Male vs. Female Infertility: Understanding the Causes and Treatments Available in Ajmer
Infertility can play a rollercoaster of emotions, which is why 7% of infertile couples experience depression and anxiety. This taboo needs to be removed, so couples start talking to fertility experts rather than hiding behind fake masks. Regardless of gender, couples should seek medical attention and resolve the issue together. Ajmer is known for its rich culture, but now it also stands out with transformative fertility treatments.
This article intends to bring awareness and knowledge about male vs female fertility, and understanding the causes and the treatment available in Ajmer. This time, let’s shed light not only on female infertility but on male fertility also.
Do you know?
– One out of 6 couples face difficulty in conceiving.
– 80 million couples face infertility, where 20 million are alone from India alone.
– Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Delhi, and Goa exhibit the highest number of infertility cases, because of factors like lifestyle, age of marriage, etc.
– Male infertility contributes 40% to 50% in cases when couples are unable to get success in childbearing.
– After 30, women’s fertility dropped to 25%, and after 40, it decreased to 5%. While men over 35 have 25%, and under 35 have 52%.
– Fallopian tubes hold 25-35% responsibility of female fertility.
Breaking down of Factors: Male vs. female infertility
The biological symphony:
- Fact: Although women are born with specific finite eggs, it decreases with eggs. And there is a time when women stop releasing eggs. Men produce sperm throughout their lives, but that doesn’t mean they can achieve healthy pregnancies.
– Male:
By age, the sperm volume decreases from 3% to 22%, sperm motility reduces from 35 to 37%, and the shape and size of the sperm become abnormal from 4% to 18%. It works like this- decreased semen volume reduces sperm count which increases the odds of conception. After 40, male fertility started to decline, and due to sperm morphology and motility, fetal death and miscarriage issues also develop.
– Female:
Every month, women shed some eggs, and after some point of age, they reach menopause where their ovulation becomes irregular. And after 30, eggs rapidly declined, and by 40, it reached its 10% capability only. Not only this, but the genetic material is damaged also, and because of these genetic abnormalities, the chances of Down syndrome and other issues spike up.
Medical conditions:
- Fact: Even after proper ejaculation and regular periods, several hidden medical conditions impact fertility in both men and women. Almost 30-50% of men and women who are dealing with infertility have some medical condition.
Male:
– Hormonal disbalance: The disbalance of testosterone, luteinizing hormones, and follicle-stimulating hormones directly influences the quality and quantity of sperm.
– Infection: STI, gonorrhea, and chlamydia are some of which damage sperm production.
– Varicocele: when scrotum veins become enlarged and allow the blood to pool in veins instead of going back to the heart. This disrupts sperm count, morphology, and motility.
– Testicular disorder: when swelling in the scrotum and testicle happens, then this is known as a testicular disorder. It can happen due to injury or genetics, and make testicles unable to produce enough hormones. It causes the absence of sperm, oligospermia, asthenospermia, and teratozoospermia.
– Disturbed sperm maturation: when sperm development gets interrupted and makes immature and abnormal sperm. Immature sperm that leave the testicle lack of capacity to fertilize eggs. To improve this, specific proteins and enzymes are required for maturation, so rather than delaying focus on a healthy lifestyle, leave toxins behind and have healthy food.
– Low sperm production: hormonal issues, lifestyle, environment, and genetic conditions can create this issue. It reduces sperm’s ability to fertilize eggs.
– Azoospermia: due to blockage in the reproductive tract, vasectomy, cancer, etc., ejaculation contains no sperm, then it is a sign of this issue. No sperm means no pregnancy.
– Poor morphology: when sperms are abnormally shaped, they lose their ability.
Female:
– Ovulation disorder: due to structural issues, PCOS, etc., eggs don’t release normally and cause a risk of infertility.
– Cervical abnormalities: when cervix cells and structure become abnormal, it hinders sperm movement due to the narrow cervical canal, and prevents sperm from reaching eggs.
– Autoimmune disease: due to this, the immune system targets ovarian follicles and damages eggs, decreases ovarian reserve, increases inflammation, affects the thyroid gland, and so on. Such as thyroid, it attacks the thyroid gland and creates either too many hormones or very less which disturbs the menstrual cycle.
– Damage to the fallopian tube or blockage: to prevent the meeting of sperm and eggs, or if somehow sperm passes through the tube, it leads to ectopic pregnancy.
– Surgeries: pelvic, ovarian cyst, and endometriosis surgery can cause infertility in women. They have the ability to scar the fallopian tube.
– Endometriosis: almost 30% of women with infertility issues have endometriosis. This tissue grows outside the uterus leaves a scared fallopian tube, and damages the ovaries.
Hormonal challenges: these impact the menstrual cycle, and ovulation, shorten the luteal phase, and restrict the uterine lining to grow normally, and these create complications in getting pregnant.
– Pelvic inflammatory disease: this is an infection in the reproductive tract that directly impacts the fallopian tubes, cervix, ovaries, and uterus. Basically, it happens due to sexually transmitted infections.
Lifestyle choices:
- Fact: Adopting a healthy lifestyle only when one wants to conceive is not going to cover up the things that you have in your body. These buckle up to bring unexpected results like infertility.
