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Infertility causes
Infertility is one of those disorders which cannot be easily diagnosed. The factors affecting our fertility are so numerous
that it takes a long time to find a cause – quite often though the cause remains unknown and we can only get treated
empirically by guessing the possible causes and applying standard treatment that works for most likely causes. It is believed
that about 30% of fertility problems are not identified.
Infertility affects both men and women – sometimes within the same couple both partners have some fertility problems
and both need treatment.
Causes of female fertility problems
Infertility in women could be caused by:
Hormonal and ovulation problems
Infertility in women is very often linked to ovulation problem (the monthly release of an egg). Sometimes a woman doesn’t
ovulate at all and needs medication to stimulate the process, sometimes she ovulates irregularly – e.g. not every month
or only a few times a year. Ovulation problems can be a result of a number of conditions. Below are some of them.
• PCOS – polycystic ovarian syndrome
• Overproduction of prolactine
• Thyroid disorders
• Premature ovulation failure
Physical -uterus and fallopian tubes problems
The fallopian tubes transport an egg from the ovary to the womb, where the fertilised egg will grow. If the womb, or fallopian
tubes are damaged it makes it difficult to conceive naturally. The examples of physical causes are listed below:
• Blockage of fallopian tubes
• Previous surgery (scarring) e.g. D&C
• Endometriosis
• Fibroids
• Faults with the womb structure
Infections and bacteria
Immune diseases
Pre-existing conditions
Certain medicines and drugs
Age
Causes of male fertility problems
The cause of infertility is much easier diagnosed in men.
One of the reasons can be insufficient levels of testosterone hormone, which is measured in blood.
Another reason for male infertility is problems with semen. Sometimes semen does not contain enough sperm or the sperm is
not motile enough (not moving fast enough), not moving at all or too many sperm have pathological structure.
Problems with fertility can also be a result of some inflammatory diseases of prostate gland, or tubes. Due to infection sperm
could become damaged, however this can be treated successfully by appropriately chosen antibiotics. Sometimes the infections
have been so severe that they led to serious testicle damages as a result of which they are not able to produce sperm.
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