By Lisa Olson
Find out the various causes of infertility in females in this article.
Female infertility can be caused due to various reasons. The causes range from Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, which is actually the most common cause for infertility in women. It covers around 75% of the population. Anovulation or ovulation problems, Hypothalamic Amenorrhea, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, Gonadal Dysgenesis, Luteal Phase Defect, Endometriosis, Cervical Stenosis, Uterine fibroids, Menopause, Premature Ovarian failure and also old age are also the highly probable causes of female infertility .
Also known as PID, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease in a woman results from bacterial infections on her reproductive organs, intestine within the pelvic area and appendix. The fallopian tube gets blocked as the infection reaches there. This result in turn blocks the egg in it s way to uterus and thus, causing infertility. Caused by a bacterium called Chlamydia trachomatis, PID is a Sexulally Transmitted Infection (STI). Its medical name is Salpingitis.
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease or PID may also be caused by Pelvic Tuberculosis. This is more common in the developing countries where tuberculosis has become a growing health hazard. Causes of female infertility can also be the after-effects of abortion when done under non-sterile conditions. In such conditions where a woman's reproductive organs are exposed to various infective organisms, she may catch infections and eventually become infertile.
There is another major cause, called Endometriosis leading to female infertility and it covers about 30% of infertility cases in women. Though it remains to be clinically proven whether Endometriosis is the sole cause of sterility in women, or it is one of the reasons that lead to sterility. But the basis on which it is linked is most of the women who are victims of this disease have been found out to be infertile.
Another very Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS t common cause of female infertile is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS. Women suffering from this syndrome produce very high amount of androgen, a male hormone. This increased androgen production lowers the level of follicle-stimulating hormone resulting in failure to produce a matured egg. To add to the problem, the failed follicles begin to swell up with fluids and ultimately results in formation of cysts. With more and more follicle turning into cysts, the ovary tends to become larger till it resembles a grapefruit. This not only causes infertility but also produces a host of other complications.
Sometimes nature may also play a negative role in providing normal ovarian function in the form of Premature Ovarian Failure in a woman. It is witnessed by depletion of follicles that start much earlier than the usual menopausal age. It is clinically referred to as Early Menopause and is considered to be a very significant cause of female infertility. These women have very little chance of conceiving without appropriate fertility treatment.
Women who are suffering from Hypothalamic Amenorrhea are also likely to become infertile because of the absence of menstruation that is caused by some disturbance in the thyroid gland and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal system, both regulating the reproduction process in a woman.
Uterine fibroids, especially which develop under the uterine cavity lining are known as sub-mucosal uterine fibroid. This can cause miscarriage, heavy bleeding and can also lead to infertility in women. In Cervical Stenosis and Non-receptive cervical mucus, both of which are kinds of Cervical Infertility, the sperm fail to pass through the mouth of uterine opening due to obstructions or stenos. It also fails to travel to the uterus on account of inhospitable cervical mucus.
The fact is that female infertility cannot be cured by therapies and treatments that are conventional because it just tends to suggest medications and assisted reproduction techniques rather than finding out the real causes of female infertility. Holistic remedies on the other hand searches for the real cause of infertility in the female body and then suggests its remedies. The remedies can range from Chinese medicines to diet changes to acupuncture to exercise and even useful herbs. Over the years, holistic remedies have proved to be a better approach to treat female infertility and have offered better results as well.