9 Reasons For Infertility

Sedentary lifestyle habits -- especially the ones that young working professionals have developed during the COVID-19 pandemic of being at home -- can lead to infertility, alerts fertility expert Dr Gunjan Sabherwal.

What is infertility?

Infertility is defined as not being able to get pregnant or conceive after one year or longer of having unprotected sex with your partner.

Fertility in women is known to decline steadily with age, which means that women become less fertile and have lesser chances of conniving with their growing age.

This happens because, with each menstrual cycle, the woman loses eggs from her ovaries, until she stops ovulating completely till she hits menopause.

Hence, some providers evaluate and treat women aged 35 years or older after 6 months of unprotected sex, as women aged 35 or older have lesser chances of conceiving.

Also, infertility is not just a woman's problem. Both men and women can contribute to infertility equally.

Many couples struggle with infertility and seek help to become pregnant, but it is often thought of as only a woman's condition.

However, in about 35% of the couples with infertility, a malefactor is identified along with a female factor.

In about 8% of couples with infertility, a malefactor is the only identifiable cause.

Even men have a lesser chance of being able to give a good quality sperm to their partner during sex, as with the growing age and lifestyle habits, men's sperm quality and quantity also reduce.

Couples facing infertility issues should consider making an appointment with a fertility expert. A fertility expert specialises in managing infertility problems in couples.

Pregnancy or being able to conceive is the result of a process that has many steps.

To get pregnant, a woman's body must release an egg from one of her ovaries external icon. A man's sperm must join with the egg along the way, which is called the fertilisation of the egg from the woman's ovary.

The fertilised egg must go through a fallopian external icon toward the uterus's external icon which is the womb. The embryo must attach to the inside of the uterus where the egg gets implanted and the woman gets pregnant. These are the steps to becoming pregnant and for a couple to conceive.

Infertility may result from a problem with any or several of these steps.

If a couple is not able to meet these steps due to various issues, it means that they will have issues with fertility and conceiving. These issues can only then be diagnosed and explained by a fertility expert.

Infertility is a condition where you cannot get pregnant after one year of trying to conceive.

In women, causes of infertility can include endometriosis, uterine fibroids and thyroid disease. Men with fertility problems may have a low sperm count or low testosterone. The risk of infertility increases as you age.

These are some common causes of infertility below in men and women:

1. Lifestyle habits

Sedentary lifestyle habits -- especially the ones that young working professionals have developed during the COVID-19 pandemic of being at home -- can lead to infertility.

It is important to lead a healthy lifestyle which includes consumption of a healthy diet and frequent exercise to the body, to maintain a fit and healthy life, so you can have good quality of eggs and sperms which are healthy and nutritious.

2. Stress

Too much stress can eventually lead to causing negativity which gives negative signals to our brain directly. This stress affects the hormones in our body and can directly affect fertility.

3. Radiations and therapies

Radiations and therapies taken during cancer treatments or other treatments near our abdominal area have an effect on fertility as the radiations can harm the egg reserve or the sperm count around our abdominal area.

Techniques like egg freezing are suggested for people undergoing cancer treatment or radiation therapies.

4. Excessive smoking/drinking

Excessive smoking and drinking which includes alcohol have a bad effect on our body as this is unhealthy.

This can lead to unhealthy eggs and sperms which can lead to further miscarriages and infertility.

5. Eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia

An eating disorder is a serious and complex mental health issue that affects one's emotional and physical health.

People with eating disorders develop an unhealthy relationship with food, their weight or appearance.

Anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder can also have a negative effect on fertility.

6. Diabetes

Diabetes is a common disease that is commonly known among all of us. But we are very less aware of the fact about effects of diabetes.

One way how diabetes affects the human body is with regards to its influence on fertility in men and women.

In order to fight infertility issues with diabetes, one needs to control their condition very well.

Hormonal disruption by diabetes is the main reason to cause delaying or failure of implantation and conception.

7. Age

As mentioned earlier, age plays a very important role in the fertility of both men and women.

The quality of a woman's eggs and a man's sperms decline as they age.

Also, the number of eggs and sperms decline over time. Women are prone to infertility after the age of 35 and men are prone to infertility after the age of 40.

8. Weight problems

Managing your weight is a big part of your health.

When you are overweight or obese or even underweight, you are at risk for medical conditions like heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes which have an effect on fertility.

Over-exercising can also lead to weight problems and less percentage of fat in the body which have an effect on our hormones, further leading to infertility and inability to conceive.

9. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)

An STD or STI is a serious condition that can develop after you have unprotected sex.

STD treatment (usually antibiotics) can cure the STD. You can get an STI/STD again.

One must make sure to use a condom or dental dam whenever you have any kind of sex as STDs can lead to infertility.

Dr Gunjan Sabherwal is a fertility expert at Nova Southend IVF and Fertility, Gurugram.