Infertility -- its causes, treatments, heartbreaks and triumphs -- has become part of our national dialogue. With infertility affecting approximately 7.3 million people in the United States (according to a 2002 National Survey of Family Growth), chances are you know someone who has struggled with the inability to conceive or carry a baby to term. Perhaps it’s a struggle you yourself face.
One area of infertility that the general public seems to be underinformed about is the role pelvic factors play in the process of becoming pregnant. A more thorough understanding of these factors, among both the general population and within the medical community, I believe, could go a long way toward improving positive outcomes for women undergoing fertility treatments.
Understanding Pelvic Factors and their Role in Infertility
First, let me give you a clear definition of infertility. According to the National Infertility Association: “Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive after one year of unprotected intercourse (6 months if the woman is over age 35) or the inability to carry a pregnancy to live birth. Both men and women can have fertility issues. Male infertility is noted approximately 40% of the time. In the case of the female, 40% are secondary to problems in the pelvis, 20% are caused by disruption in ovulation, and roughly 1 in 10 infertile cases are due to problems at the cervix, i.e. - hostile mucus. Moreover, in 5% - 10% of cases, the cause is unknown.
It is interesting to note, though, that approximately 40% of the fertility issues can be attributed to pelvic factors. In short, pelvic factors are physical obstacles that adversely affect a woman’s ability to conceive or carry a pregnancy to term. Pelvic factors include:
-Uterine fibroids that disrupt implantation
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endometriosis, which can cause inability of eggs to be picked up by -fallopian tubes, impact hormones, egg quality, egg production and implantation
-Decreased ovarian function because of cysts in ovaries
-Tubal disease that negatively impacts ability of sperm and egg to meet
-Abnormally-shaped uterus
-Scar tissue in uterus, perhaps from a previous surgery
Treatments like in-vitro fertilization (IVF) can help overcome many of these problems, especially those which involve the egg and sperm coming together. But, in many cases, the success of IVF, and other infertility treatments, can be improved dramatically when these pelvic factors are addressed surgically beforehand.
