6 Major Factors That Can Cause Infertility in a Woman

July 29, 2008

How hard is it to become pregnant? When having sex during her menstrual cycle, the average woman who is not infertile, has a one in five chance of becoming pregnant. The women who are infertile, however, face much tougher odds - if they can conceive at all. But what are the major causes of infertility in women?

Ovulation problems - this is the primary cause of infertility in women who have trouble conceiving. Pregnancy occurs when a male’s sperm fertilizes a woman’s egg. A woman will normally ovulate, or produce an egg, about once a month. If a woman has problems in her menstrual cycle or otherwise is not ovulating regularly, there will be no egg waiting to be fertilized.

Age - due to birth control pills and other social factors, women in general are trying to become pregnant much later than earlier generations. One result of this is that when they’re ready to have children they may find that they are having trouble conceiving. Once a woman reaches puberty, her fertility begins to dramatically decrease as her age increases. Just as her body is aging, the eggs in her womb are aging also. As the quality of the eggs decrease, it becomes harder and harder to conceive.

Blocked fallopian tubes - a woman’s fallopian tubes are the ducts in her reproductive tract through which the egg passes from the ovary to the uterus. When a woman has blocked fallopian tubes, the eggs are not able to make this trip, making pregnancy impossible. Common causes of blocked fallopian tubes are pelvic inflammatory diseases or PIDs which infect a woman’s pelvic organs. These can cause adhesions and cysts on the fallopian tubes and ovaries which can prevent an egg from making it to the uterus.

Excessive exercise - when overdone, exercise can cause a woman to become too thin. This may lead to amenorrhea, or missing menstrual cycles and missing periods. In fact, light or missing periods could very well indicate that ovulation has stopped. If you work at a job where you are doing a lot of physical activity, it is the same as exercising, and can have the same effect.

Uterine fibroids - these are benign tumors that can grow in the uterus, possibly causing heavy bleeding or pain. In general, they don’t interfere with fertility, but it is possible. There have been cases where these tumors have blocked the fallopian tubes and prevented the fertilized egg from being implanted in the uterus. In addition to infertility, uterine fibroids can also cause premature delivery.

Smoking - smoking can do damage to the reproductive systems of both men and women. It can cause the loss and deterioration of a woman’s eggs. Excess smoking on the part of the woman, can lead to miscarriages or babies that are born with a low birth weight. In addition to smoking, other chemicals or drugs that are ingested into the woman’s body can also affect fertility.

These are not the only factors that can affect female fertility. Other factors, such as alcohol abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, and nutrition can also come into play. So many things have to go right that in many ways, having a baby is a true miracle.

Richard Corcoran is webmaster and senior writer for http://www.infertilitycausestreatments.com - His site focuses on articles describing the causes and treatment of infertility

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