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Female Infertility
Infertility in women occurs when female infertility factors are the partial or sole cause of a couple’s inability to conceive after a year of trying to become pregnant without any form of contraception. After age 35, a woman is considered to have infertility if she and her partner are unable to conceive after six months of unprotected sex.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that 12% of reproductive-age women in the United States are affected by infertility, finding it difficult to conceive or carry a pregnancy to term.1 Fortunately, infertility doesn’t need to prevent you from growing your family. The team of fertility specialists at The Fertility Institute can help you determine the best path forward.
Ovulation Dysfunction & Infertility
To become pregnant, a woman’s ovary must produce and release a mature egg. When this doesn’t happen each month or doesn’t happen at all during a menstrual cycle, it is called anovulation. This can be caused by problems in the ovaries or abnormal levels of reproductive hormones. In some cases, the cause of ovulation dysfunction is unknown.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
(PCOS)
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) usually includes irregular or absent menstruation, hormonal issues like acne and/or unwanted hair growth and/or hair loss, and multiple ovarian follicles seen at the time of ultrasound imaging.
Recurrent Miscarriage
(Pregnancy Loss)
Recurrent miscarriage, also known as recurrent pregnancy loss, is two or more consecutive miscarriages of a pregnancy that are clinically confirmed (doctor-provided positive pregnancy test). A clinical pregnancy is defined by having medical evidence, such as an early ultrasound visual of the gestational sac (the cavity of fluid surrounding an embryo). Miscarriages are fairly common, occurring in about 10% of clinically recognized pregnancies.2
Uterine Fibroids
Uterine fibroids are benign growths in the muscle tissue of the uterus. They’re the most common type of growth found in a woman’s pelvis and are fortunately non-cancerous. The size, shape, and locations of fibroids can vary from woman to woman, but they are most common in women in their 30s. Menstruation changes, pain in the abdomen or lower back, and abdominal cramps can all be symptoms of fibroids.
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a process in which the cells that line a woman’s uterine cavity (endometrial cells) take up residence outside of the uterine cavity, usually in the pelvis. Their presence creates an inflammatory response and can lead to scarring and structural damage of the pelvic areas. For many women, this can result in infertility.
Age & Fertility
Studies show about one-third of couples in which the woman is over the age of 35 will experience some form of infertility. A woman’s fertility begins to decline as she ages, due to the finite number of eggs in her ovaries diminishing with time. The eggs that do remain also lose quality with age, making egg fertilization or implantation for pregnancy more difficult.
Secondary Infertility
Secondary infertility occurs when a woman or couple has had one successful pregnancy through natural methods but then experiences the inability to become pregnant again after a year of trying. The same causes of primary infertility in women noted above can also cause secondary infertility. Age is a common cause of secondary infertility, where the woman is now older than she was the first time she successfully became pregnant. Secondary infertility may be due to female infertility, male infertility factors, or both.
Tubal Ligation
Even if you’ve undergone tubal ligation, procedures like in vitro fertilization (IVF) or tubal ligation reversal can allow you to become pregnant. Depending on the age of partners, how many children you want, the costs involved, and how quickly you want to have a child, we can help you choose which procedure is right for you.