March, 2024

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Fertility for people with a uterus involves ovulating healthy eggs. This means your brain has to send hormonal signals to your ovary to release an egg to travel from your ovary, through your fallopian tube and to your uterine lining. Fertility testing involves detecting an issue with any of these processes.

These tests can also help diagnose or rule out problems:

1. Pelvic exam: Your provider will perform a pelvic exam to check for structural problems or signs of disease.


2. Blood test: A blood test can check hormone levels to see if hormonal imbalance is a factor or if you’re ovulating.


3. Transvaginal ultrasound: Your provider inserts an ultrasound wand into your vagina to look for issues with your reproductive system.


4. Hysteroscopy: Your provider inserts a thin, lighted tube (hysteroscope) into your vagina to examine your uterus.


5. Saline sonohysterogram (SIS): Your provider fills your uterus with saline (sterilized salt water) and conducts a transvaginal ultrasound.


6. Sono hysterosalpingogram (HSG): Your provider fills your fallopian tubes with saline and air bubbles during an SIS procedure to check for tubal blockages.


7. X-ray hysterosalpingogram (HSG): X-rays capture an injectable dye as it travels through your fallopian tubes. This test looks for blockages.


8. Laparoscopy: Your provider inserts a laparoscope (thin tube with a camera) into a small abdominal incision. It helps identify problems like endometriosis, uterine fibroids and scar tissue.

How is male infertility diagnosed?

Diagnosing infertility in people with a penis typically involves making sure a person ejaculates healthy sperm. Most fertility tests look for problems with sperm.

These tests can help diagnose or rule out problems:

1. Semen analysis: This test checks for low sperm count and poor sperm mobility. Some people need a needle biopsy to remove sperm from their testicles for testing.


2. Blood test: A blood test can check thyroid and other hormone levels. Genetic blood tests look for chromosomal abnormalities.


3. Scrotal ultrasound: An ultrasound of your scrotum identifies varicoceles or other testicular problems.

Management and Treatment

How is infertility treated?
Treatment for infertility depends mostly on the cause and your goals. Your age, how long you’ve been trying to conceive and your personal preferences are factors in deciding on a treatment. Sometimes, one person needs treatment, but other times, treatment involves both partners.

In most cases, people and couples with infertility have a high chance of pregnancy. Things like medication, surgery or assisted reproductive technology (ART) can help. Often, lifestyle changes or improving the frequency and timing of intercourse can improve your chances of pregnancy. Treatment can also include a combination of methods.

Infertility treatment for women
Treatments for infertility in women and people assigned female at birth include:

1. Lifestyle modification: Gaining or losing weight, stopping smoking or using drugs, and improving other health conditions can improve your chance of pregnancy.


2. Medications: Fertility drugs stimulate your ovaries to ovulate more eggs, which increases your chance of getting pregnant.


3. Surgery: Surgery can open blocked fallopian tubes and remove polyps, fibroids or scar tissue.

Providers may make suggestions on how you can improve your odds of conceiving. These may include things like:

1. Tracking ovulation through basal body temperature, using a fertility tracking app and noting the texture of your cervical mucus.


2. Using a home ovulation kit, a kit you can purchase at the drug store or online to help predict ovulation.

Infertility treatment for men
Treatments for infertility if you have a penis or testes include:

1. Medications: Medications can raise testosterone or other hormone levels. There are also drugs for erectile dysfunction to help you maintain an erection during sex.


2. Surgery: Some men need surgery to open blockages in the tubes that carry sperm or to repair structural problems. Varicocele surgery can make sperm healthier and improve the odds of conception.

What are common fertility treatments?

Some couples need more help conceiving using assisted reproductive technology (ART). ART is any fertility treatment that involves a healthcare provider handling the sperm or egg. To increase pregnancy odds, you can take medications to stimulate ovulation before trying one of these options:

1. In vitro fertilization (IVF): IVF involves retrieving eggs from your ovary, then placing them with sperm in a lab dish. The sperm fertilizes the eggs. A provider transfers one to three of the fertilized eggs (embryos) into your uterus.


2. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI): This procedure may be performed during the IVF process. An embryologist injects a single sperm directly into each egg. Then, a provider transfers one to three of the embryos into your uterus.


3. Intrauterine insemination (IUI): A healthcare provider uses a long, thin tube to place sperm directly into your uterus. IUI is sometimes called artificial insemination.


4. Assisted hatching: A process that involves opening the outer layer of an embryo to make it easier for it to implant in your uterine lining.


5. Third-party ART: Couples may use donor eggs, donor sperm or donor embryos. Some couples need a gestational carrier or surrogate.

Can infertility be cured?
Yes, but it depends on the cause. In 85% to 90% of cases, lifestyle modification, medication, ART or surgery can treat infertility and allow a person to conceive.

Prevention

How to prevent infertility?
You can take these steps to protect your fertility, especially while trying to conceive:

1. Eat a well-balanced diet and maintain a weight that’s healthy for you.


2. Don’t smoke, misuse drugs or drink alcohol.


3. Get treated for STIs.


4. Limit exposure to environmental toxins.


5. Stay physically active, but don’t overdo exercise.


6. Don’t delay conception until an advanced age.


7. Undergo fertility preservation procedures (freezing eggs or sperm).

Also read: NAVIGATING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: CHOOSING BETWEEN GYNECOLOGISTS AND IVF SPECIALISTS IN THANE

Source: my.clevelandclinic.org

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About Dr Bedekar Fertility Solution and IVF Clinic Thane:

Dr Bedekar Fertility Solution and IVF Clinic Thane is One of Best Infertility treatment clinics in Thane - Dr Bedekar Hospital for Women and Children
We Provide Treatment for IVF, ICSI, (IUI), Egg Donation, Semen Analysis, TESE / PESA etc.