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Infertility is defined as the inability to become pregnant after one year of unprotected intercourse. Approximately 50-60% of women will become pregnant within the first six months of trying, and 80-85% will become pregnant in the first year.
Most doctors recommend that you seek a medical evaluation if you have been trying unsuccessfully to become pregnant for one year if you are under the age of 30 and six months if you are over the age of 30.
About half of the couples that seek infertility assistance will go on to become pregnant. In some cases the infertility problem can be found in the women, sometimes in the man, and other times it can be found in each partner. Some of the most common problems that cause infertility are ovulation factors, tubal factors, and male factors.
Ovarian Factors
Women who get their periods sporadically may have ovulation problems. To determine if you are ovulating regularly, your doctor may advise you to use an ovulation predictor kit. You can use these kits at home, to help determine if you are ovulating. If your doctor determines that you are not ovulating, he may recommend a fertility drug, such as Clomid, to induce ovulation. Clomid is taken in pill form for five consecutive days to induce ovulation. About 40-60% of Clomid users become pregnant within six months of use. There is a 10% chance of multiple births with the use of Clomid.
Tubal Factors
Tubal factors are to blame in about 30% of infertility cases. The fallopian tubes are sometimes blocked, preventing an egg from passing through. If your doctor suspects that your tubes may be blocked he may order a test called a Hysterosalpingogram or HSG. Dye is injected into the cervix and uterus to see if it spills out of the fallopian tubes. In many cases, the injected dye actually removes the blockage, therefore, there is a high percentage of pregnancies that occur following an HSG.
Male Factors
Approximately 40% of infertility problems can be traced to male factors. To determine the quality and count of the sperm, your doctor can perform a sperm analysis. Normal sperm counts range between 20 -100 million sperm per cubic centimeter. Counts below 20 million are considered low. A man with an abnormal semen analysis should see an Urologist. Some men can be helped with hormone therapy.
There are many factors that can cause infertility. In the majority of cases, women that experience infertility problems will eventually become pregnant. If any of these three factors apply to you, seek advise from your physician at once:
1.Over age 30-Trying to conceive more than 6 months
2.Under age 30-Trying to conceive more than 12 months
3.Irregular or absence of periods
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