Fertility issues
Female fertility problems
There are a number of causes behind fertility problems in women and include age-related hormonal changes and a history of STIs. Many women who encounter a speed hump en route to falling pregnant, can eventually conceive with medical intervention. Of the speed humps, age is the biggest issue for many women, particularly those in their mid-thirties and older.
Other causes include:
- Weight problems (overweight or underweight)
- Lack of ovulation (anovulation)
- Abnormal hormone levels
- PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome)
- POI (Primary ovarian insufficiency – whereby a woman’s ovaries stop working by the age of 40)
- Luteal phase defect (insufficient progesterone levels following ovulation)
- Damaged fallopian tubes
- Endometriosis (abnormal growth of the lining in the uterus)
- Fibroids (benign tumours in the uterus)
- Irregular uterine shape
- Cervical stenosis (narrowing or blockage of the opening to the uterus)
Male fertility problems
Male fertility can be complex, and as with women, problems can occur due to a number of different health issues and lifestyle habits.
Some of the main issues men face with fertility include:
- Varicocele (swelling of the veins that assist with draining the testicle)
- Infections
- Problems with ejaculation (such as retrograde ejaculation where sperm ejaculates backwards and into the bladder)
- Anti-sperm antibodies
- Tumours
- Undescended testicles
- Hormonal abnormalities and imbalances
- Tubule defects (blockages in tubes that carry sperm)
- Inherited disorders (chromosome defects)
- Erectile dysfunction and other anatomical abnormalities (hypospadias)
- Medication interference (testosterone replacement therapy, long-term anabolic steroid use, chemotherapy etc.)
- Environmental causes (exposure to industrial chemicals, heavy metals, radiation o elevated temperatures which impair sperm production and overheat the testicles)