Male infertility has many causes, including medical causes, environmental causes, and lifestyle causes. Human reproduction is a complicated process, one in which any number of things can go wrong. In order for a male to successfully impregnate his partner, there are several crucial steps that must happen: healthy sperm must be produced, sperm must then be transported from the testicles and mixed with semen prior to ejaculation, there must be a high enough number of sperm in the semen, and the sperm must be functioning and motile.
Infertility Treatments
Many couples seek infertility treatment to help them have children. Insurance for fertility treatments is complicated. Many policies cover some treatments and not others. Unfortunately, fertility insurance is only available in some state in the United States. However, there are several major insurance companies that offer fertility insurance. Continue reading article>
FAQs: Do Fertility Drugs Actually Work?
When a couple has trouble conceiving, infertility drugs are often the first step in increasing hormones in the female body to encourage ovulation. Some question the effectiveness of these medications and wonder when should an infertility treatment be used? The FAQ below provides some insight into these questions. Continue Reading Article >
How to Deal With Infertility Treatment Not Going As Planned
“It’s not fair, there are babies having babies every day. I’m ready - I have a supportive partner, a stable job, and I want a family. Why isn’t this working?”
Exploring different fertility solutions can be really hard, and in a lot of different ways, but you’re not alone. Many women are now pushing children back on their timelines so they can focus on themselves, their relationships, and their careers. Unfortunately, the fertility timeline has stayed the same, so these women can often struggle with infertility.
In fact, “infertility” was recently redefined - any couple who has been unsuccessful at getting pregnant after more than a year of regular unprotected sex. If you're currently undergoing infertility treatment it's not going as planned, here's how to cope with your situation.
Physical Toll
Being pregnant is hard, but what a lot of people don’t realize is actually getting pregnant could be a whole lot harder. One of the first infertility treatments involves medication (and most other treatments require medication in tandem). According to NHS Choices and American Pregnancy, possible side effects include:
● Depression, Irritability, or Mood Swings
● Restlessness, Insomnia, Dizziness, Blurred Vision, or Headaches
● Nausea or Vomiting
● Nasal Congestion
● Hot Flashes, Breast Tenderness, or Decreased Breast Size
● Decreased Blood Pressure or Bone Density Loss
● Swelling/Rash at the Injection Site
● Painful Intercourse, Ovarian Cysts, Pelvic Discomfort, or Vaginal Dryness
● Ovarian Hyper-stimulation Syndrome (OHSS) - This is when medication sensitivity causes too many eggs to develop in the ovaries. Symptoms include pain/bloating in the lower abdomen, vomiting, shortness of breath, and feeling faint.
IVF side effects include clear or bloody fluid, cramping, bloating, constipation, or breast tenderness.
Financial Toll
We know how expensive fertility treatments cost, but since there are so many more options now and more families are utilizing them, more insurance companies are covering certain treatments. In fact, some financiers and medical providers are even offering partial and full refunds when a treatment is unsuccessful.
Emotional Toll
You can find a mental health counselor who specializes in helping deal with infertility through the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. It’s important to talk to someone, even if you’re simply looking for support, but there are plenty of reasons to speak to a fertility counselor.
They can help you when depression starts to transcend other areas of your life, like your relationships or your career. They can also help you sift through all your options, so they don’t overwhelm you. If you’re considering gamete donations, surrogacy, adoption, or a childfree life, you should definitely talk to a counselor about that. It’s a lot to accept, and something you might not realize you need help with.
Even if you have a wonderful, supportive partner, counseling can be great for you. Couples will handle stress in different ways, and a lot of times, it can cause stress between the two. A counselor can help you get through it together or help give you what you need as individuals.
By Joanna Hynes
5 Unproductive Infertility Treatments to Not Follow
Infertility is often seen as an infection of the procreant system because it fails to provide a baby after 12 months or sometimes longer of unprotected sexual intercourse. There can be symptoms in each partner in a relationship. Males can often be tested to see if they are having infertile issues by doctors who utilized clinical interventions, or men may give a sample of their semen to have tested in a laboratory.
Often times, desperate times call for desperate measures. When someone wants to have a baby and aren't getting pregnant quick enough, they will turn to various treatments that simply don't provide results. We're here to steer you in the right direction, so here's 5 unproductive infertility treatments not to follow!
1) Staying relaxed will not help you get pregnant.
Some couples buy into the myth that if the woman will only relax then she will become pregnant. The couple will go on to believing that this a form of infertility treatment, but it is not. Fertility problems are medicinal, and they should be treated in the proper and clinical manner, consulting on the advice of a medical professional.
2) Naturopathy procedures are not dependable.
Some couples fall into the Naturopathy philosophy, which is okay for relaxing, but naturopathy procedures follow the belief that life is ruled by power beyond oneself, which is not science. Scientific procedures test and diagnose your body through a series of tests in order to come to a conclusion on what might help you to become a fertile woman. Naturopathy procedures typically pick methods of naturalistic processes based on what they feel is congruent with their vitalistic philosophy, sometimes in contrast to good scientific evidence which proves that they are wrong.
3) Natural medicine isn't the "cure-all" answer.
Some people follow Infertility & Herbal Medicine because natural therapists believe that herbal remedies are a great treatment for infertility. However, there is no reputable role through herbal remedies in treating infertility because no products have been confirmed to have meaningful effects. There is also the teratogen (a birth defect) which is a risk that comes with consuming herbal medicines. Herbal products can often bring risk, with no established benefit in the case of fertile production. (Note: Herbal medicines rarely have significant side effects when they are prescribed by a Board-certified Specialist, and are used appropriately and at suggested doses.)
4) Acupuncture doesn't affect your chance to conceive.
Unexplained infertility follows the idea that doctors cannot figure out why you are not becoming pregnant. Some couples become desperate after hearing this tragic news, so they result to methods of therapy like acupuncture in hopes of becoming fertile. However, most scientists believe that acupuncture does not do any good when trying to help cater to a possible pregnancy. Again the scientific reasoning stems from the fact that infertility has a physiologic cause, and acupuncture does not target this area with any objective effects.
5) Prenatal vitamins can affect fertility, but only in combination with other treatments.
A fertility diet plan is always a good idea when it is executed the right way. When you follow a good diet plan, it is proven to help boost your chances of fertility. Sadly, some couples leave the scientifically proven methods of effectiveness to venture into other territories that are even science-based, like prenatal vitamins. Prenatal vitamins do help in certain areas, but there is no solid evidence that these vitamins provide a prenatal benefit.
Struggling to get pregnant is a difficult situation to cope with, especially with infertility staring you in the face. However, it's important to not lose sight of proven methods. While it is okay to venture out and try these methods, it's imperative to understand that these treatments are not your key to fertility. If you're having difficulty conceiving, contact your doctor to discuss the right course of action.