Female Infertility Treatments – An Overview

Female infertility can be treated in a number of ways that range from common and relatively easy treatments to complicated and controversial procedures. The difficulty with female infertility is that it can be hard to diagnose the exact cause of the problem and the problem can actually stem from more than one cause, which can make treatment more problematic. In addition, treatment for female infertility tends to be more costly because of the involved nature of the female body so many times expense can affect how the infertility is treated.

There are four main treatments that are considered first line and relatively common.

1. Taking hormones – There are several causes of infertility that can stem from hormone imbalance. These include annovulatory cycles, endometriosis, short luteal phases within the menstrual cycle and an imbalance in the different reproductive hormones. Blood and urine tests can reveal what hormones are needed to restore balance within the body to restore fertility. The hormone balance within the female body is intricate and a delicate balance. It is usually not at easy as adding one hormone because that can throw off the balance of others. It is extremely difficult to get the female body back into harmony once that balance has been upset.
2. Inducing Ovulation – There are many reasons why the female may not ovulate in any given cycle. Medications are used to stimulate the ovaries to ovulate. The ovaries can be stimulated to release one egg at a time or multiple eggs from both ovaries at the same time. Women who are using Assisted Reproductive Technologies will usually need to take medication to stimulate the ovulation of multiple eggs from both ovaries.
3. Taking antibiotics – Infections can be a cause of infertility in women. The infections can be inside the reproductive organs, outside the body, or other places within the body to cause infertility of various forms. Antibiotics will take care of the infection and thus restore fertility but in and of themselves antibiotics will not cure infertility not caused by infection.
   
4. Surgery – Minor surgical procedures can be used to restore fertility by unblocking fallopian tubes that are blocked, removing scar tissue from the reproductive system, and to treat endometriosis. Laparoscopy is a minor surgical procedure that involves the use of a small camera inserted into the naval of the woman so the surgeon can visualize the female reproductive organs to possibly find the cause of infertility. If a cause is found, the problem can be fixed using the same camera and additionally two or three incisions in the abdomen.
   

If the infertility is caused from blocked or damaged fallopian tubes, many times InVitro Fertilization will help combat that problem and result in conception. The male sperm and female egg are fertilized in the laboratory and the fertilized egg is placed directly into the uterus to help facilitate implantation into the uterus.

Female infertility can be extremely involved and difficult to diagnose and treat. This is usually due to the shear-complicated nature of the female body. With the addition of Assisted Reproductive Technologies, women today can usually be successful in conceiving a pregnancy.