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The Common Causes of Female Infertility

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Trying For a Baby?

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What happens when you see your doctor?

See your GP in the first instance, if you have any reason for concern.

Your doctor will want to know about your development as a teenager and your periods. You’ll be asked when they started, how regular they are, whether you’ve ever been pregnant before or whether you’ve ever had a pelvic infection or sexually transmitted infection.

You can use our ovulation calendar to help identify when your most fertile days are.

It’s also important to mention any other illnesses you’ve had and any medication you may be taking.

Your doctor will examine you, including an internal examination, and send you for blood tests to check your blood count and hormone levels.

Your doctor may ask your partner about his development too, check his medical history for problems such as mumps, examine him and give him instructions to collect a semen sample for testing.

You may then be referred to a specialist clinic to a specialist clinic for further tests and advice. This is usually done once you’ve been trying to get pregnant for at least 18 months, but may be sooner if you’re in your mid-30s or older.

What can specialists do?
Once referred to a fertility specialist (a reproductive medicine specialist), the cause of your infertility will be investigated.

The treatment will depend on the cause. It can range from hormone treatments and the use of donor sperm, to assisted conception techniques such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

IVF and ICSI
IVF involves removing eggs from the woman’s ovaries and mixing them with either her partner’s or a donor’s sperm in a laboratory. If the eggs are fertilised successfully, they may then be placed back in the womb……….CLICK & SEE

This is a demanding treatment for the couple and only about one in three women will become pregnant after a single IVF/ICSI cycle. Some of these pregnancies will be lost in the early stages. Many cycles may be required before achieving successful pregnancy, and these treatments are not successful for everyone, no matter how many times they’re attempted.

ICSI is sometimes recommended to couples who’ve had no success with IVF. It involves injecting a single sperm into the egg. If a healthy embryo develops, it’s then placed back in the womb as in IVF………..CLICK & SEE

Access to IVF is limited on the NHS. Guidelines from the National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence (NICE) say women aged 23 to 39 who have an identified cause of infertility or have had unexplained infertility for at least three years should be entitled to three cycles of IVF.

The Government has suggested that each primary care trust starts by offering couples one cycle, working up to three when possible. Access to NHS treatment varies, however, and it can depend on where you live, and what other local conditions are placed on you, such as your age.

Click For more information of   infertility :

Source : BBC Health.22nd. July.2010

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Health Quaries

Some Health Quaries & Answers

Protection during breast-feeding
Q: I am breast-feeding my nine-month old baby. I have not had my periods and am not using any contraception. I was told that if you are breast-feeding, you will not get pregnant. Is it true?

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A: It’s a myth, an old wife’s tale. You can become pregnant as soon as you have intercourse, even if you are breast feeding and have not had your periods. You need to check with your gynaecologist and ask for a reliable method of contraception which you can use until you are ready to have your next baby.

There are several options: your husband can use condoms, or you can have an intra-uterine contraceptive device (IUD) inserted, take progesterone-only pills daily or take an injection of a long-acting form of progesterone once in three months.

Familial cancer :-
Q: One of my maternal uncles had lung cancer and another had stomach cancer that spread to the brain. What precautions should I take so that I do not develop cancer?

A: Some cancers can be genetic or hereditary. But in your case, your uncles seem to have had different types of cancer. To reduce your risk of developing the disease, in general, lead a healthy life with one hour of exercise daily. Maintain your BMI (weight divided by height in metre squared) at 23. Eat four to five helpings of fruits and vegetables everyday. After the age of 50, do a PSA (prostate specific antigen) test. The PSA level rises in prostrate cancer which is very common in men.

Still no baby
Q: We have no children even after seven years of marriage. My wife became pregnant four times, but each time the pregnancy ended in an abortion. We also tried to have a test tube baby but that too was unsuccessful.

A: Your wife seems to have no problem conceiving since she become pregnant naturally four times. The difficulty seems to lie in retaining the pregnancy and carrying it to term. This may be due to congenital malformations or tumours (like fibroids) in the uterus, or diseases such as kidney problems, diabetes and hormonal imbalance. There are several reasons which need to be investigated by an obstetrician. Investing in a test tube baby is not a solution unless you also plan to use a surrogate mother.

Sweaty palms
Q: I sweat excessively on my palms because of which am unable to shake hands with people or use a keyboard. I have tried several creams and lotions but to no avail.

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A: Sweating excessively on the palms is due to overdrive of the sympathetic nervous system and is independent of the temperature regulatory sweating that occurs on other parts of the body. You need basic blood tests to rule out thyroid and other endocrine malfunctions. These can be treated.

To begin with, try soaking your hands in boric acid solution twice a day. Then apply an anti perspirant roll or deodorant. Wipe your palms frequently. Also, you could use a “plastic skin” on the keyboard to type.

