Reproductive Health Month: The Top Causes Of Infertility In Men And Women

During a recent interview with Fertility Solutions, our own Dr Sulaiman Heylen, director of Cape Fertility, and one of the best-known reproductive medicine specialists in the country, shed some light on the top causes of infertility in both men and women.

In observing Reproductive Health Month, and to help raise awareness, we are proud to share his expertise.

The causes of infertility in couples

Infertility affects millions of couples worldwide – in fact, as many as one couple in six.

Infertility is defined as not being able to fall pregnant within 12 months of having regular unprotected sex if you are under 35, and 6 months if you are older than 35.

The causes of this could be reproductive problems in either the female or male partner in the couple, with each responsible around 50% of the time.

However, increasingly, both partners contribute to the fertility challenges faced, and each partner might also face more than one fertility challenge.

Top causes of female infertility

There are many possible causes of female infertility. However, four causes stand out as the most common.

These are:

-endometriosis,
-polycystic ovarian syndrome,
-blocked fallopian tubes and
-fibroids.

Let’s look at each one in more detail.

Endometriosis

While a woman with endometriosis can have no symptoms, some of the very common symptoms include pelvic pain or chronic pelvic pain, pain during menstruation, pain during sexual intercourse, as well as other pain, such as back pain when using the bathroom. Endometriosis pain is often severe and can substantially affect the quality of a woman’s life.

Of course, another common symptom is infertility. This is because endometrial tissue can implant around the ovaries or fallopian tubes, causing inflammation and scar tissue.

Endometriosis can also alter the immune system, change the hormonal environment around the eggs, inhibit implantation of an embryo and alter the quality of the eggs.

If you suspect you have endometriosis, it is important to get professional medical advice promptly, whether you are trying to fall pregnant or not.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS significantly affects fertility by causing irregular menstrual cycles and often preventing ovulation.

The stand-out symptom of PCOS are irregular periods. For example, instead of having a period every month, you only have it every second month or every third month. Or perhaps you bleed a little bit, and then it stops and suddenly starts again. Or perhaps you bleed for a long time, for example, for three weeks.

There are sometimes associated symptoms with PCOS such as acne, abnormal hair growth and weight gain.

If you suspect you have PCOS, it is important to get professional medical advice, whether you are trying to fall pregnant or not.

Blocked fallopian tubes

Blocked fallopian tubes are a silent cause of infertility, because in the majority of cases, there are no symptoms, except infertility.

This is often because the fallopian tubes are blocked due to an infection – usually the result of a sexually transmitted disease – that could have taken place decades ago. Since both the initial infection and the blocked tubes are asymptomatic, most women with blocked fallopian tubes have no idea. Blocked fallopian tubes can also be caused by endometriosis or by previous surgery.

A fertility specialist will be able to detect blocked fallopian tubes with a simple test, and advanced treatments, including IVF or In Virto Fertilisation, are available to ensure women with blocked fallopian tubes can have their own babies.

Fibroids

Fibroids are benign growths of uterus. They can affect whether the sperm and egg can meet, and whether an embryo can implant in the uterus.

Sometimes fibroids have no symptoms but often it can cause heavy periods and bleeding excessively, perhaps even so much that you have to get up multiple times at night. It is sometimes also associated with pain, but not always.

Top cause of male infertility

There are only rare symptoms of the causes of male infertility, other than the infertility itself. Usually, male fertility problems are only uncovered by a sperm analysis, and it is often a great surprise to the man, who may have forgotten about a testes or bladder operation as a child, or a sports injury that required going to the urologist, or a trauma or infection of the testis or the bladder or even having mumps as a child.

These are all possible causes of male infertility, which highlights the importance of both partners being tested.

Where to get the right tests?

If you are trying to conceive (TTC) and have any of the symptoms listed in this article, or experienced any of the possible causes described above, or if you are concerned about your fertility, you should see a fertility specialist as soon as possible.

When you visit us at Cape Fertility, our team will do a comprehensive assessment to determine the cause of your specific fertility problems as a couple.

This is important, because the right treatment can be provided if the cause – and most often more than one cause in one or both partners – of your fertility problem has been identified correctly.

In fact, almost all causes of infertility in both the male and female partner can be successfully treated today.

Cape Fertility is not only accredited with the Southern African Society for Reproductive Medicine and Gynaecological Endoscopy (SASREG), we are also a leading fertility clinic achieving world-class results.

Arranging your initial consultation is as simple as contacting us here…

At Cape Fertility, we value each individual patient and we look forward to providing you with individualised and personalised care, affordable quality fertility treatment, and higher success rates at our purpose-built premises in the beautiful city of Cape Town.