Ovulation Induction For Infertile Women!

Do you have ovulatory problem?

No effect of clomiphene citrate on your conception?

In these cases, other fertility medications are suggested to induce follicle development and ovulation.

What exactly is ovulation induction?

Usually, medications for ovulation induction are prescribed by a fertility specialist.

Ovulation induction is a safe and effective means of helping infertile women who do not ovulate or who ovulate irregularly. A careful selection of treatment regimens combined with diligent monitoring can bring excellent results.

Ovulation induction procedure involves stimulation of ovaries to produce one or more eggs. This can be achieved by using different medications. Medications help to induce the development and release of multiple eggs in ovulatory women undergoing other infertility treatments.

Are there any risks associated with ovulation induction?

Medications that are used for ovulation induction can increase the chance for high order multiple births and the development of ovarian cysts. A rare condition that can occur is ovarian hyper stimulation. Symptoms of this condition include: severe pelvic pain, abdomen and chest pain, bloating, vomiting, nausea, weight gain and difficulty breathing.

What are the most commonly used medications in ovulation induction?

Gonadotropins: It is an injectable medication. This medication is suggested to induce the release of eggs once the follicles are developed and after that the eggs will mature. Most common side effects include: mood swings, bloating, abdominal discomfort, restlessness or fatigue. In most of the cases, these side effects are relieved by follicular aspiration.

Gonadotropin is highly successful when it comes to inducing ovulation. More thn 90% of women taking this drug begin to ovulate. Pregnancy rates per cycle are generally around 15%. Approximately 15% of all pregnancies are twins, and 3% are triplets or higher order multiples.

Parlodel and/or Bromocriptine: These are oral medication which should be taken after the meals. These medications are suggested for lowering of the prolactin levels. Also, they help to reduce pituitary tumor size. These medications have very few side effects and are inexpensive. More than 90% of women using these medications experience normal menstrual cycles

Clomiphene citrate: It comes in tablet form. It is prescribed for women who have irregular or long menstrual periods. Most common side effects of this medication include: hot flashes, blurred vision, and headaches.

Metformin: It acts as an insulin lowering medication. It is prescribed for women with PCOS. It helps to reduce endocrine abnormalities that come with PCOS. This medication helps to reduce hair loss, decreases hair growth on your face and body, decreases high blood pressure, regulates your menstrual cycle, normal fertility and weight loss.

Who can benefit from ovulation induction?

Women who are seeking fertility treatment can benefit from ovulation induction. Also, women who are suffering from the following conditions can get benefit:

• Irregular menstruation


• PCOS


• Anovulation


• Pituitary disorders
  

Are there any factors that affect the success rate of ovulation induction?

Before considering ovulation induction, your fertility specialist will analyze the following factors:

• Your egg quality


• Your egg quantity

If these two factors are not perfect, then ovulation induction may not be the right choice for you.

Endometrial Biopsy To Determine Infertility Cause!

This is the diagnostic test used to detect any of the endometrial abnormalities.

In endometrial biopsy, a small sample of your uterine lining is removed to test under the laboratory.

Endometrial biopsy is the most reliable measure of a woman’s luteal phase.

Why endometrial biopsy is recommended?

When you consult your healthcare provider for any problem associated with the endometrium, first he/she will evaluate whether or not your uterine lining responds normally to the progesterone hormone.

The effect of progesterone hormone is measured by changes to the different cells of the endometrium that indemnify adequate preparation of the uterine lining.

This procedure helps to detect abnormal uterine bleeding that is the result of hormone imbalances. This diagnostic test helps to evaluate the cause of infertility, uterine infections and also helps to observe response to certain medications.

This procedure is less complicated when compared to the procedure known as dilation and curettage (D&C). In D&C, a great amount of uterine lining is removed by using special instrument to dilate the cervical opening. This procedure can be performed at doctor’s office that doesn’t require anesthesia or hospitalization.

Pregnant women are not allowed to undergo endometrial biopsy. Also, this procedure is suggested for women with cervical cancer or abnormal narrowing of the cervical opening.

How endometrial biopsy is performed?

