Are you planning to start a family? Then, it is very essential for you to be aware of your fertility status. In fact, with the growing number of couples delaying parenthood due to career choices as well as financial responsibilities that come along with the addition of a little family member, today cases of infertility are on the rise.
At GENOME The Fertility Centre, our reproductive medicine specialists often meet patients who complain of not being able to conceive due to infertility - occurring as a result of delayed family planning. For this reason, it is important to discuss the silent signs of infertility, which may even trigger miscarriage in couples trying to embark on the journey of parenthood. Here’s what every couple should know about infertility and miscarriage.
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What are the most common/ silent symptoms of infertility?
There are certain factors that can affect your fertility and are mostly silent in nature. Among these the oft-missed symptoms include a history of pelvic inflammatory disease, being under/overweight, endometriosis, and any type of sexually transmitted disease. These ‘silent’ symptoms inhibit the ability of sperm to swim through the cervix and Fallopian tubes in males. In females, these symptoms may hinder the process of pregnancy post embryo implantation resulting in miscarriages.
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What factors are affecting your fertility?
Smoking Triggers Infertility
Smoking inflicts direct damage to fertility, both in males and females. However, smoking is particularly harmful to females. Over 250 by-products referred to as “oocyte toxic” are found in tobacco and their effect is so strong that these can even pollute the ‘environment’ of the ovum, present inside the follicle of the ovary. Tobacco shortens the fertile days of a woman and brings her menopause earlier than normal. Even men don’t escape from the harmful effects of tobacco. Sperm quality and motility (health) get affected as a result of reckless smoking and tobacco use by men.
Being Obese May Lead To Infertility
Your fertility suffers most when you keep on satiating your daily cravings for junk food and forget to exercise! Besides increasing the risk of diseases such as diabetes that could harm fertility, obesity often leads to unfulfilled marital life which again translates to physiological/psychological problems in the long run.
For both genders, the fatter you get, the more estrogen is secreted in your body. According to fertility specialists, this out-of-whack hormone is a major cause leading to infertility both in males and females.
Extreme Body Heat May Result In Death of Sperm
Testicles ideally need a 2 degrees lower temperature than the core body temperature for the production of healthy sperm. Thus, anything that raises the body temperature will also heat up the testicles. So men, avoid wearing tight undies, don’t take regular hot water baths, and avoid keeping laptops ‘on your lap’ for hours.
Skip your Coffee To Avoid Being Infertile
A study showed that men consuming more than 2 cups of coffee per day are less fertile than those who moderately or don’t drink coffee at all. So, avoid caffeine in any form when you are planning to father a child. For women, the risks are on a little higher side especially for those who are already struggling with infertility. According to some researches, women who drank a certain amount of coffee rigorously reduced their chances of getting pregnant while undergoing IVF.
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What is a miscarriage and should every woman be aware of it?
In medical terms ‘Miscarriage’ is referred to as ‘spontaneous abortion’ is the natural death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. More clinically it means the loss of an embryo or fetus before the 20th week of pregnancy (usually by the 14th week).
Firstly, it is very essential for couples to know that ‘miscarriage is common’. Nearly 40 percent of conceptions can lead to early miscarriage if not taken proper precautionary measures. Most of the losses happen in the early stages of pregnancy even before the fetus can be clinically noticed or ultrasound can detect that a healthy conception has started.
Secondly, it is important to understand that these pregnancy failures are more often than not caused due to random genetic error. And ‘fate’ can be accounted for as a cause for miscarriage. Awareness about infertility can reduce the chances of miscarriage to a considerable extent.
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Secondary Infertility - How common is it?
Secondary infertility is described as an inability to get pregnant again after a previous conception. It is a critical issue and is difficult to evaluate how many couples are likely to face this problem. However, it is estimated that approximately 1 in 6 couples is stressed in their lives because of it. Secondary infertility is not only a common issue but is often a difficult phase in the life of every couple suffering from it. The overall prognosis in such couples is quite good in comparison to those who have never conceived earlier. With Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), secondary infertility is getting treated more and more than ever before, resulting in second childbirths.
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Should you be keeping a track of your periods for a successful pregnancy?
If you are planning to get pregnant, it is indeed essential to keep a track of your monthly cycles. If you find that your cycles are irregular, if there are no symptoms of ovulation or you didn’t find any positive result for pregnancy even after 6 months of trying, then you should immediately consult a reproductive medicine specialist.
For more inquiries, tips, and suggestions on fertility, pregnancy, and infertility-related topics keep following our blog posts.
For any fertility-related query mail us genomee@neotiahealthcare.com
Stay Positive, Stay Healthy.
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