What Causes Infertility?

The REAL Reasons For Infertility

What causes infertility? At any moment, thousands of couples are struggling with this question, wishing they could learn of a fast cure, which doesn’t exist.

Infertility isn’t an illness, and what causes infertility isn’t a single condition.

Rather, there are many causes.

What Causes Infertility? – What is Infertility?

Infertility is a term used by doctors when a couple can’t get pregnant. As a medical term, “infertility” only means that a couple have had unprotected sex for more than 12 months without becoming pregnant and giving birth to a healthy baby.

10% to 15% of couples who are trying to get pregnant will struggle with the question of what causes infertility. 

There will be many reasons why they aren’t pregnant yet; but most likely it is a combination of reasons; in this post I will tell you of some of the most common answers to what causes infertility.

Some of these are women’s problems, some are men’s, and some may be both or either person. In this article we will look at some of the most common causes of infertility.

What Causes Infertility? – Women and Infertility

Miscarriages, according to Lisa Olson, author of Pregnancy Miracle, are the most common indicator of infertility.

Irregular periods is another warning sign. Along with a history of miscarriages, irregular cycles are a sign of a hormone imbalance (being very overweight, defined as body mass index over 30, and having adult acne are both also signs of hormone imbalance).

Endometriosis, a painful condition when the lining of the uterus grows outside your womb, is another fertility problem that could prevent a healthy pregnancy.

Either not ovulating, or the release of eggs that aren’t mature, is another reason a couple may fail to get pregnant.

Bacterial infections can damage your reproductive system, making it difficult or impossible to conceive.

A woman’s weight is also related to what causes infertility and her ability to conceive. Being very underweight, or very overweight, or crash dieting can cause periods to stop, as can extreme exercising and these are very common factors in what causes infertility.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (also known as PCOS) or uterine fibroids, are common reasons for infertility in women. Somewhat less common, but also a possible concern, are tumors in the cervix, causing a condition called stenosis, which is narrowing of the cervix.

Pre-menopausal symptoms, spotting before your period or between periods, or skipping periods can all be signs that there are problems with ovulation. Problems with ovulation are common among what causes infertility.

A blocked Fallopian Tube is another common problem for women trying to get pregnant.

For some of these conditions, surgical repair is possible; for others, changes in lifestyle may increase fertility enough to become pregnant. Other options you might consider are fertility drugs, fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization (ivf) or other ways to become parents, such as fostering or adoption.

What Causes Infertility? – Men and Infertility

In men what causes infertility is usually described as a lowered, or low sperm count, which can be caused by illness, infection, injury or several conditions, some of which are reversible with minor surgery.

Varicoceles  are varicose veins in the scrotum, the most common cause of infertility in men.

A Varicocele vein produces heat, which then raises the temperature in the scrotum above the ideal temperature for sperm to survive.

Anything else that raises the temperature in the scrotum can also lower the sperm count. For example, hot baths and saunas, having a fever, clothing that is too tight and too warm and cycling or driving for long periods can also overheat a man’s sperm, so that few of them survive.

A blocked duct in the male sexual organs is another of the common reasons for low sperm count in men. This prevents sperm from exiting to fertilize the egg.

If sperm production is low, then fertility drugs may be recommended.

Very occasionally, though a man is able to ejaculate, sperm may not be produced at all. The cause may be genetic, or a previous illness may have caused infertility.

Then fertility drugs may not be successful and sperm from a donor may be your doctor’s recommendation.

What Causes Infertility In Both Men & Women?

Are You The Right Weight?

Being either very overweight or very underweight makes it harder to get pregnant.

Smoking

Nicotine is known to lower your fertility rate, including exposure to second-hand smoke or marijuana smoke.

Even if you don’t smoke yourself, a spouse or co-workers who do smoke could be a factor for you in what causes infertility.

Drug use

Studies have shown a link between cocaine and reduced sperm count; marijuana affects sperm’s ability to swim and also to penetrate the egg’s outer layer.

Chemicals in your environment

We have become so accustomed to living in an industrialized world, we often don’t think of it being among what causes infertility as well as other health problems such as asthma or cancer.

Those same chemicals we are all exposed to in everyday life, such as various plastics, car and industrial chemicals, herbicides and pesticides used in food production have been shown to change body hormones and the way they work.

This is leading-edge research; currently it is suspected, but not entirely understood, that exposure to certain chemicals may be one of the reasons for infertility in men and obesity (which is a known link to infertility) in the entire population.

Poor Nutrition

We all tend to eat too much convenience food – few people eat enough of the good stuff such as dark green vegetables. For a healthy eating plan that is exactly what your body needs to start and sustain a healthy pregnancy – designed by a top nutritionist who is also a busy mom (she includes recipes so delicious if you don’t tell the family they’re eating healthy, they won’t even notice), I suggest you get What To Eat While Pregnant.

If you really need to lose weight or gain weight to get pregnant, with a plan for both eating and working out at home you can stick to, also designed by a mother and fitness expert, go with Fit Yummy Mummy by Holly Rigsby.

Other Major Health Conditions

If you have a chronic or serious health condition such as diabetes, your body may respond either to the illness or the prescription drugs you take or other medical treatments by reducing fertility.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Gonorrhea and chlamydia can cause inflammation in the reproductive system, becoming possible reasons for infertility.

The problem is usually solved by effective treatment of the disease, but there may be no symptoms so it is important to be tested for these diseases if you want to rule them out as reasons for infertility.

What Causes Infertility? – How To Boost Your Fertility

Lisa Olson urges couples trying to get pregnant to think of infertility not as an on/off switch, but as a continuum. Low fertility means that in order to get pregnant, you need to find ways to increase your fertility.

She recommends a holistic approach to what causes infertility, combining both Western and Eastern medicine practices in order to get pregnant naturally. Her book, Pregnancy Miracle (which we review on this site), lays out a very specific 3-step program of fertility healing that has helped thousands of couples who had been told they had little hope of ever having a child become parents naturally.

If you are ready to move forward from what causes infertility to what will boost my fertility enough so that I become pregnant, it offers practical help and real hope.