Childrearing is one of the dreams that people have since childhood. For people with no congenital abnormality, conception can occur after several tries leading to pregnancy, and the conception yields a healthy baby after nine months of pregnancy. Nonetheless, there are those men and women who encounter health issues that may compel them not to get pregnant. If couples are having unprotected intercourse and have not been conceiving for a year, the case could be that of infertility. This condition can affect both partners, and the causes differ between those in the man and those in the woman. Finally, they cause sperm – a factor during conception that cannot fertilize an egg.
Fertility problems can usually be resolved once the causes have been found. Modern technologies like artificial insemination, therefore, help many couples overcome barriers to conception, and many thousands can embrace children every year.
What Is Infertility?
From a medical perspective, infertility is defined as failure to achieve pregnancy after one year of unprotected intercourse. For women who are above 35 years of age, infertility is determined when they have not conceived after six months of unprotected intercourse due to low fertility rates in that category. The problem of childlessness can be associated with one’s gender, as the causes must be known to provide appropriate treatment.
Causes of Infertility
There are many causes that lead to infertility, and these causes vary in males and females.
The leading causes of infertility in women:
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
Uterine fibroids
Endometriosis
Ovarian cysts
Uterine polyps
Decreased ovarian reserve
Hormonal imbalances
Smoking, alcohol and other associated characteristics of lifestyle.
Such causes can only be diagnosed after a thorough checkup by a gynaecologist.
Common Causes of Infertility in Men:
Low sperm count
Poor sperm quality
Reduced sperm motility
They include structural abnormalities in sperm.
Varicocele consists of the dilation of veins in the cord.
Diabetes
Hormonal imbalances
Azoospermia (no live sperm in the ejaculatory sperm).
Blockages in the sperm ducts
Smoking history and alcohol consumption were labelled as lifestyles.
These are among the common causes of male infertility you are likely to come across.
How Is Infertility Treated?
Treatment of infertility entails several processes, and treatment depends on the couple. In order to come up with a treatment regime, the couple will have to be evaluated to find out what the causes of infertility are.
After that, the causes are established and one treatment procedure is chosen from the list considering the desires of the couple. It means that with an individual approach, all couples can get the desired child, finding ways out of the problem.
Artificial insemination: What is it?
Successful Artificial insemination has a place in the advanced methods applied to the treatment of infertility. It is one of those techniques that broach some procedures that are believed to be responsible for infertility so that couples can come alive. It implants the sperm from the male partner and the eggs from the female partner; therefore, it does not require donor materials.
How does the Artificial Insemination Process take Place?
The Artificial Insemination (IUI) procedure is described as a separate series of activities for both partners. First, the female partner may be prescribed some medication to enrich the lining of the womb and to mature the eggs that are going to be fertilized. Then, a testicle sperm sample is taken from the male and placed in a lab, and the best sperm sample is chosen for the experiment. These sperm are then deposited into the female partner’s uterus using some unique technique, and natural conception is made to happen within the partner’s body.
Infertility is devastating to both the male and the female because it denies couples the ability to become parents. Fortunately, in the current world, there are many treatments, and one of the most used treatments is artificial insemination. Compared to other methods, this is favoured due to the fact that sperm and eggs used are from the couple.
Therefore artificial insemination costs may differ from one couple to another due to of the differences in specific treatment procedures involved.