Fertility Management: Contraception, Basic Infertility Evaluation

Infertility occurs when a woman is unable to become pregnant after trying to conceive for at least a year. If a woman keeps having recurrent miscarriages, it is also viewed as infertility. Female infertility may be caused by her age, physical problems, hormone problems, menopause and lifestyle.

When it comes to female infertility, there is often confusion as to the correct methods of treatment, as well as the options available. Dr Essel, obstetrician and gynaecologist in the East Rand, provides useful information regarding these two important aspects of fertility management such as contraception and basic infertility evaluation.

Basic Infertility Evaluation

In any basic infertility evaluation, the following fertility tests will be conducted:

History
Physical examination
Assessment of ovarian reserve
Assessment of adequate ovulation
Semen analysis
Blood tests
Testing for tubal patency
Testing for the normalcy of the uterine cavity
Laparoscopy
Menstrual history

There are a number of surgical procedures that may assist in treating female infertility, but treatment depends entirely on what is the underlying cause of infertility.

Surgical treatments include:

Laparoscopy this is a procedure where Dr Essel will make incisions on your abdomen and insert a laparoscope to get rid of the scar tissue, treat endometriosis, open blocked tubes, or remove ovarian cysts.
Hysteroscopy this is a procedure where Dr Essel will insert a hysteroscope through the cervix to the uterus to remove polyps, uterine fibroids or tumours, to divide scar tissue and open up blocked tubes.

If you may be experiencing ovulation problems, Dr Essel may prescribe oral medication such as clomiphene citrate, gonadotropins or letrozole to help regulate ovulation. These oral medications may also aid in becoming pregnant by causing your ovaries to release multiple eggs even though normally one egg is released each month. Dr Essel may prescribe gonadotropin in the case where infertility is unexplainable or other treatments couldn’t help you get pregnant.

FAQ

The following are two of the most prevalent fertility treatments:

intrauterine insemination (IUI) is when you're ovulating, healthy sperm is harvested and put straight into your uterus.
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) involves taking eggs from your ovaries and fertilising them with sperm in a lab, where they develop into embryos.

The following are two of the most prevalent fertility treatments:

Periods of bleeding that are more or lighter than usual
Irregular periods with a different number of days between each one each month
Periods are absent, you have never had a period, or your periods have abruptly stopped.

You can figure out when you ovulate if you know how long your menstrual cycle is on average. Ovulation occurs approximately 14 days before your period begins. You ovulate around day 14 of a 28-day menstrual cycle, and your most fertile days are days 12, 13 and 14. Dr Essel will also be able to conduct a series of tests to determine fertility and infertility.