Signs of infertility
I don’t know about you but I get so confused with the difference between signs and symptoms – it’s so easy to get mixed up yourself when people use them interchangeably. Officially symptoms are what you experience – if you go to the doctor with your list of complaints and say that you feel dizzy and your knee is hurting, and your left shoulder gets cold quicker than the right, you are describing symptoms. If your doc checks your blood pressure and finds that it is quite low, or he pokes about around your knee and finds it swollen – these are signs.
Another way of saying it is that a sign is normally something that can be measured. So while you might experience the symptoms of infertility, your doctor will be also be looking for signs of infertility to find out exactly what is causing the symptoms and ultimately what is causing your infertility. Obviously, some symptoms will also be signs and vice versa.
Normally your doctor will find these clues by doings some tests or examinations – before you go cold with fear, most of the tests aren’t that bad, and you generally start with the easy ones first and move onto the others if you don’t find the problem.
Here are some of the tests for women:
• Basal Body Temperature – This one isn’t too invasive – you can do it at home. To find out when you’re ovulating, or whether you’re ovulating at all, the doc will ask you to keep a record of your temperature when you wake up every morning. You’ll use the same calendar to record when (if) you have your period and how long it lasts, and you should also make a mark on there when you have intercourse so you know if you’re doing it at the right time.
• LH (Luteinizing Hormone) Tests – You can check your urine for LH through the month because your LH levels go up when you ovulate.
• Ultrasound – This test can be used to check when you are ovulating by checking the size of the follicle that releases the egg. As you can imagine, this ovulating thing is pretty important in the whole ‘getting pregnant’ process.
• Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) – That even sounds uncomfortable! The doctor will insert some fluid into your cervix and then check the image on X-ray to see if the fluid flows through to the ovaries. This will help to show any blockages. Apparently this test sometimes cures the problem itself by washing away the blockage! If only more tests were like that!
• Laparoscopy – This is where the doctor puts a camera inside you, through your belly button, and takes a look inside to see if your tubes are blocked, or if there are any other visible problems.
• Blood tests – If you don’t like needles, now might be a good time to get used to them. If you do have infertility problems you will be seeing a lot of them. Blood tests will tell the doctor about your various hormone levels. For example, high levels of prolactin won’t help you because prolactin is the hormone that tells you to make milk for breastfeeding, and stops your body from making eggs; not helpful if you are trying to get pregnant! Blood tests can also give an idea of the number and quality of your eggs.
So obviously the first sign of infertility is the fact that you aren’t pregnant yet, but some of these other signs of infertility will help you and the doc to figure out what step to take next.
Endometriosis and Infertility
Endometriosis – that’s a pretty big word! Even though there are links between endometriosis and infertility, if you do have it you’d probably know about it way before you try to have kids. That’s ‘cause one of the symptoms of endometriosis is incredibly painful periods. You see, what happens is that cells that usually only grow inside the uterus grow outside the uterus too, like in the fallopian tubes, vagina, ovaries or other places in the pelvis. The pain of endometriosis is directly linked to your period because those cells start to make that rich blood lining even though they aren’t in the uterus, so when you do have your monthly bleed you end up bleeding from areas outside your uterus as well as from inside your uterus.
Endometriosis and infertility:
• These groups of uterine cells make little cysts or lumps, which may then make scars, which could block the egg and the sperm from meeting each other when you’re trying for a baby. This doesn’t mean that if you do have endometriosis you will definitely have infertility, but it can cause infertility in some women.
• Endometriosis can also make you infertile by making hormones that affect ovulation, fertilization or implantation.
• You probably won’t need any treatment at all to get pregnant if your endometriosis isn’t too severe.
Symptoms:
• You might have endometriosis without any symptoms so if you do battle to get pregnant your doctor will probably test you for endometriosis anyway.
• The first or most obvious symptom of endometriosis is extremely painful periods with cramps that starts before your period and end a day or so after your period. You might also have pain during sex or when you’re on the toilet.
• You might have endometriosis if you have some of these symptoms as well: pain in your lower abdomen or lower back, irregular periods, heavy bleeding, blood in your urine and diarrhea and/or constipation.
