Conditions of Female Infertility

PCOS

One of the common syndromes that cause hormonal imbalance in females is known as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). It may lead to disorder in woman’s menstrual cycle, fertility process, cardiovascular system, and physical features. The survey reveals that one in 20 women, during their childbearing age, suffers from PCOS and this can be detected in the ovaries through an ultrasound scan. There could be 12 or more follicles on the ovaries of variable size, ranging from 2 mm to 9 mm. This imbalance causes irregularity in egg ovulation. Sometimes the process ceases to occur completely making it difficult for a woman to have a natural pregnancy.

PCOS and its symptoms:

Irregularity in periods or no periods
Difficulty in becoming pregnant
Excessive growth of facial or body hair
A woman becoming an excessively overweight or rapid increase in her body weight
The appearance of thick and dark brown patches on the skin
The appearance of skin tags (excessive flaps of skin around the neck or in the armpits)
Hair loss
Oily skin/acne
Pelvic pain
Interrupted breathing while sleeping, known as Sleep Apnoea
Depression and mood swings

What are the causes?

Scientists are still trying to ferret out the exact cause of PCOS. It is not fully known, as yet. However, it may have a genetic basis because it often found in many families. If any of the female family members, e.g. mother, aunts, sisters of a woman are affected by this syndrome, she (woman) likely to develop the risk of PCOS.

How PCOS affect my fertility?

Some of the women with PCOS may get pregnant on their own. In some cases PCOS may affect woman’s fertility due to irregular periods or no periods, so to speak. As a matter of fact, during the normal menstrual cycle, 1 follicle in the ovaries get matured and is released. This natural process is called ovulation. However, PCOS thwarts this process and does not allow follicles from getting matured regularly in a menstrual cycle.

Alarmingly high weight gain: One of the most common symptoms of PCOS is excessive weight gain. It causes hindrance to natural ovulation process women. Excessive weight is even resistant to simple ovulation-inducing drugs.

How shall I know if I am suffering from PCOS?

Those with PCOS meet two out of the three following criteria: Oligomenorrhea (having your menses every 40 to 60 days), androgen excess (by a blood test or physical appearances, such as acne or oily skin), and more than 12 follicles appearing on your ovaries by ultrasound.

How can Xenith help me if I have PCOS?

Xenith has expertise in helping women with PCOS reduce symptoms and conceive. To discuss your symptoms and medical history, contact Xenith today.

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Blockage of Fallopian Tubes

The fallopian tube is an important part of the female reproductive tract through which eggs pass from an ovary to the Uterus. In case of natural pregnancy, the sperm fertilizes with the egg into an embryo in this fallopian tube. But sometimes fertilization does not take place if both the tubes or either of them are blocked. In certain cases, however, the "hair-like" structure, known as fimbriae gets damaged at the end of the tubes and eventually fails to pick up the egg.

Why does this happen? Let's discuss some common causes which lead to the blockage of the fallopian tube.

Fibroids
Pelvic Infections
Endometriosis
Ectopic pregnancies

What are the solutions?

For women with blocked fallopian tubes, the In-vitro Fertilization is the most commonly recommended. Fix an appointment at Xenith Advanced Fertility Center, Pune. Get an expert's advice from Dr. Mamta Dighe, one of the most reputed IVF practitioners in India. Discuss your case and medical history with her and understand how to go about the IVF treatment.

Frequent Miscarriage

There is a tendency of recurrent miscarriage in some women. If a woman suffers a minimum of two consecutive miscarriages, it is defined or termed as Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (RPL). However, in case a woman suffers a miscarriage first time, she should seek an expert’s advice and need not wait to fit into this definition. In other words, consulting the experts in time will help her to avoid the possibility of another miscarriage.

Know more about Recurrent Pregnancy Loss?

Miscarriage: Important Causes

A survey reveals that fetal loss in pregnancy complications is recorded to an extent of 25 - 30%. Chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus contribute to an extent of 50 - 60%, as far as pregnancy complications are concerned. Chromosomal abnormalities occur primarily because of errors that may occur when the embryo divides and grows. A woman's growing age is one of the contributing factors due to which these errors occur because with the growing age the quality of an egg diminishes.

Depleting Ovarian Reserves

The capacity to produce eggs that are capable of getting fertilized and culminating in pregnancy is the most important strength or feature of a woman's ovarian reserve. But the ovarian reserve of most women starts decreasing naturally after the age of 35 years. Interestingly even after the ovarian reserve is exhausted, ovaries continue to generate eggs till the woman reaches her 50s, i.e. the stage of menopause. However, they vary in quality. In fact, they lack quality, compared to the eggs produced in 20s or 30s. The eggs produced by a woman in her 20s or 30s have a much better chance of culminating in pregnancy. On the contrary, when the woman is in the late 30s or early 40s, the eggs produced by her have less potential of turning into a pregnancy. So there is a So, if any is looking to extend her fertility, she may be thinking of egg freezing.

In certain cases, however, premature ovarian failure is observed, as the ovaries cease to produce eggs and estrogen prior to the age of forty.

Symptoms of Diminishing Ovarian Reserve

The ovarian reserve is found diminishing in case of the following disorders:

Vaginal dryness
Lack of sexual drive
Hot flashes
Irregular or skipped periods
Night sweats
Difficulty in concentrating

Now letʹs see the causes of diminishing ovarian reserve

Genetic tendency: A decrease in ovarian reserve is found in some women because of genetic tendency. It happens naturally at a young age. Whereas in some other cases, antibodies are produced against their own ovarian tissue. This becomes harmful to egg-containing follicles and may even damage the egg.

