Heartbreak Of Unexplained Infertility

Infertility issues can create a tide of emotional distress for many couples trying to conceive. This is more distressing on couples trying for their first child. The fact is that in many cases, couples have something to work on as far as an explanation for their infertility is concerned whether it's the male or female. But consider those who aren't able to get any reasonable explanation of why they are infertile.

Unexplained Infertility

Bottom line is that there is always some cause or reason for infertility. The reality is that in a number of instances, these causes cannot be identified. Unexplained infertility is a conundrum that has baffled modern medical science to the point of frustration but spare a thought for the patient. Knowing you are infertile is tough to cope with, but not knowing why must be literally heart-breaking. The good news is that medical science has made great inroads in cutting down the incidence. On-going research is tipped to further reduce this in the next few years.

During the process of testing, there will usually be a cause or causes identified. However, there are times when all the tests will come back as normal, thus giving no clue to why infertility is present in one's life. This is what the doctor will then label as unexplained infertility. And not surprisingly, this is more painful than the actual diagnosis because it leaves the patient with no clue on what they can do about it.

What Course Of Action Can Be Pursued?

Many couples who go through the trauma of unexplained infertility will pursue programs such as IVF ( in vitro fertilization ) which basically means fertilization by means other than the human body. In other words, a laboratory will be the vehicle for fertilization. In some cases, ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) is employed if the IVF cycle is unsuccessful. This has negated the use of sperm from a donor and as you have gathered, comes into play when the male has severe fertility issues. The process involves placing one single sperm into the egg via a delicate procedure.

Assisted hatching is a procedure used in cases of patients failing IVF or older patients, usually close to 40 years of age or higher. It's considered a little controversial and basically involves assisting the hatching of the embryo through the membrane known as the zona pellucida by way of a small incision being made in the membrane. It has been used with very effective results.

Infertility issues continue to affect many couples in today's society. Whether programs such as IVF will put a couple's mind completely at ease regarding the issue of unexplained infertility we can't be sure. If this question was put to a couple immediately following the birth of a child conceived through the program, then the answer could be yes. Examining some of the above procedures it would seem to suggest that this issue seems to revolve around failed natural fertilization. However, the success rate with observed and assisted fertilization seems to indicate that further examination of the latter may in time give us a greater clue to why certain issues can't be explained.