Tests:
• Sometimes the doc will be able to tell from symptoms alone if you have endometriosis or not, or he or she might need to do a physical examination. Surgery is generally necessary for a definite diagnosis.
• You might have to go for an ultrasound to check that you don’t have any other problems that could be causing the pain, but again, the doctor needs to actually see the tissue, and maybe even send it off for testing to make absolutely sure that you have endometriosis. This could be through a laparoscopy (small cuts and a little camera) or a laparotomy (big cut).
Treatment:
• None – If you have endometriosis without symptoms then you probably won’t need treatment, but treatment can help to relieve pain and improve fertility.
• Medication – The first port of call for pain relief are NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ibuprofen or naproxen sodium – but these won’t affect the cells themselves. If these don’t help with your pain, you might need further treatment. Normally medication will involve some change in your cycle because it is the normal hormones like estrogen that make the symptoms of endometriosis so much worse. As with any hormonal treatments, there are some side effects but apparently these are treatable. Obviously, anything that messes with your natural hormones is probably not good for planning a pregnancy, so let your doctor know that you want to get pregnant so that he can choose the best course of action.
• Surgery – is generally better than medication if you are having problems getting pregnant. But you may need medication after surgery as well to prevent the symptoms from returning. If your condition isn’t too bad, they’ll do a laparoscopy and cut or laser the lumps out. The next step would be to do a laparotomy, which is where they make a bigger cut, like a Caesar cut, to fix things up. If your endometriosis is very, very, very bad, you might have to have your uterus removed and obviously this has implications for your fertility.
So even though there are links between endometriosis and infertility you will probably still be able to get pregnant without any treatment, although you might like to have treatment for the pain if it is really severe. Apparently, about 10% of women suffer from some form of endometriosis, so you aren’t alone, and you know that those in the know are working on better treatments all the time.
Reasons For Infertility
Being diagnosed with infertility is quite traumatic. One of the first things that go through your mind is the question: ‘Why? Why me? What are the reasons for infertility?’ Basically, you want to know why you are infertile. On a cosmic scale, I don’t think anyone could give you a straight answer.
Some people might place the blame on your shoulders and tell you that you must have done something to deserve this, or you might even tell yourself that. But I think that’s crazy. Why do so many people who’ve done far worse things than you have seem to get pregnant so easily? Even people who don’t want babies at all?
People might also tell you that one of the reasons for infertility is that subconsciously you don’t really want a baby. Those people have obviously never been infertile. Others might tell you that you aren’t getting pregnant because you want it too much and you are trying too hard. You can’t win!
There are many reasons for infertility that we can be sure of, and once we know what they are, maybe we can do something about them. Here are some of the reasons for infertility:
On the woman’s side:
• Ovulation problems – Eggs aren’t released so there’s nowhere for the sperm to go.
• Advanced age – When it comes to getting pregnant, 35 is an advanced age. Your chances of getting pregnant decrease quickly after 35.
• Blocked ducts or cysts or fibroids – These can all prevent sperm from getting to the egg.
• Hormone problems – Everything has to be finely balanced. Too much of one hormone or too little of another can cause infertility.
• Problems with the uterus.
On the man’s side:
• Low sperm count – When the guy has fewer sperm than normal because of blockages or damaged sperm-producing equipment or environmental factors like too-tight underwear – otherwise known as firing blanks.
• Sperm motility problems – When the sperm can’t swim properly. It’s a tough job being a sperm – you have to be in tip-top condition to make it to that egg.
• Problems with sexual function – If the man can’t get it up, he’ll battle to get it out as well.
There are some other reasons for infertility, but these are the main ones. Some people are diagnosed with something called ‘non-specific infertility’ where even the doctors can’t tell them why they aren’t conceiving. They have all the equipment and it all seems to be functioning correctly and they are doing all the right things at the right times, but nothing is happening. All of these reasons for infertility fly out the window with a diagnosis like that. In this case, there doesn’t seem to be any reason why. So really, nobody can tell you exactly why things aren’t working as you planned. The important thing is to do what you can about the things you can change, and leave the rest to sort itself out.
