Infertility it is a condition that occurs in married couples who have difficulty having children even if they have had sex for 1 year. As we already know, several factors cause infertility, such as genetics, abnormalities in the uterus or low sperm count.
There is a medical condition associated with infertility called secondary infertility. This condition occurs in couples who have no problems with their first pregnancy, but when they want to have a second child, they experience difficulties. To make this clearer, consider the following important facts about secondary infertility.
1. What is secondary infertility and how to detect it?
Reported Penn Medicinesecondary infertility or secondary infertility it is the inability of an adult woman to conceive or suffer a miscarriage, even if she has previously given birth to a child. Citation page Todayit is estimated that 10% of married couples suffer from secondary infertility.
Your doctor will perform medical procedures such as the following to diagnose secondary infertility:
- Medical history such as menstrual cycles, testicular disorders, pregnancy and breastfeeding history, types of medications taken, if you have had surgery, and if you have any other medical conditions.
- Conduct a test consisting of pelvic examblood tests to check hormones, semen analysis and ultrasound tests to see if there are tumors or blockages in the fallopian tubes.
2. Causes of secondary infertility
illustration of the process of the sperm that will fertilize the egg (freepik.com/freepik)To collect Mayo Clinicsecondary infertility can be caused by conditions such as the following:
- Having problems with sperm such as low sperm count and sperm not being able to move as it should.
- Problems in the fallopian tubes so that the sperm cannot meet or fertilize the egg or the egg cannot move towards the uterus (womb).
- Problems with ovulation.
- Lesions caused by endometriosis.
- Have a medical condition such as uterine fibroma namely non-cancerous flesh that grows in the uterus and adenomyosis (endometrium that grows within the muscular wall of the uterus).
- Experiencing complications in a previous pregnancy.
- Other factors such as age, drug use and excess body weight (obesity).
Place Cleveland Clinic sperm health and/or function may be impaired by the use of commercial intimate lubricants (sexual lubricant) which is toxic to sperm and exposed to chemicals or temperatures that are too high.
Read also: These are 6 foods that risk triggering infertility, limit their consumption
3. Risk factors
wine (wine) illustration (pixabay.com/Vinotecarium)Continue reading the article below
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Summarize from Mayo Clinic The following are risk factors that increase the chance of experiencing secondary infertility:
- The age factor is the age over 37 for women and over 40 for men.
- Overall, the fertility rate of women declines with age. However, fertility rates decline rapidly at age 37 and beyond.
- As for men, the fertility rate decreases after the age of 40.
- When one or both parties smoke or use marijuana.
- Consume alcohol.
- Alcohol can cause infertility. Men who drink alcoholic beverages in large quantities can cause problems with sperm mobility and a low sperm count.
- Women planning to have children or pregnant are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages.
- One or both sides are overweight.
- Problems with exercise, for example, almost never exercise can lead to obesity. Likewise, women who are too active or rather extreme in sports are also at risk of having problems with ovulation.
So someone who has an undetected sexually transmitted disease also has the potential to experience secondary infertility. page Loma Linda University Center for Fertility and IVF explained that sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia and gonorrhea (gonorrhea) can cause infertility for both men and women. So STDs that go untreated or undetected can also cause pelvic inflammatory disease and fallopian tube disorders.
4. Medical treatment of secondary infertility
illustration of doctor observing embryo development (pexels.com/Edward Jenner)It was mentioned in the previous point that the doctor will carry out a series of tests to find out what causes secondary infertility. If the test found a problem such as a tumor or uterine fibroma so the source of the problem will be dealt with first.
Summarize from Health line Some steps doctors can take include:
- Give drugs to normalize hormones or to stimulate ovulation. As information, unbalanced hormones can also trigger low sperm count.
- Surgery if a tumor or other medical condition is found.
- Recommend a diet when one or both are overweight.
- Suggest assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization.
If one or both parties have medical conditions related to STDs that were not previously detected, your doctor will treat these conditions first.
5. Is there any way to prevent this?
illustration of blood draw for medical testing (pexels.com/Los Muertos Crew)Summarizing from various sources, there are several steps that can be taken to prevent secondary infertility, such as:
- Consult a doctor if you have had sex for 6 months for couples aged 35 and over, or 1 year for couples aged under 35, but there are no signs of pregnancy.
- Consult a doctor immediately if you experience problems such as irregular menstruation or miscarriage.
- Fertility test screening performed by married couples.
- Screening test to detect if you have a sexually transmitted disease
- Practice a healthy lifestyle such as consuming low-fat foods, fruits and vegetables, exercising, reducing and, if necessary, not drinking alcoholic beverages, and maintaining a normal body weight.
Not unlike married couples experiencing infertility issues, couples experiencing secondary infertility can also experience sadness, disappointment, and depression. Married couples can follow support group and counseling for coping with feelings of sadness or disappointment.
Finally, those of us who have friends or family members who have infertility issues are good primary or secondary can provide moral support such as taking the time to listen to their stories without ridicule, offering help, and educating others about infertility topics, such as not asking when to have children or why only one child.
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