Signs of infertility
What are the signs of infertility? Are there actually symptoms to tell if a woman or man is suffering a fertility problem?
While there are no apparent outward signs (like rashes or redness kind of signs) to indicate that you or your partner is infertile, the first symptom of infertility – based on medical definition – is when after a year of regular unprotected sex (done more than once during the window of your fertile days), you still can’t get pregnant.
There are several early warning signs or risk factors that may hint a possible infertility problem. If you have any of these symptoms or signs of infertility, you should speak to your doctor or fertile specialist even before you spend one year trying to conceive.
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Irregular menstrual cycles or not having period
This is one of the important signs of infertility in women. An irregular cycle, which can be unusually short (less than 24 days) or long (more than 35 days), or become unpredictable, may be a sign of ovulation problems.
If you are not having your menstrual periods (amenorrhea), this could also indicate infertility or other medical condition. Unless you have been taking birth control pills that may take several cycles for your period to resume the normal pattern, you would want to see your doctor to rule out any underlying medical conditions, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome or malformed reproductive organs (e.g. ovary is twisted or not positioned at the right place).
Have had more than three consecutive miscarriages
Infertility is usually interpreted as the inability to get pregnant. A woman who experiences recurrent miscarriages is also considered infertile after she has had three repeated miscarriage.
Presence of medical conditions in the reproductive system
Any of the following conditions may contribute to infertility, and they require medical intervention before you are able to get pregnant:
* Endometriosis
* Pelvic inflammatory disease
* Narrowing of the cervix
* Fibroids in the uterus
Other risk factors or signs of infertility
* You are older than 35 years old – at age 30, a woman’s chance of conceiving during any one cycle is 20%, and by age 40 the chance drops to a very low 5%. If you are over 35 years old, you should seek assistance if pregnancy does not occur after 6 months of unprotected sex.
* You are either underweight or overweight – Too thin or overweight can lead to infertility problems.
* You or your partner smoke or drink alcohol – these habits have been associated with male and female infertility.
* You have a history of sexually transmitted disease (STD) – STDs, such as chlamydia or gonorrhea, can result in blockage of the fallopian tubes, making pregnancy either impossible or increasing the risk of ectopic pregnancy.
* Your partner experience ejaculatory problems – Sexual dysfunction can be a red flag for male factor infertility. But this doesn’t necessarily reflect low sperm counts or inhibited sperm mobility, which can only be determined through a sperm analysis.
* You or your partner had been treated for cancer in the past – cancer treatments, particularly radiation treatment around the reproductive organs area, may be a cause to fertility problems.
For the risk factors and signs of infertility mentioned above, some inevitably need medical intervention or surgical procedures to have them removed, while some can be overcome with holistic treatment methods, which include eating a well balanced diet, doing proper exercise, using Chinese medicines, herbs and acupunctures.