Infertility Stress
Dealing with infertility stress
The relationship between stress and infertility has been quite controversial: first, the doctors said that infertility was largely a result of stress, then they said it had very little to do with stress, and now they’re starting to acknowledge that stress and infertility are linked. Whatever the doctors say, I don’t know of anyone who denies that infertility stress is a real and serious problem. Stress is bad for you, period. So it will make sense to reduce your stress levels for your own health and sanity, no matter what impact it will have on your fertility.
Here are some practical ways to deal with infertility stress.
• Speak to your partner. The best gift you can give your future children is a stable family. Try to see yourself and your partner as a team, dealing with problems together, rather than letting things get between you.
• Speak to family and friends. I bet the last thing you want to do is spend time with family and friends who are all having and raising children of their own, without any complications. Family can also be unintentionally insensitive if they don’t understand the problem, and having to answer the same questions over and over again can be a challenge. To leave them in the dark is a bit unfair because then they’ll understand even less, and won’t be able to support you in the way you need to be supported. Keep them informed about how things are going and they will be able to be more supportive.
• Get counseling. Many clinics offer couples counseling as part of their package – take advantage of it. Even if they don’t, they will be able to point you in the right direction to find a counselor yourself. It helps to talk to an objective outsider about your infertility stress.
• Join a support group. Many fertility clinics have their own support groups, and there are support groups available on the ‘net as well. It helps to connect with others who are going through the same issues as you are. Who knows, they may be able to suggest treatments or solutions of infertility stress you weren’t aware of.
• Change what you can. Make sure that you understand that there are some things that you can control, and some things you can’t. Leave the things you can’t control, and change the things you can. It’s no use stressing about things you can’t change.
• Do your research. Keep yourself informed so you know what to expect.
• Learn stress reduction techniques. Give yourself a break and spend time meditating or doing breathing exercises to relax. Massage and exercise can also help reduce stress. Just don’t resort to over-eating to try to deal with the problem as this will definitely only make things worse.
• Make sure you know exactly what is covered by your insurance. This will prevent you receiving unexpected bills, which will send your stress levels through the roof.
In short, in order to deal with infertility stress you need to change what can be changed and leave the things you can’t do anything about. You might not be able to do anything about your circumstances, but you can choose how you’ll respond to them. Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask for help; you aren’t alone in this.
What Is Infertility
Now that you’re looking at the whole issue of infertility, you’ve probably heard a bunch of words bandied about and you’re thinking to yourself, ‘What is infertility really?’ It can get quite confusing if you thought you were infertile, and then someone tells you you’re sub-fertile or hypo-fertile and your test results come back with ‘impaired fertility’ written across the top.
Definition
Basically, they all mean the same thing; you and your partner have had problems getting pregnant or carrying a baby to term. You haven’t conceived yet, but, with or without a little extra help, pregnancy is a possibility. It’s not the same as sterility, which is when you can’t get pregnant at all.
Officially, you would be diagnosed as infertile if you have been trying to get pregnant for a year without success. That means really trying – doing the baby dance often at the appropriate times without any protection. Trust the doctors to have a name for everything – you could be told that you have primary infertility if you are battling to get pregnant with you first child, and if you’ve had one already but you’re battling to have a second then you could have something called secondary infertility. I assume there is such a thing as tertiary infertility (and so on) but we’ll leave it there.
Causes of Infertility
In the past infertility has usually been blamed on the woman, probably because the signs of infertility of much more obvious for women. You generally need a microscope to check if a man is infertile. You’re probably thinking that if you need a microscope to check then he probably is infertile, but it’s not like that; the microscope is to check out the sperm, not the equipment.
Apparently about one third of all cases of infertility are the woman’s problem, the other third is generally the man’s problem and the other third is made up of cases in which both the man and the woman have problems or there doesn’t seem to be a reason for the infertility – a condition otherwise known as non-specific infertility. See, the doctors even have names for things they don’t know! We don’t know why they’re infertile so we’ll call it non-specific infertility.
(When you do eventually have your little one you’ll discover another special medical term – colic. It’s another way of saying that the baby cries often, and for long periods, and we don’t know why. But somehow having a name for it just helps; don’t ask me how, it just does.)
