Fertility is a blessing every couple wishes to receive in their life! Being fertile and able to achieve a healthy pregnancy requires a woman to produce healthy eggs while a man has to produce healthy sperms.
When, conception occurs, and the embryo implants in the uterus it is a sign of two fertile individuals creating life. However, a disorder influencing any of these processes needed to cause pregnancy can lead to subfertility.
The basic subfertility meaning is the reduction in fertility or a situation characterized by a long time of conception failure leading to childlessness for a long time. An estimation suggests that around 48-50 million couples worldwide face subfertility.
Even when couples engage in regular sex without any protection and still fail to get pregnant, they are considered subfertile. This doesn’t mean infertility in any instance!
Subfertility And Infertility
There is a confusing differentiation between subfertility and infertility whereby both terms almost refer to the same sense of reproductive inability. It is a condition through which conception is delayed a bit and is closely related to infertility.
Subfertility means that conception can take a relatively long duration to occur but the couple stands a reasonable chance to conceive naturally within a given duration.
Subfertility does not mean the complete effort of conceiving but low fertility or difficulty in conception occurs. It is often suspected if a couple has been experience infertility for greater than 12 months but with no clear reasons why conception cannot occur naturally.
Infertility on the other hand is described as the lack of ability to get pregnant after one year of trying out the natural family planning method, often with no protection (or 6 months if the woman is over 35 years of age).
Several reasons can lead to infertility; these are hormonal imbalance, structural problems in reproductive organs, or other disease that put a couple at a risk of not conceiving naturally.
There are also primary infertility (when a couple has not been able to conceive at all) and secondary infertility (when a couple has been unable to conceive again after they already have).
Causes Of Subfertility In Women
There are numerous reasons that contribute to subfertility in a woman. Usually, 25% of subfertility cases are due to female factors that are thoroughly identified and treated. Let’s identify some of such factors in females inviting subfertility:
A) Ovulatory reasons:
Ovulation is the natural process every woman undergoes, each month characterized by the release of eggs. The issue arises from the absence of the release of eggs. You are probably familiar with the term Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). This condition is a driving force leading to subfertility.
Other notable problems include thyroid or premature ovarian failure. Regardless, treatments are always available, and conceiving a child is entirely possible.
B) Endometriosis:
Endometriosis is a state where the lining of the uterus, scientifically termed endometrium is abnormally located outside the uterus. This causes many problems with ovary functioning and the fallopian tubes.
C) Cervical mucus problems:
Cervical mucus is a female body’s mechanism to provide a healthy environment during ovulation and other days of a cycle. However, in situations where, excessive or over production of this mucus occurs, the sperm is unable to cross the layering and fertilize with an egg. Again, this contributes to subfertility.
D) Pelvic inflammatory disease:
Inflammations, and infections in female reproductive parts such as the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries can rupture and damage the internal linings of the fallopian tube acting as a blockage for sperm passing.
E) Medications and surgery:
When a female undergoes any surgery linked to the fallopian tubes or cervix of the uterus, scars or damage if present can also ruin the functioning of the uterus. This again leads to subfertility. Likewise, medications associated with cancer, or any major health problem addressed with heavy medications and drugs can lead to subfertility.
Causes Of Subfertility In Men
1/3rd of all subfertility problems arise from issues in the male reproductive system. To identify the underlying problem, hormone tests, gene studies, reproductive tests, and all other sorts of major investigations are taken forward. Some common problems in men, that lead to subfertility are:
A) Abuse of substances:
Abusing or over-abusing substances like alcohol, drugs, steroids, and tobacco over time diminishes male fertility, contributing to subfertility.
B) Medical Conditions:
Some medical conditions such as cancerous diseases, infections, autoimmune disorders, and surgeries influence the health of a male’s reproductive system.
C) Disorders Arising From Hormonal Causes:
Some, disorders such as Hypothalamus or pituitary disorders, glucocorticoid medications, and Cushing’s syndrome are all hormone-related. The disbalance of such hormones can majorly contribute to elongated time in childbirth.
Other issues such as genetic disorders passed on from generation can also cause subfertility in some cases.
Diagnostics And Treatment: When To Visit A Doctor
Most couples will get pregnant within a year of intercourse. Rushing is not necessary as trying for a couple of months may likely get the job done. However, if you have been trying for over a year, it might be time to visit a fertility specialist.
Also, young couples shouldn’t immediately seek an expert help as the treatment is usually expensive, with lot of diagnosis, scanning, testing and time to devote. Only after repeated failure should young couples look forward for a visit to the clinic!
Breaking down for more clarity, these conditions might be optimal to consider seeing a fertility doctor:
- Failure to conceive even after a year of repetitive unprotected sex attempts
- Youngbloods might not have the urgency to rush, however, women around and above 35-40 and still childless should see treatment.
- Same-sex couples are unable to get pregnant even after six consecutive cycles of artificial insemination
- Men and Women with past history of medical conditions, hormonal imbalances, or recently identified health concerns.
Female Treatment To Sub-fertility
Lifestyle Modifications
There exists a very big relationship between lifestyle changes and fertility rates. A proper body weight that should be observed by the women is one that gives a proper BMI since both being overweight and being underweight are detrimental to fertility.
The additional nutrients such as the antioxidants, folic acid, and vitamins can also be complimented by exercises to improve fertility. Yoga, meditation, or counseling significantly lower the effects of stress on reproductive health.
Further, the prohibitory of hazardous substances inclusive of alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs is important for optimizing the opportunity for conception. One must understanding subfertility meaning and the problems one faces while giving up such bad habits accordingly.
Medications
There are medications that are given for different issues of fertility. The drugs that have been known to work well, especially for women with either irregular cycles or PCOS include Clomiphene Citrate and Letrozole.
Hormonal therapies are used to restore the normal level of some hormones, for instance, low levels of progesterone or thyroid hypofunction.
Another oral contraceptive that has been found helpful in women with PCOS is metformin; it also enhances ovulation and the cycles hence enhancing fertility.
Surgical Interventions
Hysterectomy is frequently undertaken when endoscopic or conservative treatment procedures fail due mostly to structural problems in the fertility of the couple.
Surgery may be performed to correct a blockage or tearing of the fallopian tubes that hinder the interaction of the egg and sperm.
Laparoscopic surgery is done in cases of endometriosis or ovarian cysts that may obstruct conception. In men, varicocele repair can help improve sperm quality and a man’s reproductive system as a whole. Thus, increasing the likelihood of pregnancy.
Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART)
ART refers to hi-tech techniques intended to facilitate fertility. IUI refers to the injection of sperm into the uterus at the disk sometime around the period of ovulation.
In vitro fertilization is a technique where the eggs undergo fertilization out of the body then implanted in the woman’s uterus. ICSI during IVF – Intracytoplasmic sperm injection which comprised of placing one sperm into an egg to facilitate fertilization.
Male subfertility treatment
Male subfertility interventions target individual factors that may cause sperm disability. Microsurgical sperm retrieval is applied in cases of obstructive non-obstructive azoospermia to harvest mature sperm for use in ART.
Hormonal therapies and antioxidants are other common medications that doctors advise to be taken to enhance sperm quality.
Some of the other nondrug interventions that have been suggested to boost male fertility include dieting and giving up toxic substances.
Counseling and Support
Most couples face emotional issues while dealing with subfertility, and this means that couples can benefit from some form of psychological consultation or group.
It assists couples in dealing with infertility treatment; all the pressure and stress that they undergo and the various mechanisms to help them handle the pressure emotionally.
We hope, you are now clear about subfertility meaning and a this article served and cleared all of your doubts and queries.
