All the answers about infertility

It is still unknown just how much influence emotional disorders can have on reproduction. Even so, it has been demonstrated that the stress associated with reproduction should be treated since it deteriorates the couple’s quality of life. 

There is general confusion about the two terms but the medical distinction is clear.
- Primary sterility: when a couple, after a year of sexual relations without contraceptive measures, have not achieved pregnancy.
 - Secondary sterility is when a couple, after having a first child, do not achieve a new pregnancy after 2 or more years of trying.
 - Primary infertility is what a couple suffers who achieve a pregnancy that does not lead to the birth of a healthy infant.
 - Secondary infertility is when, after a normal pregnancy and birth, a couple does not achieve a new gestation leading to the birth of a healthy infant.

 

Ovulation or the fertile period of a woman occurs around half-way through each cycle, on roughly the fourteenth day in a supposed 28 day cycle. It has been proven that in the 24 hours that follow ovulation, base body temperature rises from 4 to 6 decimal points. This is the signal on which the control method is based, marking the days on which ovulation occurs.

These days 90% of couples find a solution to their problem in our clinics. 

Once the ovum (egg) has left the ovary it survives approximately 48 hours and it is only during this time that it can be fertilized by spermatozoa whose fertilisation capacity lasts for a maximum of 72 hours. In any case, it is better to not be obsessed with monitoring ovulation because anxiety for pregnancy is counterproductive and can also damage a couples’ relationship.

Only in the sense that these days factors such as alcohol or tobacco may have a negative impact on the production of sperm in developed countries. Atmospheric pollution is also a significant factor, as are additives and substances contained in foodstuffs such as hormones used to fatten livestock. In agricultural communities, above all in places where there are greenhouses, the use of pesticides with certain hormonal properties can affect the infertility of men. Other aspects related to the changes in lifestyle such as women entering the labour market, the older age of women at their first pregnancy etc. also contribute to the lowering of birthrates. 

Approximately nine out of ten couples of fertile age who maintain regular sexual relations achieve pregnancy within the first year. According to specialist data there is between a 15% and 17% chance of failure to have a child. Around 800,000 Spanish couples suffer from fertility problems.

After a year of regular sexual relations that have not resulted in pregnancy, one may begin to suspect that some type of dysfunction is responsible. Obviously, sexual relations should be carried out without any type of contraceptive measures.

It is a medical centre that specialises in diagnostic methods and reproduction treatment using the latest technologies, run by highly trained specific personnel with the most up-to-date technology. When faced with fertility problems, one must visit a specialised gynaecologist since the study of sterility is complex and involves tests that are not carried out during a normal gynaecological examination. 

In 40% of cases this is due to masculine causes: alterations in the testicular area, obstruction of tubes, prostate pathologies, alterations in ejaculation or erectile function or alterations in the semen. In another 40% of cases it is due to feminine causes such as early menopause, endometriosis, obstructions or injuries of the fallopian tubes, uterine or cervical anomalies or ovulation problems. In the remaining 20% of cases there is a mixture or a combination of causes in which both parties are responsible. We always prefer to speak about the causes or reasons of the couple as a whole because, whatever the problem, the cooperation of both parties is fundamental.

The physical and mental maturity of women means that the perfect age to have children is between twenty-five and thirty years of age. But these days couples decide to have children beyond these ages – largely due to the fact that women now form part of the labour market. From the age of thirty-five onwards women’s´ fertility drops noticeably and from the age of forty-five onwards the possibility of pregnancy exists only in exceptional cases. 

They are of both a social and medical character. Among the former, there is the delay in seeking descendants and the stress that both men and women undergo in their daily life. Within the medical causes, we can find extreme obesity, anorexia nervosa, serious illnesses, serious diseases, thyroid alterations, drug and medicine abuse, alcohol and tobacco, and chemotherapy. 20% of cases remain unresolved.

The rate of masculine fertility has dropped due to lower sperm counts and lessened sperm motility (mobility). There are also more cases of older women seeking to become mothers that are attempting to achieve spontaneous pregnancy when their fertility has decreased. It is common for men who have had a vasectomy to later wish to regain their fertility after a change of partner.

There is no legal limit that prevents a couple from seeking fertility.  It depends a lot on the circumstances of each couple, on their health and physical state and also on other factors. For women, the age of fifty is a reasonable limit beyond which fertility treatment is not recommended.