Infertility in Women: Reasons

If statistics are to be believed, about 10 percent of the couples in the reproductive age have to deal with problems related to pregnancy, out of which, in about 30 percent of the cases, it is an infertility problem in women. The problem lies with the men in the other 30 percent of the cases. In the remaining, there are multiple reasons involving both the partners. In this article, we will deal with infertility in women reasons.

What is Infertility?

Infertility can be defined as 'the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception'. If a woman is not able to carry a full term pregnancy, it is also termed as infertility. If a couple has unprotected sex for six months to one year without conceiving, it can be due to infertility problems. Permanent infertility is a case, when the couple is not able to conceive ever, whereas secondary infertility is when the couple is not able to conceive again after a full term pregnancy or miscarriage. There is also a term called subfertility, which means a couple is less fertile than a typical couple.

Reasons for Infertility in Women

About 90% of the infertility cases can be successfully treated. The ovulation problem causes infertility. An ovulation problem is when one or more parts of the reproductive system malfunction. The reproductive system is made up of hypothalamus, pituitary gland, adrenal glands, thyroid glands and the genital organs. Having understood this, let's find out what are the 'infertility in women' reasons.

Problem in the Ovaries: The ovaries produce the female hormone called progesterone. It causes the lining of the uterus to thicken, as it prepares for a potential fetus. If the quantity of the hormone produced is less, the uterus may not be able to hold the fetus, leading to miscarriage.

Endometriosis: The hormone progesterone is responsible for the lining of the uterus. When the tissue found in this uterus lining grows outside the uterus, normally in the abdominal pelvic cavity, it is called endometriosis. The most commonly seen symptoms of this condition are painful menstrual periods, painful intercourse and general pelvic pain. In some women, there will be no symptoms of endometriosis at all.

Ovulation Problem: If the hypothalamus does not secrete a hormone which will trigger ovulation, ovulation may not occur. This means that mature eggs from the ovaries will not be released. The most common symptom of ovulation problems is either no or infrequent menstrual cycles or abnormally light or heavy bleeding in the menstrual cycle.

Pelvic Inflammatory Diseases (PID): This is a common cause of infertility among women. Pelvic inflammatory diseases are caused by bacteria, which can cause infections in various parts of the reproductive system, appendix and parts of the intestine, which lie in the pelvic region. The most common area of infection are the fallopian tubes. There are a number of causes of pelvic inflammatory diseases. They are sexually transmitted diseases, pelvic tuberculosis, nonsterile abortions, ruptured appendix or herpes virus. Of all the causes, about 75 percent of the pelvic inflammatory diseases are due to sexually transmitted diseases.

Poor Egg Quality: The quality of the egg decreases in the late 30s and early 40s. The eggs can become damaged or may also develop certain chromosomal abnormalities, due to which they cannot sustain pregnancy. It is just the age that causes the decline in quality and no particular symptom is noticed.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS): In this syndrome, high amounts of male hormones are produced by the ovaries, testosterone in particular. Small cysts are also seen in the ovaries of women suffering from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Very often, these women have hormonal imbalance, due to which they do not ovulate regularly. The most commonly seen symptoms of this syndrome are excessive weight gain, irregular menstrual cycle, excessive hair growth and acne.

Damaged or Blocked Fallopian Tubes: If the fallopian tubes are damaged or blocked, it will hamper the movement of the eggs moving in to the uterus and/or from the sperm reaching the egg. The cause of blocked or damaged fallopian tubes are sexually transmitted diseases, pelvic inflammatory diseases or earlier sterilization surgery.

As we have just seen, there are a number of 'infertility in women' reasons. For a problem with your own case, you will have to meet your obstetrician and gynecologist. With the help of a few tests, they will be in a better place to diagnose the exact problem in your case.