When is a couple considered infertile? How long should you wait before starting to worry that there may be something wrong with you? The answer is this: a couple who has had regular unprotected intercourse for a period of 12 months - and no pregnancy occurs - is considered infertile and may seek professional help. After 12 months of "normal marital endeavour", 85% of couples should have conceived. The remaining 15% can be considered to have below-normal fertility. It is estimated that infertility affects 10-15% of couples.
The truth is that there are many reasons why couples are suffering from infertility. Some are caused by male-factor infertility (about 1/3 of all infertility), while others are caused by female-factor infertility (about 1/3 of all infertility) and even more cases have unknown factors causing the absence of pregnancy.
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| Reason For Infertility |
Most healthy women under the age of 30 shouldn't worry about infertility unless they've been trying to get pregnant for at least a year. At this point, women should talk to their doctors about a fertility evaluation. Men should also talk to their doctors if this much time has passed.
In some cases, women should talk to their doctors sooner. Women in their 30s who've been trying to get pregnant for six months should speak to their doctors as soon as possible.
INFERTILITY FROM A MEDICAL POINT OF VIEW
A woman's chances of having a baby decrease rapidly every year after the age of 30. So getting a complete and timely fertility evaluation is especially important.
Aging decreases a woman's chances of having a baby in the following ways:
- The ability of a woman's ovaries to release eggs ready for fertilization declines with age.
- The health of a woman's eggs declines with age.
- As a woman ages, she is more likely to have health problems that can interfere with fertility.
- As a woman ages, her risk of having a miscarriage increases.
- a normal ovum must be released from a mature ovarian follicle;
- the ovum must enter the fallopian tube promptly after its extrusion;
- sperm must have migrated into the fallopian tube where fertilization of the ovum normally occurs;
- a fertilized ovum must find its way down the tube into the endometrial cavity to implant 7-10 days after ovulation;
- normal segmentation, maturation and development of the embryo and foetus must occur until viability has been reached and delivery accomplished. A woman's ability to produce healthy ovum reduces with age.
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| Reason For Infertility |
To find out more, you can check out Reason For Infertility.