Some doctors prescribe anti cholinergergic tablets, beta blockers or sedatives. However, these have side effects — such as dry mouth and sleepiness — which are usually more distressing than the disease. Surgery can be done to remove the nerve ganglia responsible for the problem. But this should be the last resort.

Migraine attack
Q: I suffer from migraine. The headaches are incapacitating and I lose several working days every month. I do not want to keep on taking tablets.

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A: Migraine can be treated in one of two ways. Some patients are able to accurately predict the onset of an attack. They do very well with stemetil, phenergan, codeine or sumatryptan, which have to be taken before the headache is well-established and vomiting starts.

In others, the headaches are frequent and unpredictable. They need preventive medication like propanalol or amitryptiline, which must be taken daily. Sometimes regular physical exercise combined with relaxation techniques in yoga reduces the frequency and severity of the attacks. Accupressure applied to specific sites at the onset of the headache may help.

Right weight
Q: I am 38 years old and have two children. I am a little plump, not fat. What should my correct weight be?

A: After the age of two, a person’s ideal weight is determined not by age but by calculating the BMI. It is a good indicator of the body fat. Ideally, the BMI should be 23.

Based on this calculation, figure out how many kilograms you need to lose. Exercising one hour everyday should work off about 350 calories. You can tailor your diet so that every day you have a calorific deficit of 500 calories. A 3,500-calorie negative balance will result in a kilogram of weight loss.

Source : The Telegraph ( Kolkata, India)

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News on Health & Science

Antidepressants and Other Psychotropic Medications Linked to Birth Defects

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Between 1998 and 2007, psychotropic medications were associated with 429 adverse drug reactions in Danish children under the age of 17. More than half of the 429 cases were serious and several involved birth defects, such as birth deformities and severe withdrawal syndromes.
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Professors Lise Aagaard and Ebbe Holme Hansen studied all 4,500 pediatric adverse drug reaction reports submitted during the study period to find those which were linked to psychotropic medications. The two researchers found that 42 percent of adverse reactions were reported for psychostimulants, such as Ritalin, which treats attention deficit disorder (ADD), followed by 31 percent for antidepressants, such as Prozac, and 24 percent for antipsychotics, such as Haldol.

“A range of serious side effects such as birth deformities, low birth weight, premature birth, and development of neonatal withdrawal syndrome were reported in children under two years of age, most likely because of the mother’s intake of psychotropic medication during pregnancy,” says Associate Professor Lisa Aagaard.

The researchers believe that these tendencies should serve as a warning to doctors and health care personnel.

“Psychotropic medication should not be prescribed in ordinary circumstances, because this type of medication has a long half-life. If people take their medicine as prescribed it will be a constantly high dosage, and it could take weeks for one single tablet to exit the body’s system. Three out of four pregnancies are planned, and therefore society must take responsibility for informing women about the serious risks of transferring side effects to their unborn child,” says Aagaard.

There is a clear indication that use of antidepressants is increasing in Denmark, as well as in many other countries, and the tendency is the same when it comes to pregnant women.

“We are constantly reminded about the dangers of alcohol use and smoking during pregnancy, but there is no information offered to women with regards to use of psychotropic medication. There is simply not enough knowledge available in this area,” concludes Aagaard, suggesting that greater control should be required when prescribing psychotropic medications to pregnant women.


Source: Elements4Health:25 June 2010

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Health Alert

Morning Sickness, All Day Long

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Pregnancy sometimes causes nausea and vomiting. It is dismissed as normal morning sickness. In some cultures, vomiting is actually taken as proof of pregnancy.
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Morning sickness, however, is not necessarily confined to the morning, though 80 per cent of pregnant women fall in this category. It can occur at any time of the day or night. The remaining 20 per cent of the women may show other signs of pregnancy such as eating ravenously.

Vomiting usually starts around the sixth week — around two weeks after the period is missed. It settles around the twelfth week, and then disappears around the fifth month. Any strong smell can precipitate waves of nausea — be it garbage or spices being fried in the kitchen.

Baffled scientists put forward many theories to explain this strange phenomenon. It was touted as an unconscious rejection of the pregnancy. Women were unsympathetically told to “control themselves”. Some blamed it on the hormonal changes during the period, which causes relaxation of the smooth muscles of the oesophagus and gall bladder and slows digestion.

Scientists have now discovered that the nausea is due to sensitivity to a hormone called HCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin). The vomiting coincides with peak levels of this hormone (six to 12 weeks).

The sensitivity varies and is genetically determined. Women who vomit during pregnancy often have mothers and sisters who had the same problem. It also tends to recur in each succeeding pregnancy, though, if the tolerance levels to HCG build up, the vomiting in the second pregnancy can be less than that in the first.

