Menopause and Bone Health: What Women Should Know
Calling menopause life-changing is no exaggeration. A good example of this is the effect that menopause can have on bone health. Keep reading to learn more about this connection.
4 Most Common Causes of Female Infertility
You’re anxious to start a family (or add to an existing one), but you’re running into a lack of conception. You want some answers so that you can figure out the next steps.
Infertility is common and affects about 15% of couples in the United States. The overall infertility issue is evenly split.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, one-third of infertility cases are due to male reproductive issues, one-third to female reproductive issues, and one-third are caused by both male and female reproductive issues or by unknown factors.
Since June is World Infertility Awareness Month, Dr. Karen F. Brodman, a board-certified gynecologist, wants to discuss this challenging issue. Our team wants to review a few common causes of female infertility to help in your search for answers.
1. Ovulation disorders
It makes sense that ovulation issues should top the list of female infertility issues — after all, no eggs, no pregnancy.
The biggest culprit in this category is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which affects up to 13% of reproductive-aged women around the world.
PCOS is a condition in which an imbalance in androgen hormones, which are commonly associated with male characteristics, are negatively influencing ovulation.
Outside of PCOS, other hormone issues can interfere with ovulation.
Lastly, more direct ovulation issues can obviously lead to fertility problems, such as primary ovarian insufficiency and premature ovarian failure.
2. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
Another common driver of female infertility is pelvic inflammatory disorder, which develops on the heels of untreated sexually transmitted infections.
With PID, you have general inflammation around your reproductive organs, but worse, scar tissue can develop that prevents eggs from joining sperm in your fallopian tubes.
3. Endometriosis
About 11% of reproductive-aged women have endometriosis, a condition in which endometrial tissues and cells that normally line the uterus grow outside the organ instead.
These misplaced tissues can attach to your fallopian tubes or ovaries, where scar tissue and cysts can form that very much interfere with fertility.
4. Uterine fibroids
About 1 in 4 women have uterine fibroids. In many cases, they present no symptoms. When fibroids do become problematic, they can lead to issues with heavy periods and pelvic pain.
That said, they can also lead to fertility issues if the fibroids are located near the junction between your fallopian tubes and your uterus, effectively blocking the way.
Fibroids can create an inflammatory environment in your uterus that discourages implantation of a fertilized egg.
The road to restoring fertility
As you can see by the wide range of conditions we reviewed above, the first step toward fertility is to schedule an appointment with us so that we can thoroughly evaluate your reproductive health.
To get started, we invite you to contact us at our New York City office located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
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