Infertility Diagnosis

What is a definition of Infertility?

When a couple have not been able to achieve conception after a year of trying, especially if they've been using charting, a diagnosis of "primary" infertility can be made.

Secondary infertility refers to an inability to achieve pregnancy subsequent to a successful pregnancy carried to full term, or where recurrent miscarriages are involved.

The wait of a year before such a diagnosis is made can be sped up if charting can be shown to have been done or the the partners involved are over 35 years of age.

At this point you may be still consulting your family doctor, or have moved to a gynecologist, or further to a reproductive endocrinologist.

At this point a significant proportion of cases involve current or prior Genitourinary Infection:

• A major effect of which is blocked tracts and ducts involved in the reproductive process - primarily the fallopian tubes in women. These damaged tracts can block the passage of eggs and sperm.
• Infections can cause an immune response producing sperm or endometrial antigens leading to an infertility diagnosis.
• Once tests have rued out the common causes of infertility, attention should be turned to the possibility of infection as being the cause.