They are everywhere – the wide-eyed toddlers, the nursing newborns, the rounded, ripe bellies of the anxious soon-to-be mothers. Children are a blessing, and the very thing that causes our self-centered selves to become completely selfless for them. But for some families, there are empty arms and heavy hearts – conceiving has become inconceivable.
It is estimated that over 10% of women have difficulty becoming pregnant. That means that you most likely know someone that has experienced infertility, or may even be experiencing it yourself. Clinicians define infertility as the inability to conceive after having unprotected sex 2-3 times for 12 months if under the age of 35, or for 6 months if over the age of 35.
So what are the causes of infertility? Approximately 1/3 of the time there is an issue with the female partner (blocked tubes, failure to ovulate, uterine abnormalities, reduced ovarian function), and about 1/3 of the time it is with the male partner (low sperm count, poor motility, poor sperm quality). Unfortunately, and 1/3 of cases have both male and female issues. Luckily, we live in a time where there are MANY options for family building – from simply taking medications, to high-tech procedures, to adoption, to chosing to live child-free. The journey that is chosen is unique to the person traveling it.
If you have been trying to get pregnant for over a year, it’s time to seek help. Talk to your ob/gyn or family doctor about the next steps that should be done. Or, drop me a line at sunday@northtexasfertility.com, and I’d be glad to try to assist in anyway possible.
My name is Sunday Pirkle, Ph.D., Reproductive Scientist, mom, and (soon-to-be) beekeeper extraordinaire! I am very honored to have been asked to guest-blog for Lisa Ware at Yoga4Love. In future posts, I’ll discuss different types of testing that is done for infertility workups, causes of infertility, coping strategies, and treatments.
Fertile Thoughts!
