Thursday 27 September 2012

Causes of Female Infertility


Causes of female infertility in today’s world


In today’s world of heavy stress and tension and irregular lifestyle, the cause of female infertility has taken a toll. Female infertility is caused mainly due to two major reasons. One is genetic which occurs from the genes and the other is acquired. Studies have shown that infertility is usually on the rise because of certain causes like heavy stressful life, increased smoking and drinking habits among woman, sexually transmitted diseases like HIV,being obese as well as underweight and last but not the least the age factor. Infertility can also occur due to intake of too much birth control pill on a regular basis. Now let us emphasize on each point extensively one by one.

Age


Age plays a major role in a woman’s fertility. The general age for the first period to occur in a girl is approximately around 12 to 13 years of age. A girl can have a baby the moment her periods begin. However the fertility is at its peak around the mid twenties. After this the fertility slowly starts to decline and it is generally triggered after the age 35 years. In general terms it has been seen that very elderly couples conceive very rarely, however there is always a chance of conceiving depending on the surrounding factors like the fertility of the male counterpart.

Tobacco smoking


Tobacco smoking is a very harmful thing and it tells on the health of a woman. It harms a woman’s ovaries to a great deal and the intensity of damage usually depends on the length and amount of time that a woman has been smoking for. Passive smoking is also very injurious for a woman. Too much exposure to a smoke filled environment is harmful for a woman. The main injurious component, Nicotine, which is found in cigarettes, avoids the formation of estrogen which is a female hormone and helps in ovulation. Nicotine also prevents transportation of embryo, blood flow in the uterus, endometrial angiogenesis and endometrial receptiveness. Once a woman starts actively smoking it causes damage to her reproduction organs and the worst part is that even if she stops smoking after a long time, the there is chance of greater damage. Recent research has proved that smokers are 60% less fertile than non smokers. Also active smoking in woman gives rise to a faster menopause.

Sexually transmitted disease


The foremost cause of infertility comes from the sexually transmitted disease like HIV.If proper treatment is not carried out in time; there are chances that a woman may not conceive all her life. 

Body weight and eating disorders


It has been noticed that around 10 to 12% of women do not conceive because of obesity or underweight. Estrogen, the female hormone is produced by the fat cells. If too much fat cell is produced, it may cause opposite results. Again if too little estrogen is produced, that may also disrupt the menstrual cycles. A proper nutritious diet is very much essential for fertility. In today’s stressful and irregular lifestyle it has been seen that there is large eating disorders among working woman. They tend to bite onto anything and everything on the road. Too much consumption of fried items and fast food help a woman to put on weight and in the process disrupt the normal fertility cycle. It has also been seen that now a day’s woman are consuming too much birth control pills to prevent contraception. However it so happens that too much intake of these pills avoids contraception in the beginning and gradually she does not conceive all her life. 

Chemotherapy

 

Undergoing continuous chemotherapy causes high risk of fertility in women. The drugs which are used during chemotherapy like cyclophosphamide, chlorambucil, busulfan and others are very high risk drugs that obstruct the process of ovulation. After three series of chemotherapies, the follicle stimulating hormones are damaged.

Ovulatory problems 


These problems may also be the reason for Female infertility. Ovulation is the process where the hormones are adjoined in a balance. In ovulation, sperms are released from a woman’s body, unite with the male sperm and produce a baby. However ovulation can be affected if there are problems in the thyroid gland, if there is too much production of prolactin, if there are more than required male hormones in a woman, and lifestyle changes. 
Also if the sperm is unable to pass through the mouth of the uterus due to a damaged cervix, there are chances of infertility. Fallopian tubes play a major role in reproduction. In many cases it has been seen that the fallopian tubes are blocked, distorted or scarred because of tumor of some unknown growth. This may obstruct in reproduction. 

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease


One of the major and common causes of female infertility is Pelvic inflammatory disease. This disease consists of varied infections which are caused by various bacteria that have an effect on the reproductive organs, parts of the intestine, the fallopian tubes and appendix. The fallopian tube is generally the focus point where the disease hits. The general cause of PID is cracked appendix, Non sterile abortions, Gonorrhoea which is a sexually transmitted disease, and Pelvic tuberculosis.

Some Other factors that cause infertility


Some major causes of infertility may be different life taking diseases like mellitus. It has been seen that woman who have high blood sugar level are at a risk of conceiving. They are under the risk of delayed puberty, menstrual irregularities and earlier menopause.
Notable liver and kidney diseases are also causes of infertility in woman.
Intake of drugs like marijuana and Cannabis smoking, in woman cause high risk of infertility.
Recent studies of primary infertility in females was conducted by the help of Diagnostic laparoscopy where it was seen that the maximum cases of infertility was in the age group of 21 to 25 years followed by the age group 26 to 30 years. After marriage 18 out of 40 cases were brought within 5 years of failure in conceiving with cases of fallopian tube blockage, and pelvic disorder.

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