Reproductive health of women: How to know if I am fertile?

The fertility is something that is often taken for granted and we do not care much, at least until the moment you decide to have a child. When a woman makes this decision a world opens with an endless amount of doubt. When looking for pregnancy one of the big questions that can arise is: How to know if I am fertile?

If you are trying to get pregnant, doubts about your fertility are understandable and normal. Just as it is to perform certain tests to find out the status of your reproductive health . In this post we explain the recommended steps to follow.

How to know if I am fertile? First guidelines

The fertility of a woman could be found only through is specialized gynecologist. Therefore, the most advisable when there are doubts is to go to a fertility clinic. In these centers, specialized gynecologists are able to perform a complete clinical history.

The specialists will worry about making a general check of your health:

• Discard common alterations that could hinder your reproductive capacity: check levels of iron and thyroid hormones in blood, that there is no resistance to insulin.
• Perform general gynecological tests to rule out complications that may negatively influence your reproductive health: pelvic exam, vaginal cytology, etc.

If you have already done these tests and have ruled out any health problems, keep in mind that reproductively healthy couples can take up to a year to become pregnant . If you want to deepen on this topic, we suggest you read  the best recommendations to get pregnant . If you have a male partner, it is essential that he also rule out possible problems.

Next, we will delve into the main factors that affect your fertility.

Key factors for women’s reproductive health

There are 5 main factors that determine or hinder the reproductive health of women. Do you know them? In the following lines you will find more details about what they are, what they depend on and how these types of problems are detected in women.

1. THE OVARIAN FACTOR

It refers to the health of the ovaries and their ability to produce mature and healthy eggs. This function of the female reproductive system could be affected by some risk factors:

• Age: It represents a key indicator of the ovarian reserve and the quality of the oocytes. From the age of 35, these two descend significantly.
• Anovulation: The ovaries do not produce mature ovules. The most frequent causes are polycystic ovaries, anorexia, obesity, stress, insulin resistance.
• Exposure to endocrine disruptors: Tobacco, pesticides or others, negatively affect ovarian health.
• Medical history: Diseases such as hypothyroidism, diabetes, poorly controlled epilepsy, abdominal infections adjacent to the ovaries, cancer or autoimmune diseases.
• Hormonal imbalance: A blood test is usually performed to detect levels of LH, FSH, estradiol and AMH.

If you have a regular menstruation, surely you will be ovulating correctly and you could rule out the ovarian factor. Here you will find more details about ovulation and how to detect your fertile days.

2. TUBARIC FACTOR

A blockage in the tube can interfere with the transit of the sperm, the egg or the embryo, preventing pregnancy. Tubal injuries can be caused by sexually transmitted infections (chlamydia, gonorrhea, etc.) that cause pelvic inflammation (PID).

Another cause of tubal injury is SIN (isthmic salpingitisnodosa) or pelvic surgeries that have gone through infection and inflammation.

To detect and rule out possible problems in the tubes there are tests such as Hysterosalpingography (HSG) and Ecohysterology.

3. THE UTERINE FACTOR

This type of problem occurs less frequently, yet it should not be overlooked. In this case, the uterus is not prepared to properly house the embryo, which does not become implanted.

In most cases it is caused by hormonal imbalances, although it is also due to anatomical factors (fibroids, polyps, adhesions and malformations).

4. ENDOMETRIOSIS

The endometriosis is a common cause fertility problems. It manifests when the tissue that lines the uterus leaves the abdominal cavity and produces bleeding and inflammation. One of the main symptoms is very marked pelvic pain, during menstruation and outside of it.

5. RECURRING ABORTIONS

They can be caused by hormonal imbalances, immunological problems, failures in implantation by uterine factor and less frequently, by being carrier of balanced chromosomal anomalies that do not affect the mother but can cause abortions.

If you’re wonderin, how do I know if I’m fertile? , Do not hesitate to contact us. Our gynecologists specialized in reproductive health will perform the necessary tests to detect or rule out the most common risk factors and recommend the most appropriate treatment in your case.

What does it mean to have repeat abortions? In this article, we will explain what they are and what they depend on. If you have doubts about miscarriages, read on! You will discover which factors may be making your chances of carrying out the pregnancy difficult and how to act.

What is recurrent abortion?

Recurrent abortion, or repeat abortion, is defined as the presence of 2 or more unwanted abortions. This happens to between 2 and 5% of women.

In these cases, abortion usually occurs within the third month of pregnancy and is also called precocious, as opposed to late abortions that occur after the 13th week of gestation.

