Infertility is a serious sexual and reproductive health issue. It is the word given for the inability to conceive a child within 12 months of normal sexual intercourse without using contraception. This can affect the wellness and wellbeing of both men and women.
Women are at their highest peak of fertility during their 20s, but continue to produce eggs (ovulate) until they go through the menopause – usually in their late 40s or their early 50s. Men, on the other hand, can remain fertile right up until they are in their late 70s, but the quality of the sperm does deteriorate over time.
There are also lots of other non-age-related factors which can affect fertility such as general health conditions including thyroid disease, uncontrolled diabetes and obesity. Psychological factors can also affect fertility, and this can include things like tension, stress and anxiety. Excessive smoking or drinking can also cause problems with fertility, as can some kinds of prescription medications.
Female fertility is caused by various things, such as a failure to produce eggs, failure of the ovaries in developing, endometriosis, inflammation of the reproductive organs, tumour in the womb, hormonal imbalances, blocked fallopian tubes, hostile cervical mucus and, in some rare cases, a reaction against their partner’s sperm.
Doctors can assess infertility by doing physical examinations and taking a detailed medical history of both partners, including things like exposure to sexually transmitted diseases and any menstrual problems. Blood tests can be carried out to look for hormonal imbalances, ad sperm tests can be done to make sure that there is enough healthy sperm. Various scans of the female reproductive tract can also be organised.
Infertility is treated in a number of ways, such as through weight management, recommendation of best times for sexual intercourse, surgery, fertility medicines and in extreme cases another method of fertilisation, such as IVF or GIFT.
