6 Factors That Affect A Woman’s Fertility

For every couple who are trying to get pregnant, 50% of them conceive in the first three months of their attempting to get pregnant. However, there is the other 50% who don’t. Taking in, for this percentage, is dicey and the road to pregnancy is usually a long one. Whichever way you put it, fertility is complex. There are a lot of things that can have an influence on a woman’s fertility but genetics, age, and pre-existing medical conditions cannot be helped.

It is a relief to know that some fertility factors which might have been standing in the way of your conceiving can be altered. Are you anxious to know how? Read on.

 

1. Weight

Don’t you think that the extra pounds of flesh causing you to be overweight might just be altering hormone synthesis in your body, and making taking in hard for you? According to William Schlaff, MD, Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia,

“The more weight a woman gains over her healthy weight, the more she tends to experience decreased ovarian function.”

This quote comes from a study on Fertility and Sterility published in 2009. Researchers discovered that women who were overweight at the age of 18 stood a greater risk of developing polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and subsequent fertility problems. PCOS is presently the world’s major cause of infertility.

In as much as obesity has adverse effects on fertility, being too thin also has its negative tolls. Underweight women are deficient in leptin, and this can lead to an absence of menstruation.

 

2. Household Chemicals

Being exposed frequently to pesticides, industrial compounds, and pollutants slashes the conception chances of a couple by a whole 29%. A just-concluded study carried out by Washington University found 15 daily chemicals that contribute to early menopause. Of the fifteen, nine were either polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were banned since 1979. However, they still exist in some older products. The remaining six included two kinds of ‘phthalates’, three pesticides, and also toxic ‘furan’.

 

3. Smoking

While we all know that smoking is not good for an unborn child, do you know that it lowers the conception chances of a woman by leaps and bounds? According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, smoking is responsible for almost 13% of all infertility cases. Researchers have explained that cigarette smoke causes untold harm to your hormones and DNA. Being a heavy smoker is not necessary for it to affect your fertility; it is obvious that moderate smokers and even secondhand smokers are prone to endocrine dysfunction and fertility issues.

 

4. Extreme Exercise

While we cannot overemphasize the importance of exercise to help prepare your body for taking in, you should not overdo it. Researchers found that extreme exercise has adverse effects on the ovulation process. In a study published in the 2012 edition of Fertility and Sterility, women with normal BMI who exercise extremely for over 5 hours weekly find it difficult to take in.

 

5. Injectable Birth Control

According to experts, when you quit taking most forms of hormonal birth control, you will be able to take in within a month. An exception to this rule, however, is the injectable birth control, Depo-Provera. Each of these injections can hinder a woman from taking in for about 12 to 14 weeks. It is true that some women actually conceive in just a month of when the birth control wore off, but there are others who take up to a year or more. Hence, doctors recommend that women who are trying to conceive should quit using Depo-Provera injections some months before they start trying to conceive.

 

6. Certain Medical Conditions

Certain health problems such as endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and PCOS can influence a woman’s chances of taking in. Also, women who have autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus will also have conception difficulties because their bodies’ over-vigilant immune system may assail the sperm of their partner, or reject the fertilized egg as alien.

However, there are cases where women have one of the listed medical conditions but still conceived easily. Experts advise that you work with a medical team to boost and manage the symptoms while providing fertility help (if needed) to improve your chances of taking in.