Today, almost every fifth Russian couple is diagnosed with infertility. Many see it as a life sentence. However, modern medicine in the field of genetics and reproduction has advanced far ahead, and those problems of infertility, which were considered insoluble not so long ago, are being successfully treated today.
How does fertilization occur?
In order to better understand the reasons that may cause infertility in women, we will conduct a small excursion into anatomy.
The ability to conceive a major role in the female body is played by the ovaries located on both sides of the uterus. They contain a large number of follicles – small water balls in which eggs are located. During the menstrual cycle, alternately in each of the ovaries begins to mature some (on average, ten or twelve) number of follicles. Under the influence of sex hormones, they gradually increase in size. At a certain moment, one of the follicles (the most potentially productive) bursts, after which the egg leaves the body and enters the fallopian tube. This process is called ovulation.
Fertilization is carried out directly in the fallopian tube. To do this, the egg cell rushes a lot of sperm. However, not everyone is able to pass the cervical barrier. Of the hundreds of millions of male gametes trapped in the vagina, only one to ten million reach the uterus. In turn, several hundred thousand spermatozoa enter the fallopian tube. And only one of this number penetrates the egg cell and fertilizes it.
Further, if fertilization is successful, the egg gradually moves into the uterus and is attached to the inner lining of the uterus. The path from fertilization to implantation of the egg takes about six to eight days.
Hormonal disorders in women and ovulation
This problem of infertility in women is one of the most common. According to statistics, approximately forty percent of women are diagnosed with hormonal disorders. When hormonal disorders often does not occur ovulation – the release of an egg from the ovary.
One of the signs of hormonal disorders are irregular menstruation, long delays, cycles lasting more than thirty-five days. However, it is not always the presence of regular monthly talks about ovulation.
Understanding whether ovulation occurs or not can help measure basal body temperature. This is a rather old, but informative method of determining the date of ovulation, which can be carried out independently at home. Based on the measurement results, a graph is constructed that has a high and low temperature phase. About a day before ovulation, body temperature drops slightly, and during ovulation it increases by three to six tenths of a degree.
By the way, the fertile period is most favorable for fertilization, which lasts from the tenth to the seventeenth day of the menstrual cycle.
The following factors can cause infertility in women due to lack of ovulation:
- Stress states.
- Unfavorable environmental background.
- Bad food.
- Infections, especially long-term chronic.
At the moment, the problem of hormonal disorders is completely treatable. The main thing is to consult a doctor.
Male infertility: low sperm activity
The maturation of spermatozoa in men takes place in the convoluted tubule of the testicular tissue. After this, the mature spermatozoa begin to move along the vas deferens to the seminal vesicles, where they are mixed with the secretion of the seminal vesicles and the secretion of the prostate gland. This is how sperm is formed. In the process of ejaculation, the seed enters the male urethra, and then into the female genitals.
One of the common causes of male infertility is low sperm activity. Also, the problem may arise in connection with a violation of the concentration, structure and evacuation of sperm. In most cases, infertility in men is curable (it is enough to have healthy testicular tissue).
It is widely believed that normal potency is accompanied by high sperm motility. However, this is not always the case. Often, dysfunction of sperm (motor or productional) is not associated with the state of potency.
By the way, if a young man has had Parotitis (in the mumps common people) before puberty, the degree of testicular tissue damage is minimal. If this happens after puberty, the likelihood of infertility increases. But everything is solved individually.
Influence the development of infertility in men can:
- Ecological conditions.
- Long systematic medication.
- Smoking.
- Abuse of alcoholic beverages.
- Chronic stress.
If it is impossible to have a child, some men consider that the whole thing is in the wife and, accordingly, the woman should be diagnosed with infertility. However, the survey subject to both spouses. According to statistics, in forty to fifty percent of cases, the problem lies in the man.
High antisperm antibodies
It also happens that a married couple is healthy, but they cannot have children. In this case, we can speak of immunological infertility or immunological incompatibility. Infertility occurs when a woman or a man begins to produce an excessively large amount of antibody.
At the same time, the penetration of sperm into the vagina and cervix causes an even greater production of antibodies, which in turn significantly reduce the activity of spermatozoa. Antibodies may also envelop the sperm head, making it impossible to penetrate the egg. There are enough cases when a couple, having lived together for many years, have not been able to have children, and after the divorce, each of the former spouses in the new family had a child.
If there is a suspicion of immunological incompatibility, additional studies are conducted, in particular, the determination of antisperm antibodies in a woman’s body and a man’s body. Today, immunological infertility is treated with special drugs that, contrary to the common opinion, do not have a harmful effect on the unborn child.
With immunological infertility, you can try to get pregnant using intrauterine insemination. For this, the treated sperm is introduced into the uterine cavity by means of a plastic catheter, to which a syringe with a sperm is attached. As a result, genetic material enters the uterine cavity, bypassing the cervical canal, where spermatozoa may be subjected to an immune attack.
If a long-awaited pregnancy does not occur within one year, you need to consult a doctor with both spouses. A timely appeal to the experts will help solve the problem. Remember, it is in your power to do everything possible to have a child.