulling them. The condition is very painful and surgery needs to be conducted to look for these adhesions and then to try and remove them.

Female infertility can take months to evaluate and then treatments can also take time. The process of infertility can be a long and painful one for many couples, but the good news is that in most cases infertility can be treated and couples can realize their dream of having a baby.

What Are Some Infertility Treatment Options?

The distress when you and your partner finally make the decision to have children and find you are unable to have children of your own can be devastating. It can almost seem as though you’ve been cheated out of an experience that you’ve been dreaming about for a long time. There is hope, however, and you need to exhaust all your options before you give up hope. What options are we talking about? We’re talking, of course, about infertility treatment options. Your first step is to see a fertility doctor to see which one of you has the problem. Does the man have a low sperm count or does the woman have low egg production or something else wrong? These are the things you need to get tested for. When you find the problem, then you can discuss with your doctor the latest infertility treatment options as there are many out there for you to try.

What About Herbal Supplements?

If you don’t have a lot of money to see doctor after doctor, then there is an infertility option you can try. Some couples have had a lot of success with natural infertility treatments. There are many herbal supplements that can increase your chances of having children. There are also many books and websites dedicated to natural infertility treatments. This may be one infertility treatment option you will want to try before you spend lots of money on doctors and other more expensive infertility treatment options. Just remember that no infertility treatment option is guaranteed, even the more expensive ones, so try as many as you can before you give up hope but also make sure you have realistic expectations.

Hormone Therapy

If you’ve tried the herbal infertility treatment options but haven’t seen any results, now it’s time to see a doctor about the latest breakthrough infertility treatment options. There are many to choose from and some couples have seen success from various ones. Not all will work for everyone but your doctor should be able to determine which options are best for you; depending on how your test results come back. If you are low on a certain hormone, for example, your doctor can put you on some kind of hormone therapy to increase your chances of having natural childbirth. And this is just one of the many infertility treatment options available to you.

Keep Trying

If you don’t succeed with one infertility treatment option, just go on to the next one. If you want to have children so bad you can taste it, you owe it to yourself, your partner, and your unborn child or children to try everything you can to successfully give birth. If nothing works, however, there’s always adoption which is rewarding to both the parents and the child who desperately needs love and a new home.

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