Many couples try for a baby without success. It is distressing, frustrating and can severely limit your goals of expanding your family. If you experience trouble conceiving, schedule a consultation with the experts at Burlington OBGYN Associates in Burlington, Massachusetts. The practice’s experienced doctors help find the cause of infertility and offer treatments that improve your chances of conceiving. Call Burlington OBGYN Associates Inc. or book an appointment online today for compassionate infertility care.
What is infertility?
Infertility means having difficulty conceiving a child. We recommend that women who haven’t become pregnant after trying for 12 months should seek fertility advice. If you’re 35 or over, wait no more than six months before getting help.
Experiencing problems conceiving doesn’t mean you can’t have a baby. Some infertility problems are things you can resolve with support and guidance from our experts. You might benefit from assisted reproductive technology (ART) options like in vitro fertilization (IVF) if you have more serious infertility issues. Our experts will do a comprehensive assessment and provide you with the best possible options to overcome infertility.
Infertility is by no means just a female problem, so your partner needs to undergo an infertility evaluation, too. A low sperm count, damaged or abnormal sperm, and many other issues can affect male fertility.
What causes female infertility?
Ovulation problems are the most frequent cause of female infertility. Ovulation occurs each month after puberty until menopause at around 50. Your ovaries release an egg midway through your menstrual cycle, but unless it’s fertilized, the uterine lining sheds (menstruation), and the cycle starts again.
If you have an ovulation problem, there’s no egg for sperm to fertilize, so you can’t conceive.
Irregular menstruation and conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affect ovulation. Endometriosis, which can cause fallopian tube scarring, and uterine fibroids (noncancerous growths) can sometimes cause infertility too.
Leading an unhealthy lifestyle can also influence fertility. A poor diet might mean you lack essential vitamins and minerals, have excess body weight, or don’t produce enough of the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. Stress can have a considerable impact on fertility, especially when not conceiving is the cause of your anxiety.
What should I expect from an infertility evaluation?
Your Burlington OBGYN Associates Inc. provider begins your infertility assessment by reviewing your medical and gynecological history. They ask what you’re doing to encourage conception and discuss your menstrual cycle and lifestyle. Our experts may recommend a pelvic exam to check your reproductive organs or a blood sample to measure your hormone levels. They might perform an abdominal ultrasound scan to view the uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes in more detail.
Experts at Burlington OBGYN Associates then prepare a personalized fertility plan for you. This might include lifestyle changes, keeping an ovulation chart, and other methods to increase your chances of conception. Or you might benefit from medication to improve ovulation. It’s also vital to treat underlying conditions like PCOS and uterine fibroids. If referrals to specialists are required, our team will facilitate such referrals.
Call Burlington OBGYN Associates Inc. to arrange an infertility evaluation or schedule a consultation online today.