What is Infertility and what causes it?
The generally accepted definition of infertility is having regular, unprotected sex for a year without conception. In these circumstances, you should make an appointment with your GP. There are many different reasons why you could be having difficulty conceiving, after all the process of reproduction is highly complex.
For conception to take place and pregnancy to occur, hundreds of individual hormonal, chemical and physical events must take place at exactly the right time. A sperm must form in the testicle, mature, be released into the vagina, “swim” through the cervical opening, continue through the uterus and into a fallopian tube. In the tube, it must encounter a healthy egg within hours of the egg's release, attach itself to the egg, penetrate its outer shell and fertilize it. After staying in the fallopian tube for about three days, the fertilized egg must descend in to the uterus, grow and divide for a few more days and then implant itself in the womb. And all during this period the womb is undergoing changes to provide a fertile bed in which the embryo can implant normally.
Sounds exhausting doesn't it? And remember that any disruption to these events can cause infertility. Some common problems are:
Female
- Ovaries fail to develop mature eggs
- Ovaries fail to release eggs
- The fallopian tubes that carry the eggs from the ovaries to the womb are blocked, damaged or absent
- The cervix may prevent sperm swimming towards an egg by way of a chemical or physical barrier
- The womb lining doesn’t allow a fertilised egg to implant itself
- There are certain blood products that either prevent the embryo implanting or reject it some days or weeks later
- Embryos fail to develop or implant due to chromosome problems
Male
- Insufficient sperm produced
- Poor quality sperm may be produced – such as low motility or abnormally shaped sperm
- Sperm is affected by chromosome disorders
- Blockages in the special tube that transports sperm
- The manufacturing process is damaged (sperm take about 70 days of development before they are mature)
- Sperm have failed to fertilise eggs after IVF although they seemed normal (there are biochemical factors in sperm that cannot be seen by a microscope but are essential to sperm function)
Whilst around 1 in 6 couples experience difficulty in achieving a pregnancy, with the right help almost 90% of these couples can overcome their difficulties and realise their dream of starting a family.