Many couples yearn to get pregnant and begin building a beautiful family, yet there are so many stories about couples suffering from fertility issues. Infertility is often times damaging to the couple's intimate relations and emotional connection as a whole, making it much more difficult to conceive.



What is infertility?

Officially infertility means going a year having unprotected sex with your partner without conceiving. After that initial year the couple could be said to have fertility issues. There are many reasons for fertility issues. Most experts break infertility causes down to two categories: Male Infertility Causes and Female Infertility Causes.

Male Infertility Causes

Sperm Disorders are usually behind male infertility. Sperm Disorders can be broken down into two specific disorders: Azoospermia and Oligospermia. Azoospermia is a condition where semen analysis shows that there is no sperm in the man's semen. Oligospermia is a condition where there is less than 20 million spermatazoa per millimeter, which is too little to ensure proper fertilization.

Female Infertility Causes

There are many different types of female infertility causes. Some of them are: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), Endometriosis, Premature Ovarian Failure (POF), Uterine Fibroids, and High Prolactin. PCOS is the most common reason for female infertility. PCOS prevents the ovaries from producing mature eggs, causing irregular periods or no periods at all. Endometriosis is a disease involving the lining of the Uterus. Normally the lining (the endometrium) is shed during menstruation, but with Endometriosis the tissue isn't shed and grows beyond the walls of the Uterus, leaving painful scars and causing bleeding. In many cases Endometriosis is treatable, but as long at is there the woman is left infertile. POF is a condition describing when the ovaries are no longer producing eggs or certain hormones integral to pregnancy in a woman who should still be able to produce eggs or pregnancy related hormones. Uterine Fibroids are non-cancerous tumors found on the Uterus. Although they are a clear cause for infertility researchers have yet to figure out why. High Prolactin is a condition known as hyperprolactinemia. Prolactin is a hormone intricately involved with ovulation. In non pregnant women it is found at very low levels, but in pregnant and nursing women it is found at high levels. When a woman suffers from hyperprolactinemia or High Prolactin, her body is effectively acting as if it is already pregnant or nursing and so she does not ovulate. High Prolactin is very treatable.

Getting Pregnant: Solutions to Infertility

There have been an increasing amount of solutions to getting pregnant despite infertility issues. This can be broken down into Ovulation Induction, Assisted Reproduction, and Third Party Reproduction.

Ovulation Induction

Ovulation Induction is a group of fertility treatments involving outside stimulus on the ovaries resulting correcting infertility involving ovulation problems. Fertility Drugs, Clomid, Aspirin, and Progesterone all fall under ovulation induction treatments.

Assisted Reproduction

Assisted Reproduction refers to fertility treatments which assist the couple, where one side or both are incapable of proper fertilization without medical assistance in the conception process. IVF, PGD, ICSI, AZH, and AEC all fall under assisted reproduction fertility treatments.

Third Party Reproduction

Third Party Reproduction refers to when a third party contributes to conception. Embryo donation, sperm donation and of course adoption/surrogacy fall under the category of third party reproduction.

Conclusion

Whatever the cause of a couple's infertility, more and more solutions are becoming available for families. With perseverance, research, and of course prayer fertility is possible.