You would think that the whole process of getting pregnant was pretty simple – get naked, insert relevant part into relevant receptacle, jiggle about and voila, babies to follow. But the whole process of getting and staying pregnant is quite complex – once you know what it involves you’ll wonder how the human race has managed to survive this long with everything that could go wrong!
Tech Alert – Technical details follow: Women are born with all the eggs they’ll ever have and once they reach puberty, over the course of each month the brain will release a hormone to tell the pituitary gland to produce two other hormones, one of which stimulates the follicle to mature so that an egg can be released, and both of which tell the ovaries to release two other hormones, one of which tells the follicle to release the egg – ovulation. Phew! Two of the hormones get together and tell the uterus to build up a thick lining in case the egg is fertilized. If the relevant part is inserted into the relevant opening at the right time, the egg usually meets up with the sperm whilst still in the tube from the ovary to the uterus. The sperm burrows through the lining of the egg and then the fertilized egg implants itself in the lining of the uterus. That is assuming the sperm got there in the first place.
To make sperm the man’s brain releases a hormone, which tells the pituitary gland to make two other hormones, which tell the body to make sperm and regulate how the body makes testosterone. The sperm, made up of a head and tail, take up to three months to mature and can be killed if conditions get too hot. During the baby dance process the sperm get pushed into a tube, and then into another tube where they are mixed with fluid to make semen, and then into another tube, and then during a series of forceful contractions they are deposited into the waiting receptacle. That is if they aren’t deposited into the man’s own bladder by mistake.
At this point, the journey is just beginning. Of the couple of hundred million sperm deposited (on a good day), less than 100 will actually make it to the egg, having swum through the acid and thick mucus to get there, sometimes 5 days later. The head of the winning sperm releases special enzymes to be able to get through the lining of the egg allowing it to burrow in and fertilize the egg.
It’s not over yet! The fertilized egg makes its way down the tube into the uterus where it will hopefully find a good picnic spot where it can settle for a good nine months.
So you can see that if one hormone is lacking, or present when it shouldn’t be, or present in over-abundance, or if one tube is blocked or damaged, or if the eggs or sperm are damaged while maturing, or if the sperm can’t swim properly, or can’t survive the harsh environment, or if the process of getting sperm and egg to meet during the baby dance is hampered by faulty equipment, pregnancy will not happen. As I said, it’s a miracle the human race has survived this long!
Remember, infertility just means you haven’t gotten pregnant yet. It doesn’t mean you won’t get pregnant ever. Even if things aren’t all happening the right way there are drugs and treatments that can help the process along.
Infertility costs
I know you were dreading that visit to the doctor, but at least now you know what the problem is! So now you can get some idea of what treatment you’ll need and, as much as I hate to bring up finance, what it’s going to cost. I’ve heard that treating infertility costs quite a packet. First, there’s the testing, then the drugs or other treatments, and then maybe IVF and other technologies. And usually you have to go for a few cycles of treatment before it works so the costs add up pretty quickly.
Of course, there are some ways to increase your fertility naturally that will cost very little, and they may even end up saving you money so it makes sense to try some of those. Things like losing weight, exercising and eating healthily will boost your fertility, make any treatments work better and save some money on medical bills in the long run too!
Testing
You’ll probably need to go for some testing to find out exactly what the problem is. They could want to test blood samples or semen samples or do some scans or internal checks – can you see the dollar signs already? The tests can be quite scary – having medical personnel poking and prodding about around your nether regions is never fun at the best of times, and neither are needles, but just keep in mind that it will all be worth it! Don’t quote me on this, but I read somewhere that one in every five couples gets pregnant before treatment even starts, probably because of psychological effect of going to the doctor- I don’t know!
Treatment
Once they’ve figured out what’s wrong they’ll normally start off with the light artillery – lifestyle or diet changes, and then after that, the drugs or hormone treatments to sort out any infections or hormonal imbalances. You might need some more scans after that to check if the drugs are working. Again, all of this adds up as the drugs cost between $50 and $150 per cycle, not including medical visits. You could also need minor surgery to fix any structural problems. I must admit, I think ‘minor surgery’ is a bit of an oxymoron; all surgery seems major to me! Again, all of this costs money, money you probably don’t have.
