Collaborative Post¦ You may have everything you want in life and be exactly where you envisioned being. You might have the perfect career, the perfect partner, and the perfect house. There is just one thing missing, a baby. Unfortunately, struggling to conceive naturally is more common than we think. 1 in 7 couples have trouble conceiving. The longer you try to conceive the less likely your chance of conceiving naturally will be. If you are not too bothered about how you get a child you could look into other methods of having a baby. These include fostering, adoption, or surrogacy.
Trying to conceive
There are two types of infertility, the first is known as primary infertility. This is where the person trying to conceive has never had a baby and is having difficulty. There is also secondary infertility, this is where the person has had previous children and is now struggling to conceive again. If you have been trying to conceive for over a year then be sure to make an appointment with your GP who will point you in the right direction. Your GP will check for any issues causing your fertility problems and suggest treatments that may help. This could be in the form of medicines, surgical procedures, or assisted conception such as IVF.
Risk factors
There are many things that can affect a person’s fertility. It isn’t just women affected either, men can have troubles too. If you are classed as being overweight you may find it more difficult to conceive. If your BMI is over 30 then your chances of conceiving are reduced. However, if you are severely underweight you could also struggle as your body stops producing eggs each month. Age is also a huge factor when it comes to having a baby. Ideally, you should be under 30, however, the rate of decline is over 36. Smoking and drinking can also have an impact, in men they reduce the quality and quantity of sperm.
Causes
There can be a huge number of causes of infertility, one will never know what really causes it. However, the GP will discuss with you and try to get to the root cause to help. Problems you could face as a woman include your body may not be ovulating each month thus causing problems. No egg equals no baby. Your body could also not be producing enough cervical mucus, this is needed to help the sperm swim to the egg. If it is too dry they won’t be able to get up the tubes. Endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease can also cause havoc with conceiving. Certain medicines and drugs can also cause infertility.
Men can also experience problems down below. The most common cause is usually the semen that carries the sperm. This could be of bad quality. There is a link between the temperature of the balls and the sperm quality, but it hasn’t been tested as to whether wearing loose clothing helps. Damage to the testicles can also be an underlying cause of infertility in men.
We hope you found this guide helpful. Remember, visit your GP and try to stay positive.
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.
Cover photo by Deon Black on Unsplash