Lifestyle: Some of the unhealthy lifestyle traits like smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, or drug consumption contribute to having a negative impact on ovarian reserve.

Toxins: Some serious treatments like radiation therapy can also affect the ovarian tissues and cause damage to the egg.

How can you seek guidance and help from Xenith Advanced Fertility Center? Xenith help me if I have a diminished ovarian reserve?

If the women suffering from depleted ovarian reserve seek timely advice and guidance from experts they can surely benefit from it and may have a healthy ovarian reserve. The measures include the administration of some supplements which will be beneficial to produce a healthy egg. Xenith extends special natural cycle IVF treatment to the women with whom fertility medication proves futile. As a matter of fact, irrespective of stimulatory medication, women with such disorders do not produce more than one natural egg in a month. As far as natural cycle IVF is concerned, the single natural egg created by the woman is retrieved and injected with the sperm. If it is fertilized, the embryo is transferred to the uterus.

Endometriosis

If the egg becomes fertilized it is protected by the Endometrial tissue which typically grows on uterus lining. The occurrence of recurrent growth of endometrial tissue and glands elsewhere, other than uterus lining is called Endometriosis. It affects womanʹs fertility by distorting the shape and causing interruption to the function of the fallopian tube. If such growth is developed in the ovaries, it is called endometriomas which thwarts the follicular growth. But todayʹs advanced medical science promises effective treatments to Endometriosis and Endometriomas.

The prominent symptoms of endometriosis are:

Painful experience during intercourse
Heavy periods
Discomfort at the time of urinating of with bowel movements
Infertility

You would be wondering if it is possible for a woman with endometriosis to conceive through IVF-ICSI. Well, certainly; but in some cases, laparoscopy or hysteroscopy may be recommended before the IVF-ICSI treatment.

Secondary Infertility

What does secondary infertility mean:
Science has defined secondary infertility as the inability to conceive an additional child naturally. When a childless couple is not able to conceive they look to have proper treatment. But couples who have children do not rend to seek treatment owing to the misconception that they are permanently fertile.

Some Misconceptions About Secondary Infertility

There is a misconception that if a woman has one child, she can easily have another in future. On the contrary many infertility cases the couples who had their first child were having difficulty in conceiving for the second or third child.

Reasons for secondary infertility

Reasons for secondary infertility and primary infertility are more or less the same. As it happens in most of the cases, after the last pregnancy the husband or wife may gain some weight or may have had an infection or maybe because of change in food habits, might have started taking less healthy food. These changes in lifestyle can cause trouble in reproductive health. Moreover, if there is a considerable time lapse since the last pregnancy the quality of eggs or even the quality of the husband's sperm may have decreased. So secondary infertility is also reported because of abnormalities with sperm and ejaculation. Some other commonly given explanations about secondary infertility are:

Disorders in ovulation disorders
Endometriosis
Uterine fibroids and polyps
Diminished ovarian reserve
Pelvic adhesions

Irregular Menstrual Cycle

A female body, during every month's menstrual cycle typically grows one follicle that gets matured and resultantly releases an egg. There is also the secretion of estrogen and progesterone, in her body, to thicken the uterus lining. This helps to have support to the egg, in case it fertilizes. If fertilization does not take place, the said lining will shed down through discharge during the menstruation.

A womanʹs menstrual cycle varies from 21 to 35 days and its tenure also varies from four to seven days. In some women, however, the hormonal imbalances prevent ovulation and it leads to skipping of periods or irregularity in menstrual cycle.

There is an ovulation disorder found in some women. They generally have irregular cycles and do not ovulate or produce eggs frequently. But it is not a matter of big concern. The majority of factors leading to irregular menstruation can be easily cured.

Letʹs see some commonly known causes of irregularity in menstrual cycles:

Excessive stress
Excessive Weight gain or even extreme weight loss
Excessively strenuous physical exercise
PCOS
Depleted ovarian reserve
Hormonal imbalance

Fibroids, polyps and adenomyosis

Fibroids, polyps and adenomyosis have different types of growths that may grow on the reproductive organs of a woman and they have a negative impact on fertility.

Fibroids

Fibroids are non-cancerous tumors. They vary in size and grow in or around the uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes.

What are the major symptoms of fibroids?

Some of the symptoms are, (i) Irregular menstrual bleeding, (ii) pelvic pain, (iii) frequent urination, (iv) difficulty in emptying the bladder, (v) constipation, (vi) pain during intercourse, (vii) backache or leg pain. Fibroids can sometimes be asymptomatic.

Polyps

Polyps are small. They are typically benign (non-cancerous) and grow on the endometrium (uterine lining), cervix and vagina.

What are the symptoms of polyps?

Spotting between periods, irregular menstrual bleeding, heavy bleeding during menstrual cycles, and spotting after intercourse.

Adenomyosis

Adenomyosis occurs when endometrial tissue, which normally lines the uterus, grows into the myometrium, or muscular layer of the uterus. The exact cause of adenomyosis is unknown; however, it is most often present in women over 40 years old or those who have had more than 3 children.

What are the symptoms of adenomyosis?

Most commonly asymptomatic, but occasionally heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding, severe or sharp menstrual bleeding, cramps that last throughout the period, pain during intercourse, spotting between periods, passing blood clots during your period, and tender or enlarged abdomen.

How can Xenith help me if I have fibroids, polyps and adenomyosis?

Xenith IVF Center at Pune has expertise in helping women with fibroids, polyps and adenomyosis reduce symptoms and conceive. To discuss your symptoms and medical history, contact us today.