What Is Infertility?
A couple that are not able to conceive, after at least one year of trying to conceive, are normally considered as being infertile by the medical community.
There are two classifications of infertility. 1) Primary infertility where the woman has never had a pregnancy and 2) secondary infertility where the woman already had a pregnancy, but are not able to fall pregnant now.
Research on infertility rates has shown that at least one out of every seven United States couples are infertile.
Most females of reproductive age will at some stage experience some sort of infertility issue.
But most of them won’t even realize that they are having some infertility issues because at that stage they are not actively trying to conceive.
All things considered the change of falling pregnant is normally only around one percent according to some statistics.
With lifestyle, physical medical conditions and age related issues playing a very significant role in infertility rates.
There are five major hormones that are a big influence in a woman’s fertility.
1) Gonadotropin.
2) Luteinizing hormone (LH).
3) Follicle Stimulating hormone (FSH).
4) Estrogen produced within the ovaries, this hormone also plays a role in producing strong bones and are absolutely vital in a woman’s reproductive health.
5) Progesterone help to prepare the uterine lining in preparation for implantation of the egg. It also helps to maintain a viable full term pregnancy and plays a role in the development of the mammary glands for milk production later.
LH stimulates the ovarian follicle that will produce the corpus luteum. A specialized yellowish tissue that produce progesterone.
Estrogen combined with progesterone are together responsible for the thickening of the lining of the uterus so the egg can be implanted after fertilization.
These hormones infuses the uterus with a thick blood rich uterine lining which create the optimum environment for the fertilized egg to be implanted into and to be nurtured and grown.
FSH, over a two week period, cause the follicles in the woman’s ovaries to start to ripen and mature, during every monthly cycle.
FSH will then cause the ovaries to start to produce estrogen. The estrogen will then inturn start the LH hormonal surge.
The released egg will normally be fertilized by the sperm withing the fallopian tube, on its way to the uterus.
This is only a small window of opportunity of fertilization, only around ovulation time.
During this time where sperm meets egg, the sperm must penetrate and enter the egg before it can be fertilized.
Some sources indicate that it might be possible for sperm to survive inside a woman for up to six days.
But in most cases optimum fertilization only occur around the time of ovulation or the two days surrounding ovulation.
If all works well in this intricate play between hormones, eggs, sperm, timing and reproductive organs and intercourse then pregnancy follow.
Unfortunately if even one thing goes wrong then infertility follow.
