Infertility - Infertility Treatment

Male Infertility

It is rare for sperm to be completely absent, and most cases of male infertility are due to poorly performing sperm (sperm dysfunction). This can occur in reduced or normal sperm counts, and often the cause of the dysfunction cannot be determined. Sometimes it can be caused by previous viral infections, such as mumps, or previously undescended, or damaged testicles. Occasionally, sperm dysfunction can be caused by the presence of sperm antibodies, which attach the sperm. There are virtually no effective treatments for sperm dysfunction.

Female Infertility

Failure of ovulate is often associated with absent of infrequent periods. With the exception of early menopause, nearly all causes of ovulation failure can be treated. Damage to the tubes, or pelvic adhesions (bands of scar tissue binding pelvic organs together) usually happens as a result of pelvic infection, often sexually transmitted, or previous surgery, such as removal of the appendix. Infection often damages the lining of the Fallopian tubes, making success rates for achieving pregnancy after surgery for tubal blockage less than 50 percent.

Endometriosis, a condition where tissue resembling the lining of the womb is found at other sites in the body, particularly the pelvis, is a common cause of infertility. When present to any extent within the pelvis, the ovaries and Fallopian tubes can become densely bound in adhesions. Unexplained infertility, where all investigations are normal, usually means that the couple have simply been unlucky so far, and the majority will conceive naturally within two to three years.

Infertility Treatments

Before tests and treatments are carried out, your doctor will ask you about your state of health, your lifestyle, your medical history and menstrual cycle. If the women is not ovulating, blood tests to check the levels of certain hormones may be carried out and drugs may be prescribed to stimulate ovulation.
Ovulation failure is initially treated using a drug called clomiphene, taken at the beginning of the menstrual cycle. There is a slight increase in the rate of twin pregnancies using clomiphene. If clomiphene fails, or in some cases of unexplained infertility, drugs that mimic the body's own hormones, called gonadotrophins, are given by injection. Complications include over-stimulation of the ovaries, and multiple pregnancies.

In-vitro fertilization(IVF) involves stimulating theovaries with drugs and tracking the development of follicles in the ovary using ultrasound. The eggs are collected using a fine needle, fertilized inthe laboratory, and returned to the uterus two or three days later. Usually, two embryos are used, and success rate are around 20-30 percent per cycle. A more specialized formof IVF, involving returning embryos to the Fallopian tubes, is known as gamete intra-fallopian transfer, or GIFT.

In men with very low sperm counts, a single sperm can be obtained, either from a semen sample, or drawn off directly from the testicles, and injected into the egg. This is called intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Donor sperm, or eggs, are sometimes used where conventional methods have failed, or are not appropriate.

Hypnosis and relaxation to enhance fertility

It has long been recognized thatstress can contribute to some types of infertility. Hypnotherapy, where a trance-like state is induced in a susceptible individual, has been around for more than 6000 years. Practitioners feel that during this state of relaxation, or trance, the mind begins to heal itself, and the body. Relaxation, in combination with visualization is a technique that can teach you to use your imagination to cope with stress, or even activate the body's self-healing process. Relaxation and visualization canbe a part of positive thinking, and relaxation therapists regard positive thinking as a useful tool in keeping us well.

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