Infertility affects 1 of 6 couples worldwide. Nowadays 40% of the reasons for infertility are due to the female factor, but other 40% are due to the male factor. The rest in mixed or unknown. We spoke to Dr. Héctor Izquierdo, fertility expert of the IVF-Life Alicante.

It is normal to know someone nearby who is struggling to get pregnant. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), infertility is considered to be when after one year of trying naturally, pregnancy is not achieved. Then it is advisable to go to an assisted reproduction centre so that a specialist can make a complete diagnosis and find out the causes of infertility.

Main reasons for infertility

• The age. It is a fact, that each time more and more women decide to delay motherhood. That is where the word “ovarian reserve” appears. The ovarian reserve measures the quantity and quality of a woman’s oocytes. The data reveals that after the age of 35, the ovarian reserve decreases, which implies the decrease of probability for a pregnancy. That doesn’t mean that getting pregnant is impossible, just that the egg quality keeps decreasing with the years.
• Endometriosis. Endometriosis comes up when the tissue who covers the interior of the uterus grows outside of it. Between 30% – 50% of the cases with endometriosis cause infertility. This tissue affects the female reproductive organs such as the ovaries, altering the quality of the eggs or the appearance of cysts that usually need surgery. In the fallopian tubes, with the formation of adhesions or fluid that prevent fertilization from taking place between the egg and the sperm.
• Anovulation. The absence of the ovulation affects around 20% – 25% of the cases with infertility. The problem is that the problem of this hormonal disorder may originate in the pituitary gland, the hypothalamus or the ovary. Women with polycystic ovary syndrome may suffer from anovulation and therefore infertility.
• Semen quality. In recent years the quality of sperm has suffered a great decline. Experts indicate that contamination, sedentary life and stress have a great influence on this deterioration of the semen sample. Low concentration, poor motility or morphology of sperm, among other anomalies, can influence the success of fertility treatment.

The importance of a good diagnosis

For pregnancy to occur, many factors involved in reproduction must be synchronized. The failure of any of these perfectly designed gear parts will prevent the desire to form a family from being achieved.

That is why it is so important to trust an assisted reproduction centre with the knowledge and technology capable of offering a correct diagnosis. In this way, the process can be personalized, fine-tuned with the necessary techniques and achieved in the least number of attempts, avoiding adding emotional wear to the future parents.

At IVF-Life we know how difficult the first steps can be. Even more being such a complicated process, that can bring up many doubts.

That is why we organise regular patient meetings at English speaking cities like London, Manchester and Dublin. We also organise Webinars to solve all questions that come up before starting a fertility treatment in Spain.

To know more, please look at our event section.