Infertility,the factors to Know
Infertility refers to a condition where there is no pregnancy, even after one year of regular sexual intercourse Now a days Infertility has become very common . There are several reasons which may affect fertility. This infertility may be caused in man or in woman.
Couples in their most active and productive years are distracted by the physical, financial and emotional hardships of this disease. Infertility is more than a disease, it is a devastating life crisis which can greatly impact the couple's general health, marriage, family relationships, job performance and social interactions. This may lead to financial burden seeking for their treatment.
What is Infertility?
Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system that impairs one of the body's most
Important & fundamental functions that is conceiving.
Conceiving. Is a phenomenon that depends upon many factors: on the production of healthy sperm by the man and healthy eggs by the woman.
Unblocked fallopian tubes that allow the sperm to reach the egg,
the sperm's ability to fertilize the egg when they meet,
the ability of the fertilized egg (embryo) to become implanted in the woman's uterus; and sufficient embryo quality.
Finally, for the pregnancy to continue to full term, the embryo must be healthy and the woman's hormonal environment adequate for its development. When just one of these factors is impaired, infertility can result.
Male Infertility
Failure to produce enough sperm is the leading cause of being infertile. Low sperm count or complete absence of living sperm could contribute to the condition. Large numbers of abnormally or unusually shaped sperm could reduce the mans fertility. Sperm quality and concentration of sperm is analyzed.
Causes of low sperm count may include
Hormonal problems in the testicles or pituitary gland.
Genetic factors.
Testicular injury, infection or failure.
Drug use.
Environmental factors including chemical pollution and exposure to radiation. Medical conditions such as a varicocele in the testicles, blocked ejaculation due to a surgical vasectomy, absence or blockage of a vas deferens due to birth defect or infections (The vas deferens is a narrow, muscular tube that connects the testicles to the prostate gland), retrograde ejaculation (the ejaculation of semen into the bladder rather than out through the penis), Chromosomal problems.
Problem caused by the immune system after an infection, vasectomy or injury to the testicles. The man may develop, an auto-immune response in which his immune system treats his sperm as 'foreign' and produce antibodies against them.
Female Infertility
Blocked fallopian tubes that allow the sperm to reach the egg.
There is increased chance of miscarriage and chromosomal abnormalities in a baby as women become older. The chance of becoming pregnant in the general population after the age of 40 is estimated to be only 5% cycle compared to about 20% per cycle under the age of 40. Combined infertility
In some cases, both the man and woman may be infertile or sub-fertile, and the couple's infertility arises from the combination of these conditions. In other cases, the cause is suspected to be immunological or genetic; it may be that each partner is independently fertile but the couple cannot conceive together without assistance.
Unexplained infertility
In about 15% of cases the infertility investigation will show no abnormalities. In these cases abnormalities are likely to be present but not detected by current methods. Possible problems could be that the egg is not released at the optimum time for fertilization, that it may not enter the fallopian tube, sperm may not be able to reach the egg, fertilization may fail to occur, transport of the zygote may be disturbed, or implantation fails. It is increasingly recognized that egg quality is of critical importance and women of advanced maternal age have eggs of reduced capacity for normal and successful fertilization.
Infertility treatments
It covers a broad spectrum of conditions which can be minor or serious. Infertility related to men is initially investigated usually with a physical examination along with a discussion about past and present medical history. A physical exam determines the general health of both partners. The doctor will pay special attention to the outer sex organs as well as characteristics such as breast development and body hair in both partners to check for structural abnormalities or signs of possible hormone problems. The medical history gathers information that may suggest causes for infertility in each of the partners. Issues that will be discussed during the medical history apply to both the man and the woman
Testing to determine the cause of infertility in men
There are number of test to establish the cause of infertility. The first tests are done to check the man's semen (Semen Analysis). A sample of semen may be analyzed to know the sperm count and quality of sperm. The Sperm mucus Penetration Test and the Sperm Penetration Assay (SPA) are used to test the sperm's function. Scanning of the reproductive organs to see if there is a physical abnormalities and blood or urine test to check the hormone levels are also done.
