Causes of infertility

Basic Outlines

What Causes Infertility For Women

Infertility for women is often treatable, once the root cause has been identified. Listed below are a couple of said causes:

Ovulation Disorders: This happens to be the most common cause of infertility in women. As explained on the previous page, ovulation is the release of an egg from the ovaries. Often, in the case of infertility, eggs are never released, or are released infrequently. There are many problems that can lead to ovulation disorders, such as the misregulation of hormones in the body, or specific problems in the ovaries. Other causes can be thyroid problems or chronic conditions. The more common examples, however, are:

PCOS: PCOS, or Polycystic Ovary Syndrome can cause imbalances in reproductive hormones. PCOS has unrecognizable symptoms, such as obesity, abnormal hair growth and acne. These means that it can go undetected for long periods of time.

PREMATURE OVARIAN FAILURE: Also known as premature menopause, is when the ovaries stop working before the age of 40 years. This is often caused by an autoimmune response, or by premature loss of eggs for ovaries, due to causes like exposure to radiation, or genetics.

HYPERPROLACTEINEMIA: This is due to high prolactine levels, even though the woman is not pregnant or breastfeeding. This can be due to the pituitary gland producing too much prolactin, which in turn reduces estrogen production. This can be due to medication intake to treat another disease.

HYPOTHALMIC DYSFUNCTION: The pituitary gland is responsible for producing two hormones, which both aid in simulating ovulation. One is Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, or FSH, and the second is luteinizing hormone, or LH. External factors like extreme BMIs, physical or emotional stress, weight gain or weight loss can all create jolts in hormone production and affect ovulation. A tell a tale sign of this can be irregular periods.
Tubal Blockage: Damaged fallopian tubes, from endometriosis or STIs can keep the sperm from reaching the egg, or block the fertilized egg from getting implanted into the uterus wall. Other reasons of tubal blockage can be from scarring from pelvic tuberculosis, or from previous surgery in the abdomen or pelvis.
Uterine Fibroids or Polyps: Benign uterine fibroids are common in the uterus. These often tend to block fallopian tubes, or might interfere with implantations. However, it should be noted that women with uterine fibroids to end up pregnant.
Poor Ovarian Reserve: This is due to when the ovaries have a lower existing reserve of eggs, which reduces the chances of fertilization. This could be caused by genetics, environmental factors, exposure to chemicals and radiations, smoking etc.
Genetic Factors: Uterine abnormalities that have been present from birth, due to genes passed down from a woman’s mother, can often affect fertility. Other genetic factors that could affect the uterus include cervical stenosis, which causes the narrowing of the cervix. A similar problem might be a situation wherein the cervix is unable to produce enough mucus to sustain sperm to pass into the uterus. As previously mentioned, poor ovarian reserve can also be used to this.
Endometriosis: Endometriosis occurs when endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus. This tends to affect the function of the ovaries, uterus and fallopian tubes. Endometriosis disrupts the implant The surgical removal of this can cause scarring, which can also block fallopian tubes.
Unexplained: Sometimes, the cause(s) of infertility is never found, as there is a chance that infertility may be due to a combination of several insignificant factors from both partners. However, sometimes, with persistent treatment, and a careful lifestyle, the problem may correct itself.

What Causes Infertility For Men

Infertility in men is often due to issues in sperm production, sperm count, shape of the sperm, and movement of the sperm. The following are a couple of reasons that can affect these:

