Infertility has become a problem for many married couples today. This condition is when the husband and wife have regular sexual intercourse without contraception for at least 12 months but still do not conceive. It is found in about 10-20%. Dr. Nopparat Chaiburanapankul, Obstetrician-Gynecologist, Specialist in Infertility and Reproductive Medicine, Phyathai 3 Hospital states that if someone is diagnosed with infertility, doctors will look for the cause to plan further treatment. The causes come from both parties.
Causes of Male Infertility
- History of mumps infection
- History of sexually transmitted infections
- Varicose veins in the scrotum
- Genetic disorders
- Use of certain medications
- Heavy alcohol consumption and smoking
- Erectile dysfunction or inability to ejaculate
- Congenital testicular abnormalities, such as undescended testicles
Causes of Female Infertility
- Hormonal imbalances
- Use of certain medications
- Heavy alcohol consumption and smoking
- History of uterine and ovarian surgery
- Blocked or severely swollen fallopian tubes
- Uterine fibroids or large ovarian cysts
- Severe menstrual pain with endometriosis
- Irregular menstruation, abnormal flow, or heavier than normal periods
2 Popular Techniques… Opening Opportunities for Pregnancy
The popular technologies commonly used to treat infertility today are 2 methods:
- Intra-uterine insemination (IUI) is the injection of prepared sperm directly into the uterine cavity during ovulation to allow sperm and egg to fertilize inside the body. Doctors use this method when the male partner has more than 10 million motile sperm, and the female partner has at least one normal fallopian tube.
- In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) involves fertilizing the female’s egg cells and the male’s sperm cells outside the body. The resulting embryos are cultured, and after 3-5 days, good quality embryos are selected and transferred into the uterine cavity to implant. This method increases the chance of pregnancy by 30-50%, but it is a complex process and also costly.