Excessive vomiting causes 1 per cent of the women who vomit to become morbidly ill. They lose 5 per cent or more of their pre-pregnancy weight. The violent retching can cause tears in the esophagus, resulting in blood in the vomit. The inability to retain any food in the stomach can result in dehydration severe enough to affect the kidneys. Blood may begin to clot in the veins. The brain may be affected as a result of electrolyte imbalance or dehydration. Loss of vitamins, particularly thiamine, may cause delirium.

This severe vomiting is also known as hyperemesis gravidarum (in Latin, gravid means pregnant, and hyper is excessive). It is more likely in younger women who are underweight before the pregnancy, pre-diabetic (abnormal GTT values) or have migraine headaches.

Persistent hyperemesis can be a danger signal. It can occur if the levels of HCG are higher than normal. This occurs when it is a twin pregnancy or if the baby has a chromosomal abnormality like trisomy 18 or 21. Or, it may not be a pregnancy at all but a tumour called hydatidiform mole that mimics pregnancy. An ultrasound examination at this stage will pick up all the above abnormalities.

Well meaning advice to tackle morning sickness with bed rest is counterproductive. The reclining position may further aggravate reflux from the stomach. Moreover, inactivity may lead to loss of muscle mass. This may make it difficult to withstand the rigours of labour and childbirth.

• To tackle morning sickness, consider the following.

• A good diet with adequate vitamins, particularly folic acid.

• Exposure to fresh air. Try going for a walk outdoor for half an hour in the morning and evening.

• Eat several small meals instead of three regular ones.

• Avoid anything that triggers the vomiting even if it touted as being “good for the baby”.

Ginger helps as lozenges, ginger tea or lime juice. Supplements are available but since the other additives in the capsules are not known, it is probably better and safer to use the natural product.

Peppermint can be sucked as lozenges or peppermint oil used as inhalations.

Try acupressure. The pressure point to reduce nausea is located in the middle of the inner wrist, three finger-breadths away from the crease and between the two tendons. Locate and press firmly, one wrist at a time for three minutes.

Despite this, if uncontrollable vomiting occurs, with aversion to food, loss of weight, dark coloured urine, loss of consciousness, headache, confusion or fainting, it is better to seek medical help. Hyperemesis can be fatal.

An initial evaluation will rule out a correctable cause like a urinary tract infection, acid dyspepsia, chromosomal abnormalities or a hydatidiform mole. Intravenous fluids (IV) can be given to restore hydration, electrolytes, vitamins and nutrients.

If anti-nausea medications are used, the danger to the baby has to be weighed against the risk to the mother. Strict medical supervision and documentation of the dose and duration of treatment are required.

Source : The Telegraph ( Kolkata, India)

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Pregnancy & Child birth

Mums Always Think Mother Knows Best

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Mothers-to-be think their own mothers know better than the medical profession when it comes to health advice, researchers say.

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Pregnant women are bombarded with diffenent advices

A University of London team talked to women who gave birth in the 1970s, 1980s and the 2000s.

Modern women were more likely to take a mixture of advice – but were still more likely to follow family wisdom.

One baby charity said family tips were useful, but medical advice should be sought if mothers-to-be had worries.

The researchers talked about pregnancy and childbirth advice to seven women who gave birth in the 1970s and 12 of their daughters who had babies in the 2000s.

They then also analysed interviews on the same topic which had been carried out with 24 women in the 1980s.

The 1970s women were most likely to take advice from family members.

But researchers found that women who had babies between 2000 and 2010 had to evaluate a wide range of information from doctors, midwives, books, magazines and, latterly, the internet – as well as that from their families.

In these women, it tended to be family advice that won out – particularly if a mother-to-be was dealing with a specific symptom.

One woman, Hetty, from the 2000s generation, said she had tried to stop drinking tea because she had read on the internet that caffeine could cause miscarriages in the first few weeks of pregnancy.

But she then added she had taken her grandmother’s advice that tea could help relieve morning sickness.

“She just used to stay in bed and have a cup of tea. And that did help actually.”

‘Strike a balance’
Professor Paula Nicolson from Royal Holloway, University of London, who led the study, said: “When it comes to the crunch – if women feel sick for example – they will take their mother’s or their grandmother’s advice.

“They wouldn’t necessarily recognise how important it was to them, but it would override the science.”

She added: “Taking all the guidelines too seriously leads to anxieties. Lack of self-confidence also can lead to worry about ‘doing the wrong thing’ which is potentially more harmful than taking the odd glass of wine or eating soft cheese.”

Jane Brewin, chief executive of baby charity Tommy’s, said women had to “strike a balance” about what advice they took.

“It’s only natural to want to talk about the significant changes that happen to a woman’s body and how she feels; mums and close friends often have first-hand experience and tips that are helpful.

“However we always stress that if any mum-to-be is worried about anything during their pregnancy they should seek medical advice without delay.”

Source: BBC NEWS:May 14. 2010

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