Nowadays in India, one in eight couples are facing difficulty in conceiving. Many of the couples lose hope after multiple negative pregnancy tests and are scared or shy to visit a fertility specialist. Many, have an impression that visiting a doctor will lead to unnecessary testing and ultimately complicated treatment solutions. On the contrary, consulting with a specialist brings the advantage of restricted specific testing only when required and helps couples clear myths and false beliefs related to conception. Pregnancy depends on many factors and it is normal for a couple to not conceive in the first few attempts. We have observed that couples are now becoming more aware about their reproductive health and they understand that the stressful lifestyle is affecting their chance of parenthood.
Age
Generally, the female ovarian reserve starts to decline after the age of 35 years and it gets depleted by the age of 45 years. Also as the female ages the quality of the female egg tends to drop. Thus, women below 35 who are trying for over a year to conceive naturally and are not successful need to consult with a specialist. Women above 35 years and unsuccessful in conceiving for over 6 months, need to consult the specialist on immediate basis.
Health
There are certain health conditions that adversely affect fertility potential of men and women. For women; irregular menses, hormonal imbalance, thyroid disorders, hypertension, diabetes, PCOS or endometriosis, fibroids can lead to infertility, lower chances of conception or frequent miscarriages. If any such problem or disorder is known, then it is advised to consult fertility specialist before planning for a baby. For men; diabetes, obesity or cancer can lead to poor sperm quality, erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation which causes problem in conceiving.
Unexplained Infertility
Sometimes, couples suffer from unexplained infertility wherein the cause cannot be determined. All the parameters and reports appear to be normal but the couple fails to conceive. Most of these couples will conceive with basic counselling, however a subsection will require more advanced methods of reproduction. Thus early consultation with a fertility specialist can help couples with unexplained infertility in getting successfully pregnant.
If you feel that you need an expert’s advice, then consult Dr. Shruti Parikh – Fertility & IVF Specialist.