Infertility is a devastating reality for many couples today. Too many have unanswered questions about their options going forward. Here we’ve compiled answers and reading material regarding some of the most commonly asked questions on infertility.
What causes infertility?
On a population basis, there is no single cause of infertility. For individual couples, there may be a single cause of their infertility, but fertility is complicated and sometimes a collection of factors may be involved. Causes can be congenital, anatomical, or hormonal in origin. Diet and lifestyle also have a major impact on one’s fertility, as does one’s age, past history of birth control use, and the use of certain other pharmaceuticals. Sometimes, doctors fail to identify a cause of infertility, leading to the frustrating diagnosis of “unexplained” infertility.
For more information, check out these articles:
- Progesterone Deficiency: How Too Little Progesterone Can Mean Big Problems
- Does the pill cause infertility? Yes and No
- What Every Woman Getting Off the Pill Needs to Know Before Trying to Have a Baby
- Unexplained infertility is not always unexplainable
- Is There a Link Between Gluten Consumption and Infertility?
- 5 Causes of Infertility that (Almost) No One Talks About
- Does Caffeine, Alcohol, or Smoking Affect Fertility?
- How antidepressants affect women’s fertility
- Too Old for a Baby? How You Can Really Know
Is infertility treatable?
Yes! Certain causes of infertility, such as hormonal imbalances, can be effectively treated using bioidentical hormones, fertility-boosting vitamins and supplements, and/or making diet and lifestyle changes. Sometimes, simply learning more about one’s cycle (so that intercourse can be carefully targeted) can be enough to overcome infertility or subfertility. If you have a condition such as PCOS or endometriosis which can make it more difficult to conceive, getting treatment for the condition can sometimes improve fertility.
See the following for more information:
- The Affordable, Effective Alternative to IVF No One Talks About
- How charting helped me beat infertility
- What Are the Symptoms of PCOS, and How Do You Treat It?
- Understanding the Surgical Techniques Used to Address PCOS
- 4 Supplements to Consider When You’re Trying to Conceive
- 3 Reproductive-Health Issues NaProTechnology Solves Better Than the Alternatives
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Better Reproductive Health
- 3 Simple Nutrition Tips that Will Improve Your Reproductive Health
- How I got help with endometriosis without the Pill
- Time to get pregnant: save months by using fertility awareness
- How exercise can boost or block your fertility goals
- Four Natural Ways to Help Regulate Ovulation
- 3 reasons you should consider Merciér Therapy for holistic fertility treatment
- How fertility awareness helps “infertile” women get pregnant
Is infertility curable?
Some forms of infertility may be curable. Structural anomalies like blocked fallopian tubes in women or varicocele in men are two examples of infertility-causing issues that can be surgically corrected.
Is infertility due to the woman or man?
Women and men can both suffer from infertility. While women are often the main targets for infertility treatment, it is estimated that at least 20-30 percent of infertility cases are solely due to male factor infertility, and that combined with female factor infertility, male factor infertility contributes another 30-50 percent of all infertility cases globally.
Find out more here:
- How FABMs Can Help a Couple with Male Infertility to Conceive
- Why We Really Need Better Options for Treating Male Infertility
- Why is Male Reproductive Health Declining?
When should I see a doctor for infertility?
How soon you should see a doctor for infertility will depend on a variety of factors. For example, your age, whether or not you’ve been charting/having targeted intercourse, how long you’ve been having contraceptive-free sex, and whether or not you have a known reproductive disorder such as endometriosis or PCOS can all have implications for how soon you should seek treatment for infertility. Many doctors will suggest intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF) if a couple has been struggling to get pregnant, but a couple should never feel pressured into artificial reproductive technology (ART) procedures that are often extremely costly, and may not work.
Learn more here:
- How Soon Should You See a Doctor for Infertility?
- 6 Apps That Can Help Couples Understand if their Infertility Is Temporary or Permanent
- The hidden costs of IVF: heartbreak, health risks, and helplessness
- The Dark Side of the Fertility Industry, from a Survivor
How do couples conceive when they stop trying?
We’ve all heard the stories of how couples suffering from infertility–sometimes for years—”magically” conceived once they decided to adopt, used their baby savings fund on something fun, or simply decided to stop trying. It’s such a common anecdote, that one couple who experienced the phenomenon for themselves finally decided to look into why it might have happened—and from that, Organic Conceptions was born.
To go beyond the “just relax” advice to more evidence-based methods of improving mental health and chances of conceiving, read more here:
