Over six million Americans experience an impaired ability to conceive. So, if you are infertile, you are not alone. Still, you are probably wondering, now what?
Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive after one year of actively trying. Fortunately, for the 20% of couples that do have trouble, a number of assisted reproductive techniques can aid in getting pregnant.
Intrauterine insemination is a process used in couples where the man experiences impotence or premature ejaculation or the woman has problems with her cervical mucus. During intrauterine insemination, a thin catheter allows sperm to be inserted into the cervix through the vagina.
The process, which takes place during ovulation, is fairly painless and is over in minutes. If a woman is considered a good candidate for intrauterine insemination. She will often take fertility medication that helps induce ovulation, hopefully increasing her future pregnancy rates.
Another option, in vitro fertilization or IVF, is a technique in which a woman’s eggs are removed and fertilized with her partner’s sperm in a laboratory. The fertilized eggs are then implanted in her womb. IVF is a good option for couples where the woman suffers from a condition called endometriosis, which can result in blocked fallopian tubes. It is also considered, when the man has a low sperm count.
As with intra-uterine insemination, the woman will be given fertility drugs to stimulate ovulation and egg development. However, some women may have more luck using a donor’s eggs or may need to try IVF more than once. In some cases, a woman will not be able to get pregnant even with these fertilization techniques.
At this point, some couples will consider surrogacy. Gestational surrogacy is a procedure where the commissioning parents produce an egg and sperm which are combined in the lab and then transplanted into a surrogate mother who will grow and birth the baby. In this procedure, the surrogate does not contribute genetically to the baby to be. Traditional surrogacy is a more common procedure where a surrogate mother agrees in advance to give her genetic child to the couple who want to baby.
In this case, the surrogate usually gets pregnant via artificial insemination, sometimes with the commissioning man’s sperm. Infertility can be devastating for couples who wish to have a child but modern science offers a host of options that can help. If you believe you may be infertile, talk to your doctor about the procedure that is right for you. Want to learn more? Check out other videos and sources on this site for more information.
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