Treatments
The treatments include drug therapy or possibly surgery to improve the situation. There is no effective treatment for lack of sperm. Low sperm count can be treated with artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization with partner or donor sperm. A testicular biopsy is done for men who have no sperm in the ejaculate to find out whether they have immature sperm in the testes. In vitro fertilization, intrauterine insemination, or gamete intrafallopian transfer are done for reproduction in such cases. For retrograde ejaculation (the ejaculation of semen into the bladder rather than out through the penis), sperm may be recovered from the bladder, washed, and used for insemination. Surgery can be done to reverse a vasectomy or to repair enlarged veins in the scrotum (varicocele repair)
Intrauterine insemination ( IUI)
An IUI -- intrauterine insemination -- is performed by threading a very thin flexible catheter through the cervix and injecting washed sperm directly into the uterus. The whole process doesn't take very long — it usually only requires the insertion of a speculum and then the catheter, a process that maybe takes a couple of minutes (60-90 seconds to introduce the catheter, then sperm injection, and another 60 seconds or so to remove the catheter — going slowly helps reduce discomfort). Sometimes when the cervix is hard to reach a tenaculum is used to hold the cervix, which makes the process a bit more uncomfortable.
In vitro fertilisation (IVF)
Is a technique in which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the woman's womb ,in vitro . IVF is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed. The process involves hormonally controlling the ovulatory process, removing ova (eggs) from the woman's ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a fluid medium. The fertilised egg ( zygote ) is then transferred to the patient's uterus with the intent to establish a successful pregnancy.
INTRA CYTOPLASMIC SPERM INJECTION (ICSI)
Until the 90's males with very low counts (less than 5 million per ml) or poor quality sperms had no hope of fathering children. This problem was surmounted by the new breakthrough of ICSI, which took place in Brussels, Belgium in 1992.
In ICSI all the steps are similar to the procedure of IVF, except the step of fertilization. Normally in IVF one egg is mixed with 100,000 sperms and one of the sperms fertilizes the egg on its own. In contrast, in ICSI each egg is held and injected with a single live sperm..
Now a days since the infertility problem is widespreaded we can see assisted reproductive centers allover the world. Here I am trying to list some of the major centers in Bangalore, India
BANGALORE ASSISTED CONCEPTION CENTRE
No : 6/7, Kumarakrupa Road,
High Grounds, Bangalore - 560 001.
INDIA.
Telephone : 91-80-22260880,
91-80-22269245
91-80-41138255,
91-80-41138256
Fax : 91-80-2250465
Tele medicine ISDN No. : 91-80-22357535
website http://www.baccweb.com/
drpatilfertilityclinic
Center for Assisted Reproductive Technology,
No 1, Uma Admirality,
First floor, Bannerghatta Road,
Bangalore - 560029
Phone: 080 - 41201357 / 41462419
Mobile: 9945221622 E-Mail: drpatilfertilityclinic@yahoo.com
DR Ramesh Hospital
#6/63, 59th Cross,
4th Block, Rajajinagar,
Opp. MEI Polytechnic,
Bangalore - 560 010
Karnataka State,
INDIA.
Phone : +91 80 23151873
Fax : +91 80 23116750
Cell : +91 98440 27296
Email :info@laparoscopicsurgeries.com
Dr. M. Gunasheela
#1/8, Gunasheela Surgery and Medical Hospital
Dewan Madhav Rao Road Basavanagudi
Bangalore - 560004 Phone: 080-26673585
Alfa Clinic
#N18 ,24th Main, LIC Colony,
1st PhaseJ.P. Nagar
Bangalore - 560078
Landmark: Opposite Shanthi Sagar
Phone: 080-22443279, 41214424
Advanced Fertility Centre:
# 1313, 9th Cross, 27th Main,
I Phase, JP Nagar, B’lore-78;
Ph: 26347788, 26347789,
website http://www.afcbangalore.com/
Cambridge hospital
Contact Person Name : Dr. N Rangaraj
Address : 18 -17, Cambridge Road,
Ulsoor, Bangalore-560008,
Karnataka (India).
Phone : 080 25367777
080 41715111
Fax : 080 25549162
Pravin Kini's Infertility Clinic
Address : G M Health Care Cambridge Road, HAL 2nd Stage,
Bangalore - 560008. Phone : 22210913
Hope Infertility Clinic & Research Foundation
Aga Abbas Ali RoadSivanchetty Garden
Bangalore - 560042 Landmark:
Near Job Street.Com
Phone: 080-25583836
Cart – Fertility center
Address : 784 5th Block
17th B Main R Nagar, Rajajinagar,
Bangalore - 560010.
Phone : 23505006
Child Care Clinic
#159 2nd A Cross,
4th Main, Domlur 2nd Stage,
Domlur Layout,Domlur
Bangalore - 560071
Landmark: Near Domlur Clock
Phone: 080- 66379418
