Causes and treatments for female-related infertility
Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive a pregnancy after at least one year of having regular, unprotected sex. Female-related infertility accounts for around 65% of cases.
Causes of female related infertility are varied and can include:
Lack of ovulation (so the ovaries don’t release an egg each month).
Ovaries fail to produce eggs or those eggs aren’t mature enough for a conception.
Blocked or absent fallopian tubes (including loss through previous ectopic pregnancy)
Cervical problems preventing the sperm from reaching the egg
Blood disorders which cause recurrent miscarriage
Unfriendly womb lining, not allowing for implantation of the embryo
Genetic incompatibility between the couple, causing chromosomal disorders in the embryo which result in miscarriage.
Cancer and subsequent treatments which cause sterility.
Sometimes the exact cause of female infertility is not known, and this is called non-specific infertility.
What Can Be Done To Help?
There are a number of treatments available for these conditions, including:
Hormone drugs to induce ovulation (the release of an egg)
Assisted Hatching – this is done when the woman’s egg shell is too hard. A small hole is poked through the shell prior to the egg being implanted into the womb. This allows for easier fertilisation.
Egg donation – this is when a donor gives some of her healthy eggs to a woman who can’t produce any, to allow that woman to achieve pregnancy.
There are also egg share schemes whereby one woman undergoing IVF shares her eggs with another woman who is also undergoing treatment. This allows them to receive treatment at a discounted price.
Reproductive Immunity – this is the study of why some couples have recurrent miscarriages and looks at possible immunological reasons for the miscarriages. This is in early stages of development.
Certain drugs can be given to help stop miscarriages due to blood disorders.
Blastocyst Transfer – a blastocyst is an embryo at 4-6 days after conception. Research has shown that embryo’s at this stage of development, implant successfully at higher rates than those implanted at the traditional 2-3 days post-conception. This could be helpful to women who suffer from implantation problems.
Embryo Freezing – if a woman has cancer and wants radiation treatment, she can have her embryo’s frozen prior to the cancer treatment so that she may still have the chance to become pregnant.
