An Overview of Fertility Treatment Options
What are