Why do recurrent miscarriages occur?

An abortion is a more common event than you could imagine, between 10% and 15% of women suffer a miscarriage. But only in certain cases this event will be repeated giving rise to repeat abortions.

In many occasions there is not a single cause that explains this phenomenon, but there is a combination of elements that determine it. In repeat abortions, in particular, three possible sources of factors tend to affect:

1. In which the woman intervenes.
2. That depend on the intervention of man.
3. Those in which the cause is produced by the embryo.

This variety of factors, which can cause recurrent miscarriages, makes the participation of a multidisciplinary team that diagnoses and solves the problem of recurrent abortions indispensable.

But what exactly do these sources of factors consist of? The answers to this question can be many.

Main causes of recurrent abortions

Here are some of the causes described that cause recurrent miscarriages:

Genetic causes: Alterations in the karyotype of women, men or the embryo can cause abortions. It is advisable to perform the mitotic karyotype in all cases of recurrent abortions to rule out this genetic cause. By means of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, the chromosomal content of the embryo can be analyzed.

Anatomical causes: The presence of malformations or polyps in the uterus is another cause of abortions. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate each case.

Immunological causes: There is a complex communication between the fetus and the mother in which complex immunological mechanisms intervene that prevent the mother from rejecting the embryo. We are increasingly aware of these interactions and can diagnose problems that prevent pregnancy from continuing.

Hormonal causes: It is essential to perform a complete hormonal study of pituitary and thyroid hormones. Alterations in these hormones can cause abortions.

What do I have to do to avoid recurrent miscarriages?

Repeat abortions are events that are usually very traumatic. Therefore, it is advisable to go to a specialist capable of diagnosing the cause and offer possible solutions adapted to each case.

If you have had two consecutive abortions characterized by the details that we have defined in this post, the study of the factors that have produced them is important. The complexity of the causes that intervene in this process makes it necessary for a specialized team to carry out the analysis.

A diagnosis made by professionals is the first step to avoid repeat abortions and the best way to the most appropriate solutions for each woman.

The female infertility is the inability to achieve pregnancy causes affecting women. Approximately 30% of couples who have problems conceiving are due to the female factor and 15-30% to mixed factors (male and female). Below we will explain what the most common causes of female sterility are.

Female sterility by ovarian factor

The first step necessary to achieve pregnancy is the union of the ovule and sperm through fertilization. In a natural way, it is necessary that ovulation (release of an ovum) occurs so that fertilization is possible.

In cases in which there is female sterility by ovarian factor, there is some abnormality in the menstrual cycle that prevents regular ovulation of mature ovules of good quality. Among the most common cases of ovarian factor are:

• Anovulation (ovulation does not occur), as in the case of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
• Menopause and early menopause.
• Endometriosis, since one of the problems it causes is that it affects the quality of the ovules.

Depending on what the source of sterility and severity, may be necessary to insemination Artif l, an in vitro fertilization (IVF) or even ovodonationfor pregnancy.

Female sterility caused by problems in the fallopian tubes

For fertilization to occur, it is necessary that the egg and the sperm meet. For this, it must be possible to pass through the fallopian tubes. In cases where the tubes are obstructed, we are facing sterility due to tubal factor. One of the most common causes of this type of alteration are some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), such as those caused by the bacteria chlamydia or gonorrhea, which cause pelvic inflammation (PID).

The most reliable way to diagnose this type of sterility is through a hysterosalpingogram, a diagnostic test that allows us to study the permeability of the fallopian tubes.

In these cases, pregnancy can be achieved through an in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.

The cervical factor as a cause of female sterility

In cases where the sperm can not pass through the cervix to reach the uterus, it is also not possible for fertilization to occur. It may be due to the presence of very thick, acidic mucus or inflammatory substances that hinder the passage or survival of sperm. It can also be due to anatomical alterations.

In these cases, it will also be possible to achieve pregnancy through artificial insemination or IVF.

Uterine causes of female sterility

Uterine factors that can cause female infertility can be:

• Problems of endometrial receptivity that prevent the implantation of the embryo in the uterus. In many cases it can be diagnosed by a test of endometrial receptivity, which also allows embryos to be transferred at the most appropriate time.
• Presence of myomas, polyps or uterine malformations that make it difficult for the embryo to implant or even that the pregnancy does not evolve correctly. In some cases, it may be necessary to treat these anomalies surgically.

These alterations can cause implantation failures and repeat abortions.