Love Beauty >> Love Beauty >  >> Home or Family >> Pregnancy

Understanding Infertility: Causes in Men and Women

Most couples have a dream of becoming parents at some stage in their relationship and look forward to bringing up their children as well as they possibly can. However, there are many couples that discover one or the other of them is infertile and this news comes as a great blow. In fact some would describe having their hopes completely dashed in this way as their worst nightmare. Of course the problem of infertility is not always a woman thing - these days around 33% of infertility cases are down to the male of the partnership.

Infertility, for those who are not quite sure about the subject, is defined as an ability to get pregnant after trying for twelve months as far as females are concerned and an inability to impregnate a female over the same period of time for a man.

Although in both males and females the reasons for infertility are numerous, as far as the male goes they tend to be centred on the production of sperm. Quite often there is little or no sperm actually produced and even in some cases where sperm quantity is as it should be there is a problem due to the shape or inability of the sperm to reach the egg and fertilize it. This is not always something that comes up in adult manhood - some males are actually born with a sperm defect.

As the quality and quantity of a man's sperm relies greatly on his overall health condition and his lifestyle there are quite a few things that can increase the occurrence of his infertility problem. The misuses of alcohol and drugs, smoking, some kinds of medication, radiation and chemotherapy treatments along with the everyday toxins like lead and pesticides that find their way into the body are all factors that play their part. Illness and injury, for example, cystic fibrosis may bring on infertility for men later on in life.

When it comes to infertility in women, the most common problems relate to ovulation. Without the occurrence of ovulation, there will be no eggs to be fertilized. Some of the signs that a woman is not ovulating is that she is having irregular menstrual periods, or even lacks the periods entirely. Things that increase a woman's risk for infertility are the following: age, stress, poor diet, being overweight or underweight, smoking, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and other health problems that may cause hormonal changes.

You will have noticed that age was the first factor listed and this is because as a woman gets older her chances of having children reduce significantly. This is not only due to the quality of eggs she produces as the years go by but also the deteriorating condition of her ovaries and their ability to make eggs. As the female ages, the risks of miscarriage and having babies with birth defects increases too.

Finding the reason for infertility is a long process. It is a complex course and it is emotionally draining. Take your time and do not hesitate to undergo the necessary tests and exams that will help you and your doctors get a better understanding of your present state of health and any possible fertility issues. Your doctors are there to help you. Let them. It's a fact - 92% of the women who use conventional treatments fail and sometimes even end up worse than when they started. Learn more about the Reasons For Infertility and Reversing Infertility Permanently. Visit my Infertility cure blog today.