Male:
Excess storage of fat around the abdomen area and consumption of alcohol and smoking impair sperm production, and lower testosterone and estrogen levels, and this disturbs sperm function. Obesity also increases oxidative stress, and inflammation, which compromise the DNA of sperm. According to the National Family Health Survey, 29.2% and 1.2% of men and women consume alcohol respectively.
Female:
You don’t know what unhealthy and saturated fat food items doing to your body. Adipose tissue (fat tissue), is the largest endocrine organ that influences reproductive health. This disturbs bioactive factors, leptin, progesterone, and estrogen. And if visceral adiposity increases, it disrupts ovarian function, endometrial receptivity, and ovulation. Moreover, fat accumulation around the pelvic area restricts blood from flowing properly which impacts fertility chances by compressing blood flow and causing physical barriers.
Emotional journey
- Fact: Stress might not directly reduce your ability to become pregnant, but it does impact those cells and hormones that help you to conceive.
Male:
Chronic stress in men has the ability to disrupt the hypothalamic-pituitary gland which is responsible for regulating sex hormones. Also, it increases the release of cortisol levels which are stress hormones. Cortisol can interfere with the signals that trigger testosterone production. Moreover, due to stress, protein and RNA synthesis also decreases because of glucocorticoids resulting in a low level of the testosterones.
Female:
Just like men, chronic stress has a direct link to hormonal imbalance. Due to stress, the body produces more cortisol levels and this disturbs the menstrual cycle, which influences ovulation. Moreover, due to imbalanced hormones, the body’s reproductive system is disrupted which creates difficulty in conceiving naturally. And those women who are stressed because of their inability to get pregnant are more depressed due to societal pressure and isolate themselves. In simple words, stress triggers HPA (hypothalamic pituitary adrenal), and this interferes release of gonadotropin-releasing hormones (which are vital to stimulate follicle-stimulating hormones (FSH)).
Treatment options
This surging trend is raising concern. N number of factors cause male and female infertility, but you should focus on solutions to improve your possibilities. Here are the treatment options recommended by the fertility experts.
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Medications
– Gonadotropins: this pill aids in triggering ovulation to produce mature eggs. It works just like FSH, it mimics the function of egg development. In men, it stimulates sperm production by targeting specific cells in the testicles.
– Human menopausal stimulating hormones- stimulate ovulation which increases the chances of pregnancy. While, it is also recommended by the doctor for men who have low sperm count, delayed puberty, and experiencing infertility.
– Metformin: this is majorly used for women with insulin resistance and PCOS. But in men, it enhances the quality of sperm by reducing oxidative stress, balancing hormones, and regulating insulin levels.
– Human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG)- by stimulating FSH and LH, it improves the development of follicles in ovaries. Even this is also used in ART treatment like IVF. Those men who are experiencing low sperm count can consider this medicine after a doctor’s recommendation.
There are options also available, but Parihar Fertility Center recommended that, first you should consult with the specialist to know what the actual issue is. But if you are considering medication, talk to a professional, but you don’t know which medication can react.
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Assisted reproductive technology
– IVF (in-vitro fertilization)- this is one of the most opted options. The process involves retrieving eggs from ovaries and combining them with sperm in the lab. Once the embryologist gets the desired result from the combination, it is placed inside the woman and lets the couple enjoy their parenthood. This is one of the safest options for infertility. The previous year, more than 300,000 people chose the IVF option to become parents.
– Intracytoplasmic sperm injection- in this, the embryologist injects a single sperm in each egg and only injects 2 or 3 quality embryos inside the uterus.
– Assisted hatching- fertility experts create a hole in the outer layer of the embryo to hatch the embryo and implant it into the uterine wall.
– Intrauterine insemination- the procedure of this treatment is to prepare the sperm, but directly into the uterus rather than doing it in the uterus. This treatment is opted for by the doctors when either of the couple is dealing with a medical condition that is impacting their fertility.
– Third-party ART- if a woman or man is dealing with immature eggs or sperm, then a fertility expert recommends this treatment. In this, couples use donor eggs or sperm or donor embryos.
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Surgery
Female:
Surgeries like hysteroscopy, tubal surgeries, microsurgery, laparoscopic surgery, etc., are some of the surgeries that help to improve endometriosis, fibroids, scar tissue, polyps, reproductive tract, and tubal issues.
Male:
To correct the structural issue, several surgeries are also conducted for men. Vasectomy reversal is to reconnect the tubes that carry the sperm from the testicle into semen, varicocelectomy is to treat varicocele by removing the enlarged veins, and sperm retrieval is to ensure that the semen does carry sperm. Although, based on the condition and situation of the person, fertility professionals recommend the option.
Why choose Parihar Fertility Center?
Before choosing any treatment option, it is common to know the reputation and success rate of the clinic. At Parihar, patients get the best fertility treatment advanced with cutting-edge technologies, supportive staff and environment, hygiene, skilled doctors, and highly successful cases in achieving pregnancy. There are numerous causes that let you understand male vs female infertility are highlighted in the article, along with the understanding of the causes and treatment options, but now it is time to do something about it. Delaying is not the solution; it will only cause significant negative outcomes.
We, Parihar Fertility Center are available for you. If you are looking for a highly expert IVF Center in Ajmer, contact us. It is your time to shine and start a family you always dreamt of.