If that doesn’t work
If the drugs aren’t helping then you might need to go for something a little heavier – like IUI (Intrauterine Insemination), or possibly even bring out the big guns, the ART (Assisted Reproductive Technologies). These procedures often require drugs and other testing procedures in order to work and again, this all adds up. One cycle of IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) (think test-tube baby) costs over $12 000 and you may need a few cycles for it to work.
Financing infertility treatment
Treating infertility costs quite a bit as you can see. Not being able to afford the treatment up front doesn’t necessarily mean the end of your dreams of having children. Some states require insurance plans to cover infertility treatment – although you’ll need to check with your local insurance commissioner if you live in one of those states, and exactly what your insurance plan covers. If that doesn’t work, there are also some companies that offer financing for infertility treatment, and some companies and clinics only require payment if the treatment actually works. If you find that you have to make use of ART it makes a lot of sense to phone around and find out the costs of the various treatments and exactly what is included in the prices you get. Check with the clinics if they have any financing options as well. Also, the earlier you get help the lower your costs are, so if you do need medical help to get pregnant, don’t delay!
PCOS and Infertility
So you guys still aren’t pregnant yet? I’m guessing it’s not for lack of trying but have you been checked for PCOS? That’s short for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. It’s a pretty complicated condition – all to do with the metabolism and hormonal imbalances and the like – but it can cause infertility. You thought you’d left all that hormonal imbalance stuff behind with your teen years but about one out of every ten women who are the right age to have kids has PCOS so it might be something to look into. So let’s talk more about PCOS and infertility.
In a nutshell, PCOS prevents you from ovulating, or releasing eggs, so there’s nowhere for those spermies to go. One of the ways you know you aren’t releasing eggs is if you aren’t having your period or if your periods are very irregular, as in once-in-a-blue-moon irregular. I’m not saying I’ve noticed anything, but if you tend to carry your weight around your middle, like an apple rather than an hourglass, or if you have particularly fuzzy facial hair and you battle to lose weight, you might have PCOS. If that sounds familiar, you should have it checked and the doc may send you for an ultrasound where they’ll check for lumps (cysts) on your ovaries. You might be one of the luckier ones and not have any obvious outward signs, so they might also test your blood for any extra male hormones. It’s sounding scarier and scarier, I know, but once you’re diagnosed then you can really get going on getting pregnant.
• Again, I’m not saying I’ve noticed anything, but it might be as simple as losing some weight to help balance out your sugar levels. It might also be a good idea to get both of you checked for any other fertility problems before you start any kind of treatment. It’s no use getting a stack of expensive medication if your hubby has sperm motility problems.
• If losing weight doesn’t help and there aren’t any other problems, your doc might get you started on some drugs to encourage your body to release some of those eggs. This is usually quite successful, sometimes too successful as there is a chance of having twins or triplets, or more. You did say you wanted to get pregnant, didn’t you?
• If those drugs don’t work then you might get an injection to help those eggs along and if the man’s sperm have problems of their own you might get some extra help getting sperm and egg to meet through artificial insemination. If the drugs didn’t help, this usually does the trick.
• If after all that rigmarole you’re still not pregnant, there are still options. You could go the test-tube route and have IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization), but only if you’re within the normal weight range for your height, else it probably won’t work.
• The other option is to have your ovaries drilled. It’s not as bad as it sounds; promise! Basically, it’s a short surgical procedure where they make holes in your ovaries. They’re not sure how it works, but apparently it does. Go figure!
With PCOS your chances of miscarriage are higher, but again there are things you can do to hang on to that baby. Exercising and managing your weight play a role (again); but some other drugs and supplements can help too.
The good news is that your PCOS symptoms are very likely to improve once you’ve had the baby. Your system is likely to sort itself out all on its own, so much so that PCOS sufferers are often encouraged to try to get pregnant sooner rather than later. You’ll be glad to know that getting pregnant the second time is much easier as well, so if you think you might have PCOS then have it checked out by your doctor.