The best time to undergo endometrial biopsy is three to seven days before your menstrual cycle starts. The procedure is performed at your doctor’s office.

During the procedure, you will lie on an examination table. With the help of a speculum, your doctor tries to open your vaginal canal to clearly observe the cervix, which is the opening of the uterus. Then, your doctor inserts a metal tubular device through your cervix into the uterus in order to remove a tiny piece of the inner lining tissue.

During the procedure, you will experience mild cramping or pain. Some doctors suggest taking ibuprofen prior undergoing the procedure to minimize the discomfort.

Are there any risks associated with endometrial biopsy?

Generally there are very few risks. Mainly it causes pain or cramping. These discomforts go away after completing the procedure. Some other less common risks are bleeding, possible infection, feeling faint or light-headed and rarely, perforation of the uterus.


What Is Gamete Intrafallopian Tube Transfer?

Gamete intrafallopian tube transfer or GIFT is one of the assisted reproductive technologies that include removing the woman’s egg and mixing it with the man’s sperm and immediately placing it in your fallopian tubes.

In this procedure, fertilization takes place inside of your fallopian tubes.

For the procedure to be successful, you should have healthy fallopian tubes.

GIFT may be suggested when there is a low sperm count, or sperm with poor motility (ability to move) and for couples with unexplained infertility.

Steps involved in GIFT procedure:

• You are suggested to take medications that can stimulate your ovaries to produce more number of eggs.


• Your eggs are collected with the help of an aspiration procedure.


• Immediately, four to five eggs are mixed with about 200,000 mobile sperm and placed in a special catheter.


• This mixture is transferred through a laparoscopic procedure, in which a catheter is placed in your fallopian tubes and the mixture is injected.


• The final step is waiting for pregnancy symptoms to appear. Blood test is performed to confirm your pregnancy.
  

Who can undergo the GIFT procedure?

GIFT can be received by anyone, except the one with:

• Significant tubal damage


• Tubal blockage


• An anatomic problem with the uterus, such as severe intrauterine adhesions
  

Generally, IVF is a best procedure for male factor infertility because it is less invasive and there is more control over the quality of the resulting embryos.

Complete GIFT cycle takes four to six weeks. With GIFT, egg retrieval and gamete transfer happens in the same operation. You will be discharged the same day of the surgery.

The success rate of GIFT depends on your type of fertility problem and it is about 25 to 30%. Success rate is more with younger women as they have more eggs.

Are there any disadvantages of GIFT?

This procedure is not as widely used as IVF because it includes laparoscopic surgery. In IVF, embryo is transferred to the uterus via the vagina and cervix, which is a much less complicated procedure.

The probability of having twins or triplets is higher with GIFT than natural conception. With multiple pregnancies, there is greater risk of miscarriage.

Also, the use of fertility drugs for stimulating egg production can cause severe side effects. You need to be carefully monitored while taking them.

Other risk associated with GIFT procedure is ectopic pregnancy, in which embryo implants in your fallopian tubes or abdominal cavity instead of the uterus.

Intrauterine Insemination For Infertile Couples!

Intrauterine insemination (IUI), also known as artificial insemination is a fertility procedure, in which sperm is deposited in a woman’s uterus through artificial means.

Most of the couple treats this as a less invasive and more affordable alternative to IVF.

Along with IUI, couples with other fertility problems can also consider intracervical insemination (ICI), intratubal insemination (ITI) or intravaginal insemination (IVI).

In IUI method, the sperm used should be prepared properly.

This process is called as sperm washing. Just how far in advance the sperm you are using in your procedure is prepared can influence the chances of success with this procedure.

Though the procedure is painless, you will notice some mild cramping. Your doctor will suggest when you avoid intercourse and any resting periods after receiving IUI.

Best time to perform IUI:

Ideal time to perform IUI is within 6 hours after occurring ovulation from either side. When your ovulation period is depend up on hCG injection, then IUI is done between 24-48 hours later. Ideal time is 36 hours post hCG.

IUI is suitable for:

People who take clomid for their cervical problems, IUI procedure can greatly increases the chance of success on injectible cycles no matter what the sperm count.

