According to a study conducted on 15000 people in the UK, one in eight women are likely to be infertile, and it is generally expected that most of these women are likely to go undiagnosed until they start trying to have a baby.
Premenopause is described as the time before a woman’s ovaries stop producing eggs, while infertility is commonly explained as a condition where a heterosexual couple fails to achieve conception after 12 months of regular unprotected intercourse. While there are different opinions on the definition of “regular intercourse”, most people in the medical community consider two times or more per week as a standard.
The type of female infertility treatment you may need premenopause will typically depend on your diagnosed condition and underlying root cause. The most common conditions, root causes and probable treatment type are outlined below:
Ovarian Dysfunction
This is the most common condition causing infertility in women before menopause. Present medical understanding of the female reproductive system suggests that women are born with their complete lifetime reserve eggs (usually a few million), all of which rest in the ovaries from the time of birth. This egg population is thought to decline steadily as hundreds of immature eggs die every month in a normal menstrual cycle.
Ovarian dysfunction can be caused by any difficulty with the regulation of hormones required for reproduction or by other issues in the ovaries.
Common root causes are:
Stress
Overweight & Obesity
Ovarian cancer and resulting chemotherapy
Several genetic defects
Ovarian cysts
Anovulation.
Diminished ovarian reserve
Early menopause
Common treatment options recommended by guysandstthomas private healthcare include hormonal imbalance correction and ovulation stimulation using drugs and supplements, or weight loss if the woman is overweight.
Fallopian tube Dysfunction
Fertilisation of the eggs usually happens just outside the ovaries, inside the fallopian tube. One egg reaches maturity during the menstrual cycle of post-pubescent females and is released into the fallopian tube where it begins its journey to the uterus. Sperm cells which had previously been released into the system make its way up the tube and attempts to fertilise the egg. If successful, the fertilised egg continues its journey down the tube into the uterus where it attempts to implant itself in the lining of the uterus where it will continue its development. If the fallopian tubes are damaged, blocked or simply cannot function properly, it may make conception difficult.
Common root causes of Fallopian tube dysfunction are:
Endometriosis
Pelvic adhesions
Pelvic inflammatory disease (usually as a result of chlamydia)
Pelvic tuberculosis
Previous ectopic pregnancy
Common treatment options recommended by guysandstthomas private healthcare include surgical procedures for the repair of the fallopian tubes and assisted conception methods like intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
Womb or Uterine Dysfunction
After the fertilised egg arrives at the womb, it will attempt to implant itself in the lining of the wall. It could fail in this quest because of structural imperfections of the womb caused by malformation, infection or growths like fibroids or because of imperfections in the lining of the wall itself.
Common root causes of uterine dysfunction are:
Fibroids
Malformed womb
Uncategorised implantation failure
Uterine Scarring
Common treatment options recommended by guysandstthomas private healthcare include surgical procedures for the removal of scar tissue or large fibroid growths.
Infertility is a huge concern for premenopause women looking to procreate. If you think you’ve been trying long enough and have you’ve had no luck, its a good idea to go see your doctor, get tested and figure out if you need any help regulating your hormones or clearing and fixing up your tubal pathways and/or womb.