Fertility Treatment

Treatment for infertility can depend on the reason for the infertility.

If the couple has gone through fertility testing and procedures and have found a diagnosis, specific treatment for that diagnosis can be started. For those who have gone through testing and procedures with no explanation for diagnosis of infertility, there is also treatment available.

For women, if the diagnosis is a problem with ovulating a doctor may suggest a medication such as clomiphene which stimulates ovulation. If a woman has issues ovulation because of a condition called polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS, a doctor may combine a second medication called metformin along with the clomiphene. Sometimes, hormone shots may be needed if the medication is not working as well as should be expected.

If a woman finds she has blocked or damaged tubes a doctor may recommend surgery to unblock the tubes or to fix whatever damage is found in the tubes. In some cases a doctor may find that because of the age of the woman or because of the severe damage to the tubes he may suggest moving straight to a procedure called in vitro fertilization or IVF.

When a woman finds that endometriosis is her reason for infertility, her doctor may decide to try laparoscopic surgery to remove the damaged tissue. Once the surgery is done a woman may decide to continue to try to conceive without any additional fertility treatments, or may then decide to try IVF as well.

Some women find that there is no real explanation for their infertility. In this case, a doctor may treat with clomiphene, hormone injections, insemination, or in vitro fertilization.

In vitro fertilization is used for treatment of several different type of infertility diagnosis. With IVF, a man's sperm is mixed with a woman's egg. A woman then goes into a procedure where the doctor places one or more fertilized eggs into her uterus. IVF does increase the chances that a woman may become pregnant with more than one child. The success rate in becoming pregnant through IVF is about 1 and 3 women. The only downside is the expense and the continued testing and doctors visits that can be emotionally and physically draining.

For male factors in infertility, a doctor may also try insemination. This would be if there was a low sperm count so that the number of healthy sperm would be greater that would make it to the fertilization. IVF is also an option where the sperm in injected into the egg and the placed into the uterus. In some cases, a hormonal imbalance may be the diagnosis for male infertility. It that is the case, the male may be treated with hormones to help in generating normal sperm production.