Infertility - Who are at higher risk of infertility?

Infertility - Who are at higher risk of infertility?

Infertility (also called sterility) is the inability to get pregnant after, at least, a year of attempting. A female is not necessarily to be blamed. Only 30% of cases are brought on by female factors. In another 30% of cases, sterility is due to the man. The remaining 40% of cases are caused by a mixture of male and female factors or by unknown factors. In most cases ovulation problems lead to infertility in women. Irregular or absent menstrual periods can signal that a woman is not ovulating normally. Less common causes of conception problems in women include blocked fallopian tubes because of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), endometriosis, or operation for an ectopic pregnancy, physical problems with the uterus, uterine fibroids.

Many factors can badly affect a woman's ability to conceive a baby. They are age, tension, poor diet, athletic training, obesity or being underweight, smoking, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), health problems that bring on hormonal imbalances. At present more women conceive their first baby when they are in their 30s or 40s. Actually, approximately 20% of women in the USA nowadays have their first baby after the age of 35. Therefore, age is an increasingly common cause of conception problems. About 30% of couples where the woman is over 35 have reproduction problems. In males, hormonal imbalances, diseases, reproductive anatomy trauma and obstruction, as well as sexual dysfunction can badly influence sperm and conception temporarily or permanently. The longer some disorders are untreated, the fewer chances of recovery are. Smokers are said to have a 13-17% lower sperm count than non-smokers. Addiction to alcohol can significantly decrease the sperm count. Tight-fitting clothes and elongated periods of sitting can cause a drop in sperm count through undue heating of the testes. Marijuana, cocaine and anabolic steroids all lower the sperm count and adversely influence motility. Both males and females need specialist assistance if pregnancy does not occur naturally.