Can’t get pregnant? Do not wait too long to seek for professional help! Based on statistics of total fertility rates in the Asia Pacific region in 2019, the fertility rates among women has obviously fallen in recent years. South Korea, for example, has the lowest fertility rates (by birth per woman) globally at 0.9 children per woman, followed by Puerto Rico, a trio of Malta, Singapore, and the Chinese Special Administrative Region Hong Kong all at 1.1 children per woman.
There are many reasons behind this and infertility, could be one of the reasons of low fertility rates. Infertility means not being able to conceive after trying for 1 year and it can affect both woman or man. It is quite devastating to find today, 15% of married couples or 1 out of 6 couples are having problem trying to conceive. Many of them, feel ashamed to look for professional help.
Can’t get pregnant? What to do? First, you need to learn about 5 things that Asian couples should know before you try to conceive.
Can’t get pregnant? Seek for professional help
If you plan to conceive, seeking professional help will be the best way and it will be a good start. Fertility is a topic we find hard to talk about, even to our close family and friends. Some couples may also worry about the treatment they may go through if they seek professional help, which will lead them to an IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) and cost them a fortune. They are many ways you can do it, ranging from simple way such as changing of diet, lifestyle, taking supplements, TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) treatment, to advanced reproductive assistance such as IVF.
Natural conception is very much dependent on the reproductive health of both woman and man. Seeking professional help will save your time and will ensure a successful conception. To find out how healthy you are, medical health check is the very first thing you must do in order to conceive. Do not wait too long to find help after years you can’t get pregnant, you may loose the golden time for proper treatment and become a parent. Professional health team will help you understand if you really have fertility issue, and what are the options or treatment that are available.
Of course, if couples find out that natural conception is not an option for them, with the advanced technology, treatment can give most infertile couples a good chance of still having their own children.
Can’t get pregnant? Causes of infertility for women and men
Women
One of the most common causes of infertility for women is due to ovulation disorder ( a monthly release of an egg from the ovaries). Ovulation disorder can also due to many factors such as premature ovarian failure which is a failure of ovaries function before age of 40, PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome) and thyroid problem.
Fibroids, a non cancerous growth in or around the womb, can also one of the reasons that affect fertility. It prevent the fertilized egg attaching itself in the womb or they may block the fallopian tube.
Cervical mucus problem will also cause infertility. During ovulation, cervix mucus will become thinner to allow the sperm swimming through easily. If there is a problem, you will be harder to conceive.
Endometriosis, a condition where a small piece of womb lining start growing in other places such as ovaries or fallopian tubes, cause damage to the ovaries or fallopian tubes.
Pelvic inflammatory disease is an infection disease of the upper female genital tract that will cause damage to fallopian tube, which will virtually block an egg to travel down into the womb.
If you are taking drugs due to your existing medical health issue, some drugs will cause infertility. Therefore , it is important for your doctor to analyze your current health status and treatment before you try to conceive.
Men
Men usually find it hard to accept that the fact of infertility is due to them. Men infertility can happen if they have the problem such as:
- Poor quality semen – This can be due to low to no sperm count, abnormal sperm shape or sperm that can’t swim or move properly.
- Infection of testicles – affect the quality of the semen
- Ejaculation disorder
- Low level of testosterone- maybe due to taking drug, etc
- Undertaking certain TCM treatment example, root extracts of the Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii that will affect the production of sperm and reduce the size of testicles.
A proper diagnosis, will help you solve your fertility problem and proper treatment will ensure you will achieve a happy outcome.
Can’t get pregnant? When to seek help?
For women, age is the most important factor when it comes to issue related to fertility. Fertility naturally declines with age. Women are most fertile and have the better chances of getting pregnant are when they are in their 20’s. You may no need to seek help if you are in your 20’s.
The chances of getting pregnant in your 30’s will fall to only 12%. The risk of getting pregnancy complication is higher too. If you are in your 40’s, quantity and quality of women’s egg decline again and the chances of getting pregnant fall to only 7%. You may face some genetic issues and higher chances of birth defects. Doctor may need to conduct more test to ensure you are safe throughout your pregnancy period.
For men, fertility rate will also decline with age but it happens much later than women, they start after their 40’s. Their quality of semen will decline, including volume of semen, sperm count and the motility of the sperm. Sperm cells may also have some genetic abnormalities and the partner may have greater risk of miscarriage or birth defects.
If you are generally young and healthy with no pre-existing medical conditions that may affect fertility, giving yourself one year or so of trying to conceive naturally is recommended. It is the best time to seek for help if you are above 35 years old before you try to conceive or after trying for six months.
Can’t get pregnant? Why you should seek help early?
Since age is the important factor for fertility, therefore time is of essence to seek for fertility treatment for those who need it. The sooner a couple seeks for professional help, the better chances of getting pregnant. The quality of semen and egg decline with age therefore, couples should not wait too long to seek for professional help.
Can’t get pregnant? Is there a test I can do?
Understanding your body will help you identify any issues early so something can be done about it. Infertility may be due to you or your partner or both of you. It is always better to know about it and address it as soon as possible. Fertility screening can be done for both men and women, at least it is a first thing to begin with if you look for professional help.
Fertility screening
For women, especially reach above 35 years old, checking on your ovarian reserves is essential. It means checking of the quantity and quality of eggs available for ovulation. Doctor will ask you to conduct a series of blood test and pelvic ultrasound.
For men, who are concerned that they are not able to impregnate their partner, may conduct a semen analysis. Number of sperm, morphology and motility will be checked and analyzed.
Doctor will recommend you for further screening if necessary depends on your age, your pre-existing health and treatment issues. Full detailed diagnosis will help you identify your infertility problem and a proper treatment will be conducted. Book an appointment with your doctor and highlight your concern. The earlier you do, the better outcome you will get.
Read more “What to eat to increase fertility?“