Treatment of Female Infertility
Infertility is usually defined as inability to conceive after at least one year of trying. About one-third of cases is infertility due to female factors. In another one third of cases, infertility is caused by male factors. The remaining cases are provoked by a combination of male and female factors or by unknown factors.
The most common cause of infertility in women is ovulation disorders. The first line of treatment for most women with ovulation problems is through taking fertility drugs as(Clomid, Femara, Gonadotropins).
If the problems are found with the fallopian tubes microsurgery may be required to open the blockage or a procedure in which an egg is removed and replaced beyond the point of the obstruction, where it may be fertilized normally.
Female hormone estrogen which stimulates the increased production of mucus necessary to transport the sperm may be helpful if a cervix prevents the survival of sperm. Sometimes sperm can be transported directly into the uterus, bypassing the cervix completely.
Endometriosis can be treated by the surgical removal of displaced tissue and the scar tissue that has formed around it.
Hormonal imbalances can be corrected with hormone therapy.
If there’s a problem with the woman’s cervical mucus, or in cases of unexplained infertility artificial insemination, also known as IUI (intrauterine insemination), may be used. This procedure entails placing specially washed sperm directly into the uterus.
Test-tube, or in vitro, fertilization starts with stimulation of ovaries by fertility drugs. If everything goes well at that stage, those eggs are removed from the woman’s ovary and then placed together with sperm in a special cocktail of nutrients, and left alone until fertilization takes place. Once the eggs have been fertilized, one to three embryos are placed inside the woman’s uterus, where they will continue to grow. This technique is used primarily in women whose blocked fallopian tubes cannot be opened by surgery.
Another technique used to treat infertility is called gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT). In this procedure, the egg and sperm are not fertilized outside the body. Instead, after treatment with fertility drugs, they are placed together into one of the woman’s fallopian tubes, where fertilization may then take place normally. GIFT is a complicated and expensive procedure that is recommended only to couples who have been unable to conceive using standard treatments for infertility.
With all positive results, it should be noted, that although infertility treatment methods are advancing rapidly, about 15 percent of all female infertility problems remain undiagnosed and therefore untreatable.