Infertility: The Facts

Infertility means being unable to have children. Many couples face this discouraging problem. You are not considered infertile until you have been having sex without birth control for one year. If this describes you, you should talk to your doctor or nurse.

If you and your partner are trying to get pregnant, you should have sex when you are ovulating. This occurs when the egg reaches a place where it can be fertilized by sperm. This is when a woman can get pregnant. It is best to have sex a few days around this time frame.

If you don't get pregnant in one year, after using no birth control, you should speak to your doctor or nurse. After a woman hits 30, her chances for getting pregnant lessen and take a huge drop at age 40. If you are over 30 or 40, you may decide to see your doctor before one year is over.

After age 25, men do not make as much sperm as younger men do. Some are still quite fertile into their 60s and 70s though. Some men can be completely infertile, making no sperm or too few sperm.

Men can take precautions to increase their sperm quality and quantity. Quality rest and diet are needed for a man to make enough sperm. Stress may decrease the quality of a man's sperm. Alcohol and drugs should also be avoided, as well as cigarettes and certain medicines. Lead or bug killer can have harmful effects on sperm as well. Tight-fitting underwear, hot tubs, and saunas, should be avoided. These can lessen the quantity of healthy sperm.

Fertility tests are available for both men and women. Sperm can be examined under a microscope to check their quality and quantity. An at-home-ovulation predictor test can help a woman know when she is ovulating for better planned parenthood.

You and your partner should visit a fertility clinic if the woman is not having regular periods, if the woman has had three or more miscarriages, if the man has had three or more miscarriages with another partner, if the woman has had pelvic infections or the man has had mumps or a prostate infection, or if the woman or man did not get pregnant with another partner.

There are many drugs and surgeries available for treating infertility, as well as in-vitro fertilization, to help you and your partner achieve pregnancy and parenthood.

Source:

http://www.fda.gov/womens/getthefacts/infertility.html