Fertility Problems: Common Causes And Treatment

Satin Patel, M.D., who specializes in reproductive endocrinology and infertility and founder of North Texas IVF at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, discussed what are the possible causes of infertility and how they diagnose it.

Dr. Patel said that the age of women and the "ovarian reserve" is crucial to fertility. But women isn't just to blame because men can also play a factor in infertility, too. He said about one-third of infertility cases are due to men and their age also contributes to the problem.

He said if his patients are facing fertility challenges, he first takes all the necessary details such as history and physical health. Then he proceeds with fertility evaluation, which involves testing patient's fallopian tube to ensure there is nothing hampering the conception.

After which, a woman needs to undergo hormone analysis and antimullerian hormone test or AMH to see how many eggs she has left. Then after a series of tests and reading the results, Dr. Patel said the data collected will serve as his guide, so he can recommend treatment.

If the result shows a woman has low AMH, "... it may lead her to either accelerate her family-building plans if she's in a relationship or see a fertility clinic and freeze her eggs to make sure she has options for the future," Dr. Patel explained to Parenting.com.

And if the root of the problem is the woman failing to ovulate and she's younger, the remedy for this problem is often in the form of fertility pill that can improve her ovulation. But for many cases, which involve older women or women with blocked fallopian tubes or the man has low sperm count. The doctor also said that in vitro fertilization (IVF) is the best solution.

When asked what is the best advice he can give to avoid infertility, Dr.Patel said "not to delay childbearing, because female age is your worst enemy."