Fertility Vitamins – Essential For Preconception

Pre-conception period is the most important for every one of you.

In order to help you during this period, there are various fertility vitamins and minerals.

But, one thing you should remember that taking fertility vitamins should not replace your healthy eating habits.

Also, remember that there is no evidence that one single vitamin can restore your fertility.

Remember that your sterility can not be only replaced with vitamins, but definitely they can balance any of your nutritional deficiencies.

Difficulty in getting pregnant can’t be treated when you take vitamins, but not taking the fertility vitamins can even worse your condition. Vitamins and supplements to treat infertility are only meant for replenishing your body from vitamins and minerals that it needs.

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies and exposure to toxins can greatly interfere with egg and sperm production and lead to miscarriages.

Choose high quality vitamins:

When you are going to buy fertility vitamins, it is better to choose the vitamins made of whole foods, which do not contain colors, preservative and fillers.

Here is the list of vitamins and the quantity that men and women needs:

Vitamins and Minerals	Men	Women
Folic acid	400 mcg	400-1000 mcg
Selenium	200 mcg	200 mcg
Chromium	400-600 mcg	400-600 mcg
DHA	400 mg	400 mg
Vitamin A	5,000-10,000 IU	5,000 IU
Vitamin B6	up to 50 mg	up to 50 mg
Vitamin B12	up to 50 mcg	up to 50 mcg
Vitamin C	2000 mg	500 mg
Vitamin E	400-800 IU	400-800 IU
Flaxseed oil	1000 mg	1000 mg
Calcium	1,000 mg	1,500 mg
Iron	20 mg	30 mg
Zinc	50 mg	25-30 mg
PABA		400 mg
L-carnitine	500 mg
CoQ10	100 mg
L-arginine	1-4 g

Folic acid: Sufficient folic acid helps to prevent birth defects. You should start taking folic acid immediately you start thinking about becoming pregnant. Folic acid helps to birth defects like spina bifida, and also it is proven that folic acid improves your fertility to a great extent.

Vitamin A: This vitamin is important for the usage of minerals, proteins and other vitamins. Cod liver oil is the best source of vitamin A. The antioxidant properties of vitamin A can be essential for healthy development of your baby’s eyes.

Also, higher levels of vitamin A can lead to birth defects. If you are taking vitamin A in the form of retinol, then don’t exceed the dosage more than 2,500-5,000 IU.

Vitamin B6 and B12: These vitamins are essential for your reproductive health. B6 helps to improve female fertility and B12 helps to improve men sperm count.

Vitamin C: Smoking men can get great benefits from vitamin C. Antioxidant property of vitamin C helps to suppress the chemicals found in cigarettes.

Also, vitamin C helps with the women who take fertility medication like clomiphene to increase the chances of conceiving. Juices and citrus fruits are wonderful sources of vitamin C. You can also consider vitamin supplements.

Vitamin E: Most of the times, doctors recommend men to take vitamin E, when their partners are undergoing IVF treatment. Taking high levels of this antioxidant can greatly increase the chances of IVF treatment to be successful.

Wheat germ oil is an excellent source of vitamin E. Broccoli and spinach are also good vitamin E sources.

Selenium: Selenium is an antioxidant, which protects your baby from free radicals. Also, this mineral helps to reduce the chances of birth defects and also increases the sperm count. Chicken, tuna, meat, whole grain bread and enriched pasta are good sources of selenium.

Zinc: Levels of testosterone can be maintained with zinc mineral. Insufficient zinc levels can lead to low sperm count. In women, the usage of estrogen and progesterone hormone greatly depends up on zinc levels.

Sea foods and meat are good sources of zinc. Remember that taking higher levels of zinc vitamin can be harmful to your health.

Calcium: It is the most important vitamin during pre-conception period. Calcium aids in alkalizing your body, which is helpful for sperm and fertilized egg.

Chromium: It is essential for insulin production. Chromium deficiency can greatly interfere with glucose metabolism. Taking chromium supplement can help with glucose tolerance factor, which is related to PCOS.