Abnormal Sperm Production or Function: Undescended testicles, genetic defects, health problems like diabetes, infections like HIV and chlamydia can all cause abnormal sperm production. Varicose veins, enlarged veins in the testes, can also be a symptom of abnormal sperm production or function.
Problems with the Delivery of Sperm: Premature ejaculation, cystic fibrosis, structural problems, blockage in the testicle, injury to the reproductive organs and certain genetic diseases can all lead to problems with delivery of sperm.
Overexposure to Certain Environmental Factors: Chemicals like pesticides, and, or radiation can all lead to ineffective sperm production. Cigarette smoking, alcohol, marijuana, steroids, certain medications, high blood pressure, and stress can also affect fertility. Sometimes, exposure to heat, can also raise body temperature and impair the production of sperm.
Cancer Treatment: As cancer treatment often uses radiation, or chemotherapy can also affect sperm production
Cystic Fibrosis: Cystic Fibrosis tends to create mucus in the vas deferens, which obstructs it. The vas deferens is a tube that carries sperm to the ejaculatory duct from the epididymis. The blockage of which would lead to issues in delivery of sperm.
Genetic Factors: Genetic factors like the Klinefelter’s syndrome, where a man has two X chromosomes and one Y chromosome, instead of just one X chromosome and one Y chromosome, might lead to the testicles developing abnormally, low testosterone, a low sperm count, or no sperm.
Hypospadias: This is a condition where the urethral opening is under the penis, instead of its tip. This can usually be corrected in infancy, but otherwise, it may make it harder for the sperm to get to the female’s cervix. Hypospadias affects 1 in ever 500 baby boys.

What Are Risk Factors?

Risk factors are certain issues that may be influencing or causing infertility. These factors are mostly temporary and can be treated by a simple change in lifestyle. The most common risk factors that are seen today include:

Tobacco Use: Smoking not only increases the risk of infertility in both genders, but it can also undermine the effects of any fertility treatments. In a female, smoking can damage the cervix and the fallopian tubes. It is also believes that smoking ages ovaries and tends to deplete eggs prematurely.

Smoking during pregnancy can also increase the chances of a miscarriage. In a male, they can affect sperm quality, and quantity too. Passive smoking can also affect infertility greatly, so if you are a smoker, or live around a smoker, it is recommended to change this lifestyle aspect before attempting to conceive.
Alcohol Use: Even the smallest amounts of alcohol are known to decrease the chances of conceiving. If alcohol use is a constant part of lifestyle, it is also recommended to gradually leave alcohol out of your consumption habits.
Caffeine Use: Women who are trying to get pregnant are recommended to limit caffeine intake. Most doctors recommend to limit caffeine intake to less than 200 mg a day. It is wise to consult a doctor regarding the guidance for safe use of caffeine.
Being Overweight: Being overweight is known to increase the risk of infertility in both men and women. Eating and exercising to reach a healthy BMI to increase the frequency of ovulation and chances of pregnancy. Read below for more details.
Being Underweight: For women, being underweight can cause infrequencies in ovulation, decreasing the chances of pregnancy. For men, being underweight can lead to abnormal sperm shape. Being underweight is often due to an unhealthy diet, which can be improved as shown below.
Unhealthy Diet: A diet which lacks in folic acid, iron, vitamin B-12, and zinc can heavily affect fertility. Vegans are also recommended to go on dietary supplements to assure the delivery of essential nutrients into their body. Avoiding trans fats, which are present in fried and processed for, will also help in making conception easier. It is also recommended to switch any sources of animal protein to vegetarian protein sources, such as lentils.

Another beneficiary switch would be to substitute low fat dairy products for high fats, such as switching skim milk for whole milk. Even though it is recommended to eat carbs, fiber rich foods are what should have priority. Refined carbs and sugars should be avoided.
Stress: Many studies have shows that stress can lead to poorer results with infertility treatments. Stress tends to affect female ovulation and male sperm production, as well. It is advisable to find all root causes of stress in a couple’s lifestyle and work to eliminate them as much as possible.
Sexual History: Previous history of STIs can definitely hinder pregnancy and can cause infertility. STIs like chlamydia and gonorrhea tend to damage a female’s fallopian tubes. When partners have a history of unprotected intercourse, there is a higher risk of contracting an STI.
Drug use: Both street drugs and prescription drugs can make it harder to conceive. Long term use of non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin or ibuprofen are often an underlying cause of infertility. Chemotherapy drugs often result in ovarian failure, that in some cases can be permanent. Radiation therapy, if aimed near the reproductive organs, it can increase the risk of infertility. Street drug use, such as marijuana or cocaine, can also multiply this.
Lack of Exercise: Too much and too little exercise can both lead to fertility problems. Regular exercise is known to improve sperm quality, and improve the quality of eggs being released, along with aiding in producing more frequent ovulation.