Fertility Info

It is quite normal to use a mixture of fertility drugs and surgery prior to beginning In Vitro Fertilization treatment. Drugs can help set off egg making for a woman who has erratic or no monthly ovulation,  that is when an egg is made and issued every month.

This is known as ovulation induction and while you may get pregnant using fertility drugs alone, they are more frequently used with other treatments, namely In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) or human artificial insemination such as Intrauterine Insemination.

One of the fertility drugs used is ‘Clomid’ also referred to as Clomiphene Citrate and is one of the oldest fertility drugs available but it is still utilised the most. Taken as a pill, it tells your head that you are not producing enough estrogen, which indirectly induces your ovaries into making eggs.

Surgery used to be common when In Vitro Fertilization and Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection treatments were less advanced and available, but a procedure can still assist infertility in many situations. Frequently the fallopian tubes can get clogged or inflamed, possibly even scarred from infections such as Chlamydia, and this is where surgery can still be of use. There are other examples where surgery is the best course of action, with situations such as Endometriosis, Fibroids and other problems that affect the womb or fallopian tubes. Fortunately, these days keyhole surgery is the norm and your physician at the fertility clinic will be the easiest person to direct you on possible courses of action.

When there’s a fertilty problem, women should not only be the main suspect as it could very well be the fault of the male partner too. A male fertility test can ascertain the quantity and quality of a guy’s sperm.

The utilization of drugs in male infertility is not as prominent as they are with dealing with infertility in women. Although, there are certain times where drugs are given to men to assist with infertility problems. These may include antibiotics to treat contagion or inflammation, and vitamins C and E (male fertility vitamins) to better sperm movement, although there is no credible evidence that this improves the chance of pregnancy. Sometimes a man will have had a vasectomy and it cannot be undone so a small operation called ‘Surgical Sperm Retrieval’ is carried out where sperm are removed from the testicles, or to give it the correct medical term, Epididymis.

There is an increased chance of multiple births when employing fertility drugs which stimulate ovulation by artificial means. Many doctors will in reality cancel a cycle if fertility drugs are being used in conjunction with Intrauterine Insemination as it increases the likeliness of multiple births if a large number of egg sacks are made. This procedure of reducing the opportunities of multiple births is assisted by replacing one or two embryos when using In Vitro Fertilization treatment.

The complexity of this area of fertility drugs, surgery and intervention is such that only brief details can be given in this short article. Anyone looking at this course of action would be best advised to arrange a meeting at their local clinic for more advice on all the options available.