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!
