Let’s do a Q&A on Age and Infertility

While the majority of public perception of infertility is that it’s a disease that affects women who are in their late 30s and 40s, the truth is that infertility is often age-independent. Women of any age can have fertility issues and many times younger women wait much longer to seek treatment than they should.

While age does play a major role in a woman’s ability to successfully conceive a pregnancy due to a reduction in quality and quantity of a woman’s eggs, there are many other factors that play into a woman’s inability to conceive on her own.

Q. How Does Age Play a Role in My Ability to Conceive?

A. Women are born with about 1 million eggs and as a woman ages, the number of eggs within the ovary begin to rapidly decrease. By the time she starts menstruating, she may only have about 400,000 eggs left.

When a woman reaches her 20s, the chances of becoming pregnant

How Long Should It Take to Get Pregnant?

Getting pregnant seems very easy but for some couples it has become a nightmare. There are nearly approximately 30 million couples in India suffering from infertility that means they are not able to get pregnant naturally. After marriage usually couple expects to start a family sometimes sooner sometimes later but eventually they want. For some couples, a month is all they need to see those double pink lines. Yet for others, it takes longer period of time. Hence they ultimately seek a fertility treatment. In India, out of 30 million infertile couples, nearly 3 million are actively seeking treatment; and around five lakh couples seek in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatment.  The rate is even higher in the urban population where one out of six couples suffers from infertility and desperately look out for solutions. 

And during the COVID-19 crisis followed by the lockdown, they have suffered a lot as IVF is a time-sensitive treatment.

The factors influencing conception are multifaceted, but the key indicator of

Are you also suffering from secondary infertility?

While infertility is a topic discussed every day, secondary infertility is not much talked about,whereas it is quite a common form of infertility. Secondary infertility is the inability to become pregnant second time, following the birth of one or more biological children. When Mukul Arora (36 name changed) a banking professional and his wife Neha Arora (33 name changed) a housewife had a boy in 2016 decided to complete his family with second child, got shocked to know that they can’t have baby second time as he has low sperm count which is causing problems in conceiving hence suffering from Secondary Infertility.

Causes of secondary infertility in both partners could be:

In women:       

• Damage to fallopian tube due to ectopic pregnancies
• Complications during prior pregnancies such as a C-section
• Blockage which is caused by fibroids
• Increased maternal age and less production of eggs

In men:      

• increased age, weight gain, excessive smoking and drinking
• use of certain medications
• Impaired sperm production and delivery

Approximately,10.5% women have reported to experience secondary infertility. If you notice these causes of secondary infertility, you must immediately consult with a specialist. Remember that you are not alone. More and more people are now facing the problem of secondary infertility in India and, therefore, it is better to be informed.

Similarly, Manleen Kaur Sethi in her mid 30’s when she started trying or second baby surprised to knowthat she can’t be pregnant now due to low ovarian reserve. “I didn’t realise that chances of getting pregnant reduce with age,”says Manleen, now 39 and pregnant with her second child after two rounds of IVF treatment at Shantah IVF Centre.

Though primary infertility normally receives attention, it is not the case with secondary infertility. Many women struggle to conceive their second baby after previously giving birth to their firstborn without difficulties.Secondary infertility can be very frustrating and confusing for a couple who got pregnant quickly in the past. I have seen lot of cases recently of

How does PCOD affects fertility

People often get confused about Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and Polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD). Both these diseases are associated with ovaries. PCOD is the condition that affects the ovaries and is limited to the ovaries only while the PCOS affects the complete metabolism of the body and its functioning in some of the other way. PCOD greatly affects the fertility of a woman by disrupting the functioning of the female reproductive system.

Girls with PCOS, the ovaries produce higher levels of androgen than normal, and this interferes with egg development and release. Some of the eggs develop into cysts, which are little sacs filled with liquid. Instead of releasing during ovulation, these cysts build up in the ovaries and may even get enlarged.

In PCOD, hormonal imbalance leads to ‘collection’ of mature eggs in the ovaries, as they cannot be discharged. These also become cysts and some of the cysts lead to more cysts and

Important facts every woman needs to know about ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer - the cancer of ovaries has been known as a ‘silent killer' in the past because it's hard to diagnose. Its symptoms are:

Persistent tummy or pelvic pain

Increased tummy size or persistent bloating – not bloating that comes and goes

Difficulty eating and feeling full quickly

Some women may also experience other symptoms like:

The need to wee more frequently

Changes in bowel habit

Extreme fatigue or pain

If you have these symptoms more than 12 times in a month, you should seriously consider going to see your doctor.

According to the American Cancer Society about 1 in 75 women will get ovarian cancer in her lifetime, but young women are rarely affected. The risk escalates starting at age 63

What’s your next step should be?

We found 10% of reproductive-age couples are unable to conceive even after a year of trying.

There are many possible reasons for this, including issues with the male’s sperm, the woman’s ovulation, and hormonal issues; from being very underweight or very overweight, or from thyroid, cervical or uterine problems, or blocked fallopian tubes. 

What to do if unsuccessful

The first step to identify possible issues contributing to a couple’s inability to conceive. Both man and her woman should undergo a physical exam depending on the risks identified, further testing is done to specifically identify the limiting conditions. This may include testing to examine the male’s sperm (amount, motility, etc.), evaluation of the female’s anatomy (for example a hysterosalpingogram, ultrasound, and/or other tests) and evaluation of the women’s ability to ovulate (possibly including hormonal testing and/or other tests). 

Is infertility running towards you?

Women being infertile are still a taboo but at the same time our technology is so advanced that it doesn’t let it untreated for a long time. There are several issues which are accountable for female infertility. Today, I will list out some of the indirect causes of female. 

1. Obesity: Obesity is a chronic medical condition characterized by too much body fat being overweight affects everything. Yet another growing problem in today’s time among the population is infertility caused due to Obesity. I see at least 30 to 35 patients in a day coming to me for infertility out of which 10% are obese. 

2. Smoking: Cigarette smoking is harmful to the ovaries, and the degree of damage is dependent upon the amount and length of the time a woman smokes or is exposed to a smoked environment. Female smokers also have decreased rates of fertility and decreased fallopian tube function. 

3. Overworking: Getting in to the office early, staying till late. Always working on the computer. Working too much regularly can have negative effects on your physical as well as mental health as all these factors bring ever increasing stress. Stress in your life can lead to unhealthy body conditions like upset stomach, elevated blood pressures, poor sleep patterns, slowing of metabolism etc. which can actually throw your life out of gear and these