L-Arganine: It is an amino acid aids in circulation to your uterus, genitals and ovaries. Women who take L-Arganine can have healthy environment in the uterus for embryo implantation.

PABA: PABA or para-aminobenzoic acid is a part of the B-complex family. PABA helps women with vitamin and mineral deficiency to increase the chances of pregnancy.

Iron: Iron is important for blood building. It helps to increase your fertility and supports ovulation. Take whole food supplement instead of synthetic ones as they can cause constipation.

Flaxseed oil: It is very helpful to promote fertility. Flaxseed oil helps to treat infertility, endometriosis and menstrual cramps.

DHA: Taking DHA during preconception helps in the development of your baby’s brain. The anti-inflammatory properties of DHA help to decrease endometriosis and dysmenorrhea. This vitamin should be taken along with vitamin E.

ICSI Procedure – Modern Fertilization Treatment

ICSI or intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection is a very delicate and difficult IVF procedure.

The initial stages of ICSI are very much similar to IVF.

ICSI is an effective method to get fertilization of the eggs in IVF lab after they have been retrieved from your partner.

ICSI along with IVF includes the use of specific micro-manipulation tools and ICSI needle to collect the sperm.

Then carefully, the needle is inserted through the outer shell of the egg and then sperm is injected into the inner part of the egg. Usually, this procedure leads to normal fertilization in about 70-80% of the couple who seek ICSI procedure.

Woman who want to seek ICSI procedure are first prescribed with medications that stimulate the ovulation and undergo an egg retrieval procedure. These eggs can be used for IVF and ICSI.

Who can seek ICSI procedure?

There are no standard conditions that restrict the use of ICSI procedure. Some doctors prescribe it for severe male factor infertility, while some others prescribe it for all infertility cases.

Usually, IVF with ICSI is prescribed for:

• Couples with infertility who have sperm concentration under 15-20 million per millimeter, sperm mortality below 35% and poorer sperm morphology.


• Couples who have rigorous male factor infertility, who don’t want to seek donor sperm insemination.


• Couples who are currently seeking IVF and have had previous cycle with no fertilization or decreased fertilization.


• Couples who are currently seeking IVF and have very little yield of eggs.

The process of ICSI:

• Any one of the mature eggs is seized by using a holding pippet.


• With the help of a sharp, hallow and delicate needle, a single sperm is immobilized and collected.


• Then the needle is carefully inserted into the egg shell and then into the cytoplasm of your egg.


• After inserting the sperm into the cytoplasm, the needle is removed carefully.


• The next day after this process, your eggs are observed to confirm normal fertilization.

Success rate of ICSI:

Success rate of IVF with ICSI is more than IVF without ICSI. Usually, egg quality and quantity is better in ICSI cases. Also, there are less likely to occur problems with ICSI when compared to the cases with unexplained infertility.

Success rate of ICSI greatly varies depending on the individual needs. Sometimes, IVF with ICSI is recommended for egg factor cases such as low ovarian reserve conditions. That means having low quantity of eggs or low quality eggs.

Acupuncture For Treating Infertility!

Want to try an alternative treatment to cure your infertility?

Then consider acupuncture. The idea behind acupuncture for infertility is that acupuncture regulates the blood supply for sexual organs and readjusts the hormones present in your body.

Acupuncture for infertility is most commonly applied when you are experiencing functional issues like fluctuating ovulation, endometriosis, or hormonal imbalances.

During some cases, acupuncture can be used as a supplemental procedure for in vitro fertilization (IVF). During IVF, acupuncture helps you to relax the uterus while transferring the embryo.

On the other hand, acupuncture can not be effective in treating structural problems such as blocked fallopian tubes, or improperly formed epididymis, which leads to infertility.

How acupuncture works for infertility?

Acupuncture is the insertion of ultra-thin, sterile needles in particular acupuncture points on your body, which exist in channels or meridians. Meridians are the pathways in both the exterior and interior of your body.

Acupuncture stimulates the energy points that are considered to be central to your spiritual, mental, physical and emotional balance. For treating infertility, acupuncture needles are placed in energy points that are connected to your reproductive organs in order to improve the energy flow to these areas.

