There are several infertility treatment methods currently available, you can choose the most suitable one for you after consulting your doctor.

Normally, treatment starts with non-invasive methods. Invasive procedures are only used if these methods are not successful. Before starting your infertility treatment, your doctor will try to find the cause of your infertility by using different medical tests and imaging techniques.

In this article, we will discuss the causes of infertility and what we can do about it.

What is infertility?

Infertility is a common problem that can affect your psychological, economic, and social situation. Even though the rate of infertility among the population remains stable, the number of people that are willing to start infertility treatment is increasing.

Infertility treatment is one of the most specialized fields of medicine because it is always concerned with the treatment of 2 people. 80-90% of couples that undergo infertility treatment have a successful pregnancy within 1 year and 95% within 2 years.

If a couple has been trying to get pregnant regularly and without birth control for 12 months, they are considered infertile. If the woman is aged 35 or older, this duration will be 6 months.

What are the causes of infertility in men and women?

The chances of having a successful pregnancy depend on the reproductive health of both the man and the woman. There are several factors that can cause infertility, a couple may have more than one at once. This makes it difficult to determine the cause and whether the man or the woman is infertile.

A study on infertility showed that 37% of cases are related to the woman, 8% to the man, and 35% to both.

Around 5% are of unknown cause.

Causes of infertility in women

The female reproductive system is very complex.

All the eggs that a woman has throughout her life were already there when she was born. One egg is released every month during the menstrual cycle. The egg goes from the ovaries, through the Fallopian tube, and to the uterus. A pregnancy starts when a sperm fertilizes an egg in the uterus. However, if a woman does not become pregnant during this time, she will start to menstruate and can try again the next month.

A disorder or disease can occur in any of the organs that participate in the process of conception, thus disrupting it.

The most common causes of female infertility are disorders in ovulation. These disorders include polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), premature ovarian failure (POF), and many other systemic diseases.

Disorders of the Fallopian tube are among the second most common causes of infertility. Adhesions of Fallopian tubes and tissues of the uterus may be due to infection, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), endometriosis, and prior pelvic surgeries.

Other causes can be autoimmune diseases, genetic disorders, and unnatural uterus structure. Sometimes the cause of a woman’s infertility is unknown.

Causes of infertility in men

A man is considered infertile when he is unable to impregnate a healthy woman. A successful conception requires healthy, natural sperm.

Infertility in men may occur due to several factors:

• Low sperm count
• Sperm with unnatural shape and/or movement
• Lack of sperm in semen

Definitively knowing the cause of a man’s infertility is not always possible. It could be due to disorders in endocrine glands such as the pituitary gland or disorders in the hypothalamus. These disorders could lead to a deficiency in sperm production in the testes. Problems in sperm production may also be due to genetic disorders, infection, medication, radiation, or structural problems such as varicocele.

Another possible cause may be that sperm is produced but is not released with semen due to an obstruction in the urinary tract.

How do we determine the cause of infertility?

Both the man and the woman must be assessed to determine the cause of the couple’s infertility.

Then, based on the results of various tests, the doctor will recommend the most suitable treatment for your condition. Don’t forget that a couple’s infertility may be due to more than one factor.

Diagnosing infertility in women

A lot of attention must be paid to the woman’s medical history to start the diagnosis process correctly. The doctor will first perform a physical assessment and then ask for her medical history. Medical history includes the duration of infertility and what steps have been taken to treat it, the duration and frequency of menstrual cycles, history of STDs, pelvic inflammatory disease, and prior abdominal surgery, and drug and alcohol use. Family medical history, including occurrences of infertility, miscarriage, and congenital disorders, is also very important.

After getting the medical history, the doctor will order several medical tests that can aid the diagnosis.

Firstly, we have to determine if ovulation occurs during the menstrual cycle or not. The best way to do this is by measuring blood progesterone levels in the middle of the second half of the menstrual cycle (one week before the beginning of the cycle). For a better assessment, prolactin, TSH, and FSH levels are also measured.

Secondly, the condition of the Fallopian tubes will be assessed. First, you will get an X-ray of the uterus and Fallopian tubes (hysterosalpingogram). In addition to being an imaging technique, hysterosalpingography may also be considered a treatment method because the injection of the contrast agent may slightly alleviate the effects of adhesions and endometriosis.

If, after all these tests, the cause of infertility is still unclear, the doctor will use invasive procedures such as laparoscopy.

There are many imaging techniques that can help assess the health of the uterus. Sonohysterography can help us check for anatomical congenital disorders, myomas, and polyps.

Diagnosing infertility in men

Fertility in men requires functional testes, hypothalamus, and pituitary gland. Therefore, we can say that many factors can cause infertility in men.

Semen analysis is the most important technique for diagnosing male infertility. This test provides a lot of information on the volume of semen and the number, shape, and motility (movement) of sperm. You must avoid ejaculating for 7 days before giving a sample and you must deliver it to the lab within an hour. If the results of the test are abnormal, the test will be repeated 1-2 weeks later.

If the sperm count is low or if the doctor suspects hormonal imbalances while getting your medical history, they will order some hormone tests. Hormone tests help us measure testosterone, FSH, LH, and prolactin levels in the blood.

