We have a wholesome idea of what fertility and infertility is. However, in the present-day, where there are so many opinions about everything, fertility is not excluded from the list. There are many misconceptions linked to our fertility and its factors. You might be overthinking some of them.
Despite being free from the factors contributing to infertility, (medical health, smoking, and drugs, alcoholism, weight) some couples face problems in conceiving.
This can be a result of various factors related to male as well as female or even combined unexplained reasons in both. Surprisingly, your AGE controls a major part of infertility reasons. Your graph of fertility declines with increasing age as a natural physiological process. Fertility reaches its peak when you are in your 20s (accurately around 24-29) and it starts to fall in your 30s gradually.
Those who try to conceive after 35 years of age, often face infertility issues. Couples after the age of 37, should not wait any longer if they cannot conceive after 3 months of unprotected intercourse. 1 in 10 healthy couples of reproductive age will face fertility problems.
"Smoking can, in effect, add 10 years to reproductive age, so that a 25-year-old smoker is as fertile as a 35-year-old non-smoker,"
Smoking cigarettes has literally zero benefits. It is one of the biggest factors influencing infertility in both males and females. Smoking causes the loss of eggs and sperms in females and male respectively. Once the eggs die, they cannot regenerate or be replaced. Women, who smoke, face menopause 1-4 years earlier as compared to women who do not smoke. Men suffer from decreased quality and quantity of sperm. Sperm morphology and motility are also affected due to smoking.
All these factors related to cigarette smoking will lead you closer to infertility at a very high rate.
12% of all infertility cases are associated with weight issues.
Being overweight or underweight, both can affect your fertility. If you are over-exercising or genetically undernourished, it affects your menstrual cycle. A minimum of 22% of body fat is necessary for normal ovulation and reproductive capability.
On the other hand, weight gain above the normal level causes problems in ovulation and alteration of hormones. Even after conceiving, your weight is a threat to a healthy pregnancy. Overweight women develop a risk of pregnancy-related high blood pressure and diabetes. The underweight women tend to deliver an undernourished low birth weight baby.
The good news is, by attaining the normal Body Mass Index (BMI); the weight-related issue is eradicated.
Women are born with 1-2 million eggs, and this is the total number of eggs found in women. Also, this number falls with an increase in age. The condition of the natural decline of the count of eggs in women is called Ovarian follicle atresia. The number of eggs reaches 300,000 by the time a female hits her puberty.
Every month, the ovary releases the best quality egg and the quality of this egg decreases gradually as the women reach menopause. This is the reason; older women face difficulties conceiving with their eggs.
Even in a healthy and fertile couple, the chances of conceiving each month are 20%. If you are not getting pregnant after practicing unprotected intercourse for a few months, you need not worry. Its not just you but many couples who go through this desperation of not being able to conceive. It must be known to you that it is not a sign of infertility. Your doubts may be sorted after you get in touch with a professional Fertility expert.
There is a myth associated with birth control pills. Women who are on the pills for a long time experience irregular menstrual cycle or even missed menses for a period. In some women, birth control pills delay ovulation but it gets normal after a few months. Some women become fertile immediately after taking the pill. So this dilemma must be written off and the use of birth control must be planned even though the direct relation is not ascertained.
You can cause also face infertility after giving birth. Cases of secondary infertility are a frequent scenario now. 50% of Infertility is a result of secondary infertility. The condition causes infertility after your successful pregnancies. Couples are affected by secondary infertility due to many reasons like complications in previous pregnancy causing damages or other issues.
Negligence of factors causes worsening conditions. Consultation at the right time can save you from the worse. So better late than never.