Infertility statistics
I normally get worried when people start spouting numbers to prove a point; it reminds me of those fishing stories where the guppy evolves into a shark as the story is retold. Did you know that 85.43% of statistics are made up on the spot, and that smoking is the leading cause of statistics? Exactly! When it comes to infertility statistics, always check your sources!
Also, with infertility statistics there are all sorts of terms that you need to understand to get a good grip on the stats. For example, what is the difference between fertility and fecundity? Heck, what on earth is fecundity? We’ll get back to that. Well, if you’re looking at the problem of infertility then you probably already know that the average couple has only a 20% chance of getting pregnant each cycle, even if they have sex at the right time. This chance gets less and less the older you get – it’s only about 10% chance per cycle if you (assuming you’re the woman), are over 35 (HFEA). Despite this, 7-14% of couples are still not pregnant even after a year of regular unprotected intercourse according to various US and UK sources (HFEA & NWHIC).
Trying for a year without getting pregnant doesn’t necessarily mean that you will need to have fertility treatment though. The HFEA estimates that of 100 couples trying to conceive naturally:
• 20 will conceive within one month
• 70 will conceive within six months
• 85 will conceive within a year
• 90 will conceive within 18 months
• 95 will conceive within two years
It’s a good idea to get yourself checked if you have been trying for a year, especially if you have any other signs of infertility just to see if there’s anything you could do differently, but if you have time, then why not just keep trying? All that extra practice never hurt anyone! If you are getting a bit long in the tooth, which is your mid-thirties when it comes to childbearing, you should get help if you don’t get pregnant in six months. Apparently, age is the most significant factor in a woman’s fertility; so it doesn’t make sense to wait too long to start trying, as far as it is up to you of course (UCSF).
Still wondering what the difference is between infertility and impaired fecundity? If you are infertile then you are struggling to get pregnant; if you battle to get pregnant and you have problems keeping a pregnancy then you have impaired fecundity. But remember to check how these words are used in any other information you find, because it can make a difference.
It is difficult to get accurate numbers on the success of the different fertility treatments available, because everyone measures success differently. Rest assured that if you do need medical help to get pregnant your chances are pretty good, and according to the CDC, they are getting better all the time as the technology improves.
There are some things you can do to boost your fertility naturally and avoid being another number yourself. Some ideas: avoid caffeine while trying to get pregnant, have more sex, exercise, have even more sex, don’t get STDs (guys and girls) and don’t wear tight underwear (guys only). You could also try having some more sex – practice makes perfect!
Sources:
ASRM – American Society of Reproductive Medicine, USA
CDC – Center for Disease Control and Prevention, USA
HFEA – The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, UK
NWHIC – National Women’s Health Information Center, USA
UCSF – University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center, USA
Infertility Insurance
These days you can get insurance for anything! Your house, your health, your pets, your baby toenail, anything really! So it only makes sense that you can get infertility insurance too. You can understand why though. Having a baby the old-fashioned way is costly enough as it is; when you start adding all the fertility treatment it gets very expensive very quickly.
It’s terrible to think that your chances of getting pregnant depend largely on how much money you have available, and don’t even get me started on the shortcomings of the national health services, we could be here for days! That said, it’s good to keep in mind that even more expensive than having a child is raising, feeding, clothing and educating the munchkin – so going bankrupt to have your baby is really not the best idea when you’ve got a whole lot more expense coming your way.
Considering that about 10% of the reproductive age population of the US has problems with infertility, and that if you need drugs or ART (Assisted Reproductive Technologies) you might need a couple of cycles of treatment – it makes sense to take out infertility insurance on top of all your other insurances. The idea, as with other types of insurance, is that you pay your dues every month and if you are diagnosed as being infertile by a doctor, and you aren’t over 40, and you didn’t know you were infertile before, and you’ve been a member of the scheme for over a year, and you have no moles, cavities or hangnails, then they pay for certain drugs, treatments, and procedures to help you get pregnant. As with all insurances, coverage is generally limited and there are some exclusions, so read your policy carefully.
