Hello Mama Seun, how is your daughter? You must be a proud grandmother now! Far from it, mama Sadia, my daughter has not taken in after two years, I wonder who I offended, Mama Seun said.
Such is the trauma and lamentation of relatives and women who suffer from infertility. But first, what is infertility? Infertility is the inability of a couple to achieve conception after one year of regular unprotected sex and when the couple is not using any form of contraceptives.
In many African nations, infertility is mostly thought to be a problem of the woman; but studies reveal that infertility is caused by problems in both men and women equally. While 30 percent of cases of infertility are caused by reproductive issues in women, 30 percent were also caused by problems in men. Another 30 percent were caused by problems in the couple.
In this article, we discuss only the causes of infertility in women.
What are the causes of infertility in women?
Diseases affecting women’s reproductive function
For a woman to get pregnant, the entire process of ovulation, menstruation, and fertilization must be normal. Meaning, a woman’s menstrual cycle must be such that she ovulates mid-cycle, releasing a viable egg that can be fertilized by a sperm. Further, after fertilization, the walls of the womb must be viable enough to allow implantation of the fertilized egg. A disruption to any of these processes would cause infertility.
Some of these diseases can be divided into those that disrupt ovulation, diseases that disrupt egg transport after it is released, and diseases that affect implantation of the fertilized egg. Some diseases that impair ovulation include menstrual disorders, hormonal problems, polycystic ovary syndrome, ovarian cysts, and a defective ovary. Diseases that affect transport of eggs to the fallopian tube include blocked fallopian tubes from sexually transmitted infections or injuries to the tubes caused by surgeries or a medical procedure, such as a previous D&C. Diseases that affect implantation of the fertilized egg include fibroids, adenomyosis, and a defective womb.
Your doctor will order an ultrasound scan and other studies to rule out all these causes of infertility.
Medications and drugs
Many medications and drugs go beyond their apparent effects to affect the ability to get pregnant in the future. Alcohol use: there is no safe alcohol use but heavy alcohol use affects your ovulation cycle and predisposes to infertility. Drugs such as antipsychotic medications can also impair fertility. They cause infertility by inducing excessive amounts of prolactin--the breastfeeding hormone. Cancer-treatment drugs can also cause infertility by causing the ovaries to stop producing eggs leading to ovarian insufficiency. Your doctors must be aware of this history to evaluate properly. Other substances that can cause infertility include heavy metals, air contaminants, pesticides, herbicides, and petrochemical substances.
Lifestyle Habits
Smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, use of psychoactive drugs also play a role in causing infertility. These drugs disrupt the menstrual cycle and ovulation, impairing the release of eggs. Further, having an unhealthy weight loss or gain also disrupts reproductive function. Obesity, for example, is associated with ovulatory problems, frequent miscarriages, and problems with the reproductive hormones. Similarly, being severely underweight impairs ovulation and affects your reproductive hormones. So you might want to watch your diet and engage in a lot of physical activity to lower your risk.
Take-home message: Infertility is not limited to a woman; problems with men’s reproductive function may also cause infertility. Knowledge of the risk factors and problems that could disrupt the reproductive process is important in finding the right solutions.