If genetic or chromosomal disorders are suspected, a special blood sample will be taken. Then, the number and structure of the man’s chromosomes will be assessed.

If no sperm is found during the semen analysis, a sample may be taken directly from the testicles. This allows us to know if sperm is being produced or not. If sperm are found in the testicles but not in the semen, there may be a problem in the movement of sperm from the testes to the semen.

Infertility treatment methods in Iran

After determining the cause of infertility, the most suitable treatment is chosen based on your conditions.

To increase the chances of conception, the couple will be advised to avoid smoking, alcohol, and caffeine as much as possible. They must also have sexual intercourse every 1-2 days during ovulation.

The doctor will consult the patient and help them choose a fitting treatment method.

Before choosing a treatment method, pay attention to these 4 points:

• The success rate of the treatment
• The duration and difficulty of the process
• Treatment costs
• The safety and potential side effects of the treatment

Drug treatment

Usually, if the decrease in the woman’s ovulation is not due to ovarian failure, your doctor will prescribe drugs that stimulate ovulation. Clomiphene, metformin, and gonadotropins are some examples of these drugs.

Sperm production may decrease due to a deficiency or lack in the production of certain hormones. For example, men who suffer from hormonal disorders of the hypothalamus and pituitary gland are treated through the injection of the GnRH hormone.

Surgery

Surgery is used for women who suffer from Fallopian tube obstructions, endometriosis adhesions, uterine malformation, submucosal leiomyoma and many other disorders and diseases. The surgery can be done either as a keyhole surgery (laparoscopy) or an open surgery.

Surgery can also be used for men who suffer from ejaculatory duct obstruction or men who want to reverse a vasectomy.

Minor surgeries can be used to extract sperm from the testicles when there is an obstruction. PESA and MESA are two examples of such procedures where the sperm is aspirated.

Varicocele surgery may also improve sperm number and motility.

In vitro fertilization (IVF)

IVF is the most popular infertility treatment method. During IVF, a mature egg is taken from the mother and combined with sperm from the father in a lab dish.

The resulting embryo will be moved to the uterus after approximately 3-5 days.

Hormonal drugs will be prescribed to prepare the mother before extracting the eggs. ICSI, a technique where the sperm is directly injected into the egg, is used if the father’s sperm has abnormal shape and motility.

Intrauterine insemination (IUI)

In this method, sperm is collected from the father and directly transferred to the uterus. The mother may not even need ovulation stimulation and can ovulate naturally. IUI is used when the sperm has low motility.

Infertility treatment in Iran

Iran is one of the most advanced countries in providing infertility treatment services. All of the treatment methods used worldwide are available in Iran with the best quality.

By applying the knowledge they gain from the most recent scientific articles and technology and from their own experience, our physicians have been able to immensely improve Iran’s status as a provider of infertility treatment.

Here at Rosha, we provide various treatment packages for couples who are willing to undergo infertility treatment. We guarantee that you will get the highest quality of services that include various diagnosis and treatment packages with the most skilled specialists and the most well-equipped treatment centers.

Why Iran?

The quality of Iran’s infertility treatment services is well-known and has attracted many patients from Iraq and the Gulf countries.

Most people come to Iran for infertility treatment for the following reasons:

• Iran has many reputable specialists whose skills are on par with the world’s finest.
• The prices of infertility treatment in Iran are much lower than the rest of the world. Studies show that the cost of these services in Iran is 1/10 of the cost in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates and 1/20 of the cost in European countries.

What is the best choice of infertility treatment in Iran?

Choosing the right treatment center is the most important step in diagnosing and treating a couple’s infertility.

The most important criteria for choosing the center are the success and satisfaction rates of previous patients. You can assess this by visiting the center and asking patients about the organization and quality of services. You can also get a free consultation right here by clicking the “Free consult” button above.

Another important specification that a good treatment center has is easy access to a wide array medical services in one place. Many medical specialties are involved in infertility treatment making it especially important that all clinical and paraclinical services be available at the same location.

First, you will visit gynecologists and urologists that have infertility fellowships. In addition, you may need to see specialists in the fields of genetics, glands, embryology, and immunology. It is recommended that all diagnostic and imaging procedures be done at the same treatment center because these services will be of global standard and great accuracy.

After assessing and choosing the right treatment center, you will begin the treatment process and must trust the medical team in their decisions. Because infertility treatment is repetitive, it requires a lot of patience. Know that infertility treatment does not always work at the first attempt and that it may take more than one try to achieve the desired results.

The best doctors for infertility treatment in Iran

Pay attention to the doctor’s experience and academic background when trying to find the best doctor for your infertility treatment. Success rates among previous patients can be a good indicator of a doctor’s skill.

Infertility treatment can sometimes be a long process. Make sure to choose a doctor whom you can trust and have a good relationship with. Otherwise, you may lose hope along the way and even change your mind about getting treated.

You can get a free consultation at Rosha regarding the most skilled doctors and the most well-equipped infertility treatment clinics by clicking the “Free consult” button above.