What Are the Symptoms of Infertility In Women?

Are you facing problems in conceiving? If yes, then there might be several reasons behind this. However, the most common reason is infertility. An array of symptoms of female infertility is indicative of infertility.

However, there are a lot of treatments available today that can treat infertility. If you notice the symptoms in time and consult a doctor, there lies a high chance that you will overcome this problem and receive good news soon enough.

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What Are the Symptoms of Infertility in Women?

Several symptoms can give you a clear indication of infertility. The most prominent symptoms of female infertility include:

Sudden increase in pain during periods
Extensive bleeding during periods
Abnormally low blood flow during periods
Sudden halt in periods
Increase in the duration of menstrual cycle
Excess decrease in menstrual cycle duration
Change in sex drive
Excessive thinning of hair due to hair loss
Sudden increase in weight
Milky white discharge from nipples
Skin becoming more prone to acne
Appearance of hair on chest, lips, and chin
Experiencing pain during sex

There can be several causes of female infertility, such as being excessively underweight or overweight, unhealthy lifestyle conditions, smoking or drinking alcohol, etc. Additionally, women become more prone to infertility with age, as well as if they are suffering from any STDs.

However, if you are a bit more careful and undertake precautionary measures, you can easily lower the chances of infertility.

How to Treat Infertility in Women?

There are several treatments available with different approaches to treat infertility. Some of the treatment options are as follows:

1. Medications

There are several medications to treat infertility. If ovulation in a woman is inconsistent, doctors suggest medicines to stimulate it. These drugs include Femera (letrozole), Clomid (clomiphene citrate), Arimidex (anastrozole) and gonadotrophins such as FSH, LH, and hCG. Clomid is the primary fertility drug doctors prescribe to treat infertility. Several antibiotics are suggested if there is an infection in the uterus causing infertility problems in females.

2. Intrauterine Insemination

Gynaecologists generally suggest this if there is a problem with the cervical mucus. The semen is artificially injected into the uterus of women. This escapes the journey of sperm through the cervix and escapes the requirement of mucus. IUI is less expensive compared to IVF. This is also a popular assisted reproduction option for women experiencing pain during sex as well as lesbian couples who wish to have a baby.

3. Surgical Treatments

This is a treatment option a gynaecologist suggests when there is a problem with the fallopian tube resulting in infertility problems in females. There can be a severe blockage in the fallopian tube of a woman, which is tough to remove using medications. Also, for PCOS-related infertility, doctors often opt for surgical techniques.

If a woman has endometriosis, gynaecologists can choose laparoscopy to remove the uterine fibroids.

4. Assisted Reproductive Technologies

These techniques involve handling eggs or embryos to facilitate fertilization artificially. There are several types of ART (Assisted Reproductive Technologies), such as IVF (in vitro fertilization), GIFT (gamete intra-fallopian transfer) and ZIFT (zygote intra-fallopian transfer). The most popular ART procedure is IVF.

A less-renowned variant of IVF, known as mini-IVF, is also available. The main difference between the two is the number of medications they involve. As the name suggests, a mini-IVF requires fewer medications and is less expensive than IVF.

The treatment varies with the cause behind infertility problems in females. You must consult a gynaecologist immediately to get the right treatment.

How to Prevent Infertility in Women?

You can easily prevent infertility by making small but significant changes in your lifestyle. These measures include:

Try to maintain optimum body weight to lower the risk of infertility. You can easily do so by engaging in physical activities such as exercise, yoga, cycling and swimming.
Stress can be a reason for infertility and can also reduce the effect of treatment. So, try to remain stress-free as much as possible. You can meditate twice a day to reduce stress significantly.
Alcohol has a lasting negative impact on health, especially on pregnancy. So try to keep alcohol consumption as low as possible to avoid fertility problems and ensure a healthy pregnancy.
Tobacco can have a serious and long-lasting effect on your health. So, if you are planning a pregnancy now or in the near future, or have problems conceiving for a long time, quit smoking as soon as possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Can birth control pills be used for infertility treatment?

Yes, several gynaecologists prescribe birth control pills as a drug for infertility treatment. Research suggests that birth control pills can sometimes cause anovulation which facilitates pregnancy during IVF.

What is the success rate of IUI treatments?

IUI has low success rates of upto 4% when women do not take fertility drugs. However, if they take fertility drugs, the success rate increases up to 8% to 17%.

When should you go for treatment of infertility?

As soon as you start noticing the symptoms, you must consult a doctor. However, your age plays a key role in determining the right time for treatment. If your age is below 35 years, then gynaecologists generally suggest trying for a year or more to get pregnant naturally. However, if your age is beyond 35, they would suggest undergoing treatment as soon as possible to conceive.