Infertility is not just a female problem. Men contribute to the causes of infertility an equal amount of the time. When you can’t get pregnant, take your partner with you to the doctor to see what can be done.
Infertility is not about playing the blame game. It is about finding a way to solve the problem that is preventing you from getting pregnant. It could lie with either partner.
Talk to your doctor about the problems you have been having with conception. He will have a number of diagnostic options available to him to find out what is causing the problem or even if there is a problem that requires his help.
Diagnosing the Problem
First your doctor will give you an exam and take a thorough medical history. If you want, all of this can be done for you first. If you check out as fertile, your partner can visit his doctor and follow the same procedure. Your partner can still come with you to answer questions about your sexual history.
For both men and women, the process can take months and include in-office procedures to find out what is causing the infertility. Hopefully it will be just a matter of having intercourse at the right time or reducing your stress levels. This is the case for most couples trying to get pregnant.
Treating Infertility
After the tests are through and the results are in, the real work begins. How will the doctor correct what is wrong? Depending on the details in the tests, you have four options:
* Medicine
* Surgery
* Artificial insemination
* Assisted reproductive technology
Most couples would prefer medicine over more costly procedures. Medicine can treat ovulation issues in women by stimulating ovulation to occur, if that is the infertility cause. For men, doctors can use medication to treat individuals with low sperm count to increase the number of sperm in each ejaculation. If an STD or other infection is the cause of the problem with the sperm, antibiotics could clear it up. The medicine used depends on the specific issue.
Surgery may be in the cards for a woman with reproductive anatomy issues. Sometimes the fallopian tubes are blocked. Laparoscopic surgery allows the surgeon to go in with a camera and perform dye studies on the fallopian tubes to where and if they are blocked. Cysts on ovaries could be the problem and they are removed as well.
Doctors can use surgical procedures to remove sperm from the man. The sperm can be studied and prepared for such treatments as intrauterine insemination. The sperm are injected right where they need to be in order to meet the egg and attempt fertilization.
Assisted reproductive technology removes egg and sperm for fertilization outside the womb. The fertilized egg is returned to the uterus to grow.
Doctors treat infertility in a number of different ways. The treatment depends on test results and the main cause of loss of fertility.