Can Infertility Be Cured?

The word “cured” is an interesting one. According to most dictionaries, “cure” means to relieve a person (or animal) from the symptoms of a disease or illness.

Some diseases and disorders can be cured. Others cannot, but treatment can help address the symptoms of a particular disease in disorder.

As far as female infertility is concerned, most doctors don’t refer to cures. Instead, doctors turn to treatments to overcome certain issues that might be stopping a woman from being able to conceive naturally, such as problems with ovulation. The treatment will temporarily address the underlying issues but will not likely offer a “cure”.

That said, however, infertility can be very successfully addressed and many women who seek infertility treatments will go on to have one or more children. Click To Tweet

How is female infertility diagnosed?

There are myriad reasons a women can be having difficulty conceiving on her own. Some one in eight women in the U.S. are diagnosed with infertility each year and most are unsure of why they are not getting pregnant after at least a year of trying.

That means a thorough medical examination is the first order of business in trying to find an answer.

There are a number of ways that healthcare professionals can make a determination about infertility and will likely use one or more of the following tests:

• Blood test
• Urine test
• Pelvic exam
• Laparoscope of the abdomen to view the condition of the reproductive organs
• HSG (Hysterosalpingography) x-ray to determine whether fallopian tube blockages are present
• Hysteroscopy to determine uterine abnormalities
• Vaginal or abdominal ultrasound
• Sonohystogram, which also looks for uterine problems and abnormalities

When visiting a fertility specialist and before undergoing any testing, the patient should provide as much medical history as possible and should offer accurate information on her menstrual cycle and other issues that could impact her ability to get pregnant.

How is female infertility addressed?

Once the medical professional is able to determine the cause of the woman’s infertility and ascertains that it is able to be addressed in one way or another, he or she will recommend one or more of the following options.

• Medications that will stimulate ovulation, possibly followed by in-vitro fertilization (IVF)
• Taking hormones to address hormone imbalances, endometriosis, or problems with the menstrual cycle
• Minor surgical procedures to remove scar tissue or blockages from the uterus or Fallopian tubes

When should you see an infertility specialist?

A woman is considered infertile when she does not get pregnant naturally after having unprotected sex for a year or more. At that point, it is feasible to seek out help.

Remember, also, that the fertility issue could lie with the male half of the couple in question, so it’s important for the male partner to undergo testing as well. The inability to conceive could be the result of issues with either partner so thorough exams are essential for each.