Time and luck matter when you are trying to conceive. People wait for a few years before the doubt of infertility seeps into their minds.
But if it has been six months to a year that you’ve been trying to get pregnant naturally, or if your menstrual cycles are irregular, or if you’ve tracking your ovulation with an ovulation predictor kit (OPK) and monitoring your LH levels, and you haven’t detected no LH surge it’s possible that ovulation isn’t occurring. Maybe it’s time to visit your doc.
60% of SingleCare’s 2020 survey respondents reported receiving some type of fertility treatment. Many fertility treatments are available for both men and women, from inexpensive pills and tablets to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and surgeries.
Your doctor is there to tell you what is the best way to better your chances of conceiving. But if you want to do some research ahead of time. Here are the common fertility treatments that you must know this year.
1. Oral medicines
Oral medicines are taken when a female’s fallopian tubes are not blocked, and she faces ovulation challenges while the male’s tests return to normal. These are inexpensive tablets consumed around the menstrual cycle.
There are various tablets, the most popular go by the name Clomid and letrozole under the name Femara.
These tablets essentially tell your brain that estrogen in your body is lacking, so it produces more to stimulate the ovaries. Consult your doctor before consuming these for potential side effects.
2. Injections
If the pills don’t work, practitioners go for injectable medicines called gonadotropins. It is injected into the fatty tissue on your thigh or abdomen.
You must have heard of Pregnyl, Follistim, Menopur, and others. These medicines are very powerful and lead to the release of hormones.
Gonadotropins are usually used alongside IVF because uncontrolled use can lead to the birth of twins, triplets, and more babies. Its use outside of IVF is very specific, like the administration to a woman whose egg count is low or in IUI, where multiple birth risk is less.
3. Intra Uterine Insemination (IUI)
Using oral and/or injectable medicines is known as ovulation induction. IUI is often conducted alongside ovulation induction to assist reproduction gently.
In this process, the sperm is injected directly into the uterus to be closer to the egg, and the chances of fertilization are higher.
In these cases, either the sperm count is low, the female body rejects the sperm, or there is unexplained infertility.
The cervix is the bouncer, rejecting or allowing sperm past it, so the sperm is injected right after the cervix.
4. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
If three or more cycles of IUI fail, close your eyes and go for an IVF. Low sperm count or blocked fallopian tubes lead to trying IVF.
In the IVF process, oral medicines and gonadotropins are administered for the maximum production of eggs. These are then collected in a small surgery and inseminated with the partner/donor sperm in a lab by an embryologist.
When the embryo culture is ready, mostly in a month or so, they are injected into the uterus to attach and grow, again in a small surgery.
If there are many embryos, they can be frozen for the future or more attempts on the failure of the first one.
As you see, it is a crucial and sensitive process. So, only go with the best of the best for swift success.
5. Surrogacy
Surrogacy is when someone else has your baby for you, nourishing the embryo in their womb for nine months. This happens when you can’t get pregnant through traditional or assisted reproduction methods.
In traditional surrogacy, the sperm is injected into the surrogate’s uterus, and fertilizing the egg will result in conception. The child will have the surrogate’s DNA and the sperm producer’s.
In gestational surrogacy, the intended mother’s egg is artificially inseminated with the intended father’s sperm via IVF.
Then the embryos are injected into the surrogate to attempt pregnancy. This is legally safer in places where surrogate rights are not recognized because the baby does not have the surrogate’s DNA.
Wrapping Up…
The first step to successful assisted reproduction is to let go of the stigma and stop self-blame. With the changing lifestyle and work habits, conception issues are pretty normal.
With advanced technology, there are various fertility treatments. So, consult your doctor and choose the best one for happy parenthood!
