Why Don't We Have Children? - Infertility Reasons

The international statistics on infertility are horrifying. For one reason or another, almost every sixth family cannot have children. Each couple has its own situation, but experts identify the most common infertility reasons explaining why you can't have a baby.

The most widespread causes of infertility are as follows.

• Age effect on infertility;
• Male-factor infertility;
• Tubal-factor infertility;
• Endocrine-factor infertility;
• The immunological factor of infertility;
• Psychogenic compatibility of a couple;
• Biological incompatibility of partners;
• Other causes of infertility.

Myths About Pregnancy Planning

It is normal to talk about infertility if a couple lives a regular sexual life and does not use contraception methods. Still, pregnancy does not occur within 1-3 years (the younger the couple, the longer this period). Many start to panic much earlier, and some rush to the gynecologist and demand IVF a month after starting a regular sexual life in marriage.

And yet, if the diagnosis of infertility has already been made, the reasons may differ.

Age and Infertility

The first reason is age. Unfortunately, in recent years, people have begun to postpone the birth of children all over the world. It is generally accepted that you need to build a career, earn money, and achieve a position in society first. Moreover, if such an approach was more characteristic of men, women use it today. 

Meanwhile, the older they get, the harder it is for them to conceive naturally. So, the chances of 35-year-olds for successful fertilization are about 20 (!) times lower than those of 20-year-olds. And by the age of 40, the chances are already 40 times lower. Therefore, doctors say that you should not delay the birth of your first child. In addition, the older a woman becomes, the more likely she is to have a baby with chromosomal abnormalities, primarily Down syndrome.

Male Infertility

The second common reason - it's all about the man. Infertility has been blamed on women, which has been the case for many years. But in the last half-century, the situation has changed dramatically - the contribution of men to family infertility has grown to 50%. In other words, they are to blame in every second case. 

Most often due to low-quality sperm (azoospermia). It is also necessary to consider the fact that in every third case of infertility in the family, both partners have problems. A comprehensive examination helps to understand this. It is necessary to check both the quality of sperm and the patency of the fallopian tubes and the seminal ducts.

Tubal-Factor Infertility

Fallopian tube obstruction, by the way, is another very common cause of infertility. In this case, surgical treatment helps.

Endocrine-Factor Infertility Reasons

In 40% of cases, infertility is endocrine, that is, associated with hormonal disorders in the reproductive organs. Most often, this is due to excessive production of the hormone prolactin, that is, hyperprolactinemia (this happens to both men and women). The increase in this hormone can be very different - from stress and injury to some medications. And this pathology is treated quite simply by prescribing dopamine agonists.

Immunological Infertility Reasons

Not so often, but a couple is not compatible for immunological reasons in some cases. Special antibodies that kill the sperm of the partner begin to be produced in a woman's body.

Psychogenic Infertility Causes

The psychogenic compatibility of the couple is also very important. Sometimes, the onset of a seemingly desired pregnancy is hindered by a subconscious mindset (psychological infertility) that children in your family will be unnecessary.

Biological Incompatibility

Approximately every fifth case of infertility is associated with the biological incompatibility of husband and wife, even though the health indicators of both of them can be just perfect. It's extremely difficult to do anything here. Experts say that children tend to appear after divorce and remarriage in these cases.

Other Infertility Causes

Experts also note that the causes of infertility may well be malnutrition, food poor for vitamins and essential trace elements, and bad habits. Obesity can lead to disruption of ovulation, so people who want to have kids should monitor and control their weight. However, do not get carried away with diets - they can lead to hormonal imbalance, resulting in infertility. 

If we talk about bad habits, then, according to Korean researchers, smoking adversely affects the mucous membrane of the fallopian tubes, which interferes with the movement of sperm and eggs. In men, smoking worsens the quality of sperm.

Summing up the Infertility Reasons

In any case, you should not despair. Today there are a lot of assisted reproductive technologies (IVF, ICSI, etc.) that will help a man and a woman become happy parents.

Pay attention to physical activity - they help maintain health and protect against stress, which can also affect the ability to conceive as they worsen ovulation. Some doctors claim that wearing too tight clothes interferes with blood circulation in the pelvic area, which affects the ability to become pregnant. Therefore, it is worth choosing things that allow air to pass through and not hinder movement.

Doctors warn that many myths associated with infertility have long been debunked by science. So, its cause cannot be an irregular menstrual cycle. In addition, there is a popular belief that a woman will not get pregnant if her blood type is incompatible with her husband's blood type - this is also from the evil one. There is also no bad heredity in this matter - if there were barren relatives in your family, this does not mean anything. Masturbation in childhood does not affect the ability to conceive. Even long-term use of oral contraceptives has been proven not to affect the ability to become pregnant. So keep calm, listen to your doctor, and wish you have the most precious baby!