Infertility is one of the most heartbreaking things a woman can deal with. It’s defined as the inability to conceive a child after a year of regular and unprotected sex. For women over 35 is defined as the inability to conceive after six months. Understanding whether you are infertile or not isn’t just about whether or not you have periods or whether or not you have any existing medical conditions.
You can have very regular periods and still not be able to conceive because potentially you’re not releasing eggs or your body is giving you fake periods as a way to shed old menstrual blood. You should consider many different things when it comes to determining whether you are dealing with infertility. Lifestyle factors, medical testing, existing medical conditions, all of these can be in the way of your dreams of having a child.
With early intervention, regular scanning, and consultation with specialists, you’ll be able to get some answers.to why you aren’t conceiving a child infertility is different for every single person experiencing it so let’s take a look at some of the signs that you may be dealing with it yourself.
- You are not tracking your menstrual cycle. You already think you’re regular because your menstrual cycle is monthly, but are you tracking ovulation? Are you sure you’re actually releasing an egg every month? The truest way to track whether or not you are ovulating, other than getting a regular ultrasound with your doctor, is to take a daily temperature. The temperature and charting method for conception is very popular for a good reason. When you watch the spikes and dips in your temperature, you can plot on a graph exactly when an egg will drop and your progesterone levels rise.
- You have medical conditions getting in the way. There are certain medical conditions that can affect your fertility levels, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, endometriosis, hyperprolactinemia, and thyroid disorders. This isn’t an exhaustive list of things that could get in the way of you consuming a child, but they’re certainly the most popular ways that can stop you from conceiving. If you are dealing with any chronic conditions, you should discuss these with your health care provider so that you can get on top of them as soon as you can.
- Your lifestyle choices aren’t the greatest. Are you smoking regularly? Is binge drinking on the weekend a pastime of yours? How’s your weight looking? These are just the three factors that can affect your ability to conceive. In fact, they reduce fertility in both men and women. But with a regular healthy diet, getting yourself down to a regular weight, and maintaining that normal weight, you should have the option to improve your chances with your reproductive health.
- You’re not monitoring your symptoms. Are you dealing with heavy, painful periods, pelvic pain or unusual vaginal discharge? If you’ve noticed these and just brush them off as regular women’s issues, then there’s a chance you could be dealing with infertility and just not know about it. Men should be watching for symptoms such as changes in their hair growth or sexual function problems, pain or swelling. As a woman, you’re going to notice symptoms changing, so if your periods have always been heavy and painful, you may not consider this to be a symptom of infertility.
- Getting medical testing. If you suspect infertility in any way, you need to go and get checked. This can include an ultrasound to look at the ovaries and uterus, blood tests twice in your cycle to check your hormone levels, and tests to check for blocked fallopian tubes. There may also be additional hormone tests conducted. Speaking to your doctor, you should be able to get some answers as to why you are struggling to conceive.
- You are getting older. There’s nothing worse than hearing the phrase geriatric mother at the age of 36, but age is a critical factor when it comes to your fertility. Female fertility tends to decline quite rapidly after the age of 35, and that’s due to the decrease in quality and number of eggs available. Men can also experience a decline in fertility with age, although it’s not as prevalent as women.
- You’re just not conceiving. You could be having sex every single day of your cycle and still not conceive a child. The chances of a healthy adult couple conceiving in any given cycle is 25%.
Speak to a specialist if you believe you may be dealing with infertility issues.
