Infertility in women
Infertility in women
Are you trying to get pregnant but still without success? If you’ve only been attempting for several months, no need to worry. Even in optimal conditions with both partners healthy, the chances of getting pregnant don’t exceed 25%. If your attempts are going on for over a year now, you are medically speaking infertile. A few examinations are all it takes to find the issue. 85% of couples are pregnant after a few months of treatment.
Causes of Female Infertility:
Increasing age results in decreasing quality and amount of released eggs, which means that your chances of getting pregnant begin to plummet. Smoking, drugs and stress also negatively impact female fertility. Infertility or compromised fertility can also have other causes:
- Ovarian factor – ovary does not create or release a mature egg (anovulation)
- Tubal factor – damage to fallopian tubes (oviducts), missing or obstructed fallopian tubes
- Endometriosis – particles of endometrium (uterine lining) are present outside the uterus and form adhesions
- Immunological factor – antibody formation against sperm, eggs, or embryo
- Genetical cause of infertility
- Congenital development diseases of the uterus
- Inflammatory diseases of the female reproductive system
- Hormonal causes – for instance polycystic ovary syndrome
- Premature menopause
How We Examine the Cause of Female Infertility
After an initial consultation, a doctor will recommend further tests best suited for your case. A handful of simple examinations uncover the cause of infertility in 80% of couples. But it can be more complicated.
Anamnesis
We ask whether you suffered from severe diseases, allergies, had any operations or long-term prescription drug usage. We also enquire about your menstrual cycle – how long and regular it is and how many days you bleed. Information about previous pregnancies, births, miscarriages or hormonal contraception usage is also important. We focus on everything that could have an effect on fertility and recommend further examinations based on the consultation.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound examination is painless. It is indispensable to stating the initial diagnosis. Using ultrasound allows us to examine the inner reproductive organs, shape and size of uterus, height of endometrium (uterine lining), oviducts and ovaries. We focus on all deviations which could correlate with your fertility issues – for example polyps, endometrial and post-operation adhesions.
Hysteroscopy
Hysteroscopy is an endoscopic method enabling the monitoring of the inside of the uterus and sampling the uterine lining for microscopic examination. Hysteroscopy can for example uncover congenital uterine defects or polyps on the uterine lining.
We use a hysteroscope for the examination. It is a metal tube only a few millimetres thick, fitted with a camera. The doctor displays a detailed image on a computer.
Laparoscopic Examination
This testing is done under complete anaesthesia, which is why it is not among the first choices. It is used when there is a suspected damage to fallopian tubes or after an unsuccessful fertilisation.
There is no need to fear laparoscopy, it is only minimally invasive. Only a 1 cm wide cut in the belly area is needed to insert the laparoscope. To make the organs stand out more for examining, we fill the belly with gas and check the patency of oviducts and examine the surrounding organs and pelvis.
If the examination uncovers a surgically solvable cause of infertility, we simply attach surgical equipment to the laparoscope and remove the obstacle immediately.
Genetic Examination
Genetic examinations are a recent breakthrough in the treatment of infertility. They are part of every couple’s treatment. These examinations help us discover the cause of infertility and have a positive impact on the following treatment.
Immunological Treatment
The female body can produce antibodies which act against their partner’s sperm, their own eggs or even embryo. In order to be able to screen for the antibodies, we take a small blood sample. Nothing more is required.
If we find out that an overactive immune reaction is the cause of infertility, a simple in-vitro fertilisation should solve your problem.
Laboratory Blood Analysis
We focus on:
- Levels of hormones that affect conception,
- AMH or Ant-Müllerian hormone,
- Thyroid gland function (TSH, T3-tyronine, T4-thyroxine, anti-TPO),
- Sexually transmitted diseases (hepatitis B a C, HIV, syphilis).
