When you struggle with infertility, reproductive health treatments become a priority. Through these medical services, primary doctors help you plan your future family while preventing diseases related to your intimate health. If you’re in Brentwood, TN, and seeking a tailored medical approach to resolve clinical infertility, Cool Springs Internal Medicine & Pediatrics’ team of primary care physicians awaits you. Keep reading to learn more about reproductive health solutions for infertility.
Infertility & Reproductive Health
When a couple fails to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual relations, this condition is considered infertility. The factors behind this disease may vary in both male and female prospects, and some of them are preventable through reproductive health treatments.
Causes of Infertility
In Women
- Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): One of the most common PCOS symptoms is the disruption of the ovulation cycle.
- Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR): In this condition, women have less oocytes remaining in the ovaries than expected at their age.
- Hypothalamic and pituitary dysfunction: When these glands don’t work properly, they stop sending your hormones the signals they need to release the eggs.
- Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (FHA): This condition affects ovarian function, as it causes the brain to stop sending the endocrine signals required to ovulate, disrupting your periods.
In Men
- Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs): An infectious disease like gonorrhea or HIV interferes with spermatogenesis, impair sperm quality, or cause structural scarring that blocks the passage of sperm.
- Ejaculation issues: When semen enters the bladder instead of being pushed out of the penis during orgasm, it is considered a retrograde ejaculation. Conditions like diabetes and spinal injuries can cause this issue, as well as surgical procedures performed on the bladder, prostate, or urethra.
- Anti-sperm antibodies: These are immune system cells that identify sperm by mistake as harmful invaders and try to destroy them.
- Tumors: Cancerous and benign tumors directly affect the performance of the male reproductive organs.
Related Content: 5 Tips for Better Reproductive Health (For Men and Women)
Reproductive Health for Fertility: 3 Treatment Options
Through choosing between a variety of medical and surgical options that cater to your reproductive health needs, you can address your fertility issues. The doctors at Cool Springs offer treatments such as:
1. Fertility Medication
If you’re a woman experiencing fertility issues, your physician prescribes targeted pharmacotherapy to stimulate or regulate your ovulation. Some of these medications include:
- Clomiphene: Also known as ovary stimulants, this medication triggers your pituitary and hypothalamus glands to release ovulation hormones called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH).
- Tamoxifen: Similarly to clomiphene, tamoxifen is a medication used as an ovulation inducer, specifically aiding women with ovulatory dysfunction associated with PCOS.
- Metformin: This medication improves insulin sensitivity and restores hormonal balance, which leads to “restarting” your ovulation and menstrual cycles.
- Gonadotropins: Injectable gonadotropins (FSH and LH) directly stimulate the follicles, which helps the ovaries mature multiple eggs.
2. Assisted Conception
Also known as assisted reproductive technology, assisted conception encompasses any method used to help couples who can’t conceive. Procedures like in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI) are the most recommended by doctors.
- IVF: In vitro fertilization is a complex series of procedures that lead a couple to conceive a pregnancy. During an IVF, mature eggs are collected from the woman’s ovaries and are fertilized with sperm in a lab. Then the fertilized eggs, also known as embryos, are placed in the patient’s uterus.
- IUI: Intrauterine insemination is a fertility treatment that uses washed and concentrated sperm to place it into the uterus during the ovulation phase. During the procedure, the vagina and cervix are bypassed, reducing the distance the sperm travels, improving the chances of conceiving.
3. Varicocele Surgery
A varicocele represents a vascular lesion resulting from the valves in the testicular vein not working properly, which leads to venous pooling in the scrotum. A varicocelectomy or varicocele repair improves the patient’s blood flow, increasing the sperm count and motility.
Varicocelectomy methods include options like open surgery, laparoscopic procedures, or an embolization.
Recommendations from Cool Springs’ Team in Brentwood, TN
Doctors recommend improving your reproductive health through small changes in your daily routine, which includes practices such as:
Balanced Diet
One of the fundamental pillars of reproductive health is a balanced diet, as it influences the quality of eggs, sperm, and hormonal balance. Incorporating fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and oily fishes boosts your hormonal health and reproductive function.
Regular Physical Activity
Doing moderate exercise for 30 to 60 minutes five days a week has an incredible effect: it balances your hormones, improves blood flow to reproductive organs, and keeps your weight healthy.
Avoid Substances
Avoiding substances like tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, is a way to take care of your reproductive health. Consuming them reduces ovarian reserve, alter hormone levels, and affect semen quality.
FAQ
When should a couple seek treatment for infertility?
For couples under 35 and have been trying to conceive for 12 months, a consultation is recommended. For women over 35, the recommended timeline is 6 months.
How do STIs affect reproductive health?
STIs like chlamydia and gonorrhea cause scarring in the reproductive tracts when left untreated, causing chronic pain and decreasing fertility
Is infertility common?
In the U.S., 1 in 5 married women between the ages of 18 to 49 with no prior pregnancies are unable to conceive after 1 year of trying.
Where to Get Reproductive Health Care in Brentwood, TN?
If you are seeking reproductive health treatments in Brentwood, TN, that improve your fertility, at Cool Springs Internal Medicine & Pediatrics you will find a team of medical providers that put your needs first. Schedule an appointment and start your parenthood journey with our specialized doctors.