If the causes of infertility in women include: lack of energy, excessive stress or unregulated menstrual flow, then acupuncture for infertile women mainly targets on the meridians for the heart, kidney and liver.

Kidneys can provide your body with sufficient energy, so treating this area give you more energy that you need to offer a baby.

Treating the liver meridians can regulate your menstrual flow and also diminishes the psychological effects of PMS, anxiety and depression.

The heart system is considered to be related to a person’s emotional state. Applying acupuncture to these meridians helps to reduce the stress and allows relaxation and also help throughout your conception.

When you get treatment for all these areas, your egg quality greatly improves, uterine lining becomes healthy, menstrual flow regulates, and achieves hormonal balance.

According to the western medicine, the most common causes for infertility include: PCOS, hormone imbalance, ovulation irregularities. PCOS occurs when your ovaries produce higher levels of male hormone.

This again generates imbalance in your whole hormone levels. This can greatly impede your egg production and lead to the formation of cysts in your ovaries thus decreasing or stopping the ovulation.

During this case, acupuncture helps to rebalance your body’s system and increase the blood flow to reproductive organs to restore your ovarian functionality. This increased blood flow thickens the endometrium, which is the lining of the uterus. Thus it creates a fertile environment for the egg to grow.

Abnormal thyroid functioning and overweight are also the causes of infertility. Undergoing acupuncture can rebalance your body’s forces and help to regulate your thyroid function and also reduce the weight.

When you seek acupuncture treatment for infertility, following proper timing consistency is very important. In order to get best results, one to two sessions a week for three to six months is essential.

Female Infertility Drugs To Promote Ovulation!

Most often fertility drugs are the first option for many infertile couple.

Throughout the world, millions of women are prescribed with fertility dugs such as clomid or clomifene, gonadotropins and bromocriptine.

These drugs stimulate the production of hormone there by promoting ovulation.

Hormones in your brain are stimulated and make one or more eggs ready to release each month from your ovaries. Women with irregular or rare ovulation can get great benefits from these drugs.

Most of the drugs for infertility can be safely for about 30 years. But, they also have some side effects and greater chances for multiple pregnancies. One in ten women who take fertility drugs has a chance of multiple pregnancies.

Gonadotropins are the hormones that control ovulation and these hormones are produced in the pituitary gland. These hormones stimulate the activity of gonads, also called as the ovaries in women. Major gonadotropins produced by the pituitary gland are luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). These hormones enter into the bloodstream and travel to your ovaries.

Clomid: This fertility drug helps you more likely to ovulate every month. Women who ovulate irregularly or not at all and also women with PCOS can benefit from this drug. Women with unexplained infertility are also prescribed with clomid.

This is an anti-oestrogen drug taken in pill form. It benefits by increasing the levels of LH and FSH hormones that stimulate your ovulation. This makes ovaries to produce number of eggs ready for fertilization. After completing the drug cycle, hypothalamus will produce LH. This alerts your ovaries to release a mature egg from the follicles and send it into one of the fallopian tubes. The drug cycle will be 3-5 days in a monthly menstrual period.

Gonadotropins: Most often these dugs are suggested for women with PCOS and women who are not responding to clomid. Gonadotopin is a mixture of FSH and LH. It directly stimulates your ovaries to produce and mature eggs.

Gonadotropins are injected into your body. After receiving gonadotropins for 7-12 days, you will get an injection called hCG (human chronic gonadotropin) to tell the ovaries to release the egg.

Bromocriptine or parlodel : These drugs are suggested for women with ovulation problems due to excess of prolactin hormone produced by pituitary gland. This condition is caused by pituitary adenoma. This drug works by reducing the production of prolactin hormone.

This drug can be taken in the form of tablet, capsule or vaginally. Dosage of pills is 2-3 times a day, if it is required, the dosage may also be increased. Once prolactin levels becomes normal, you are about to menstruate and ovulate.

Every fertility drug has some sort of side effects, such as dizziness, nausea, headache, dry mouth, nasal stuffiness, and drowsiness.