Generally, the policy should include fertility testing, artificial insemination and embryo transfer, but some are reluctant to finance IVF – and who can blame them? It’s darned expensive! I think them sharks deny all claims the first time in the hope that you’ll give up, so be persistent and find out exactly what is covered by your policy and what isn’t – and remember that if it isn’t specifically excluded they have to cover it. I think the relationship between insurers and insurees is a good example of a love-hate relationship. You hate them but they do come in handy sometimes, if you can get through all the paper work and you don’t starve to death with a phone in your hand while they put you on hold. Who knows, you might be one of the lucky ones who lives in a state that requires standard health insurance to provide for fertility treatments so check out your local insurance commission if you’re not sure. Also, some insurance policies do offer fertility insurance as an extra option on top of the standard options.
If you’re not keen to spend hundreds of dollars on insurance every month on coverage you’ll probably never need for treatments that aren’t guaranteed to work, there are other options. Some fertility clinics require that you pay upfront but they refund a large percentage of the payment if you don’t get pregnant. You also get fertility finance products that loan you money for treatment – and again you generally only have to pay back the full amount if you actually do get pregnant. I like that idea – you only pay if it works. Did you know that in some countries you only pay the doctor when you’re healthy? If only it worked that way everywhere!
Infertility Information
I heard you and the hubby were having a tough time getting pregnant. I’m a big believer in the value of information, in this case infertility information. When you have a name for the problem it just seems to make things easier to deal with – weird isn’t it? Once you know what’s wrong then you can figure out what to do about it.
The first thing to clear up is what it means to be infertile. It isn’t the same as being sterile. If you are sterile then it means you can’t get pregnant at all. Being diagnosed as infertile just means you haven’t become pregnant yet – more specifically you haven’t become pregnant after a year of regular ‘uncontracepted’ intercourse.
When you look at the infertility information available you’ll see that there are so many different causes of infertility – but generally they fall into a few categories. Both men and woman can have structural infertility where the eggs and sperm are ready to go, but can’t get to where they need to be because of blocked tubes or other problems. You can also get functional or hormonal infertility where you have all the right tools and bits but they just don’t seem to be working together effectively. Another cause of infertility is the age of the woman because as you get older the quality of your eggs decreases. There are other causes of infertility , but these are the most common.
Some really insensitive individuals make it seem as though infertility is always the woman’s problem, but studies have found that out of all cases where they know the exact cause of the infertility, about half of those are because of a problem on the guy’s side. Either way, you have to deal with the problem as a team. It is no use blaming your partner for your infertility, you’ll only increase the tension in your relationship – and we all know that generally means less sex – making pregnancy even more unlikely. Working together as a team is probably the best weapon you have against infertility.
There are some symptoms of infertility you can look out for if you are worried. Not having periods, or having periods that seem to come and go is generally the second most obvious symptom. The first symptom of infertility is obviously the fact that you haven’t gotten pregnant yet! Check out the symptoms of infertility and schedule a checkup with your doc if you’re at all concerned. Make sure you tell him about anything you’re worried about.
With a bit of luck you’ll get some idea of where the problem lies – and that’s great because then you can figure out what to do about it. It could be as simple as losing weight and cutting down on caffeine, but you might also need fertility drugs or even fertility treatments. (Why is it that as soon as a product has the word ‘bridal’, ‘pregnancy’ or ‘baby ‘attached to it the price triples?) Those who make money out of the fertility business really seem to play on the emotional side of things, so make sure you shop around. You don’t want to spend so much on getting pregnant that you don’t have money for diapers! Fertility treatment can get very expensive – but there are finance options available.
Hopefully you do find out what is causing your infertility. Being diagnosed with non-specific infertility, if you can call that a diagnosis, can be really difficult. Like I said earlier, having a name for the problem really helps. No matter what kind of infertility you have, there are support groups available. Apparently the stats say that about 10% of American couples battle to get pregnant, so you are not alone!
I’m sure doctors have grown to hate the internet and all the cyberchondriacs who are having a field day, but I still believe it’s a good idea to do some research on infertility information for yourself so that you can know what options you have available. Just make sure you check where the information is coming from and check a couple of sources so you can make sure that the information isn’t twisted just to get you to buy some ‘miracle’ fertility product. Good luck!
