Unexplained infertility is when you and your partner can’t conceive but doctors can’t find any specific cause. Around one in four couples who are having difficulty getting pregnant have unexplained infertility.
Assisted conception may help you get pregnant. These procedures control how your sperm and egg are brought together so that you’re more likely to conceive.
If you have unexplained infertility, your doctor may suggest that you try in vitro fertilisation (IVF).IVF involves removing one or more eggs and mixing them with sperm in a laboratory. Once the eggs are fertilised, the embryos (fertilised eggs) are placed in the woman’s uterus. Before you’re offered IVF, you’ll need to have been trying to get pregnant for at least two years.
Ask your doctor about all of the treatment options available to you and what are treatment methods to go for when the cause is identified?
Once a cause is identified, a specific care plan can be developed. This may include treatment for the male partner (or even consideration of using sperm donation), medical treatment of the woman to help increase ovulation (including weight change –loss or gain if that is a contributing factor, as well as medications to
stimulate ovulation), surgery to address anatomical issues, use of intra-uterine insemination (where sperm is injected into the woman’s uterus),and possibly use of assisted reproductive technology (ART, which is taking eggs from the women, typically by a minimally invasive surgical procedure, and combining them with sperm in the laboratory).
In India nowadays the most common approach to ART is in vitro fertilization or IVF, where a sperm is directly injected into the egg with subsequent transfer of the embryo (after the fertilized egg has been incubated in a special culture medium for several days to increase the chance that is will be viable). The first IVF was done in 1976, and since then it has led to over 5 million successful pregnancies worldwide.
Couples having difficulty conceiving should see a fertility specialist so they can have the workup appropriate for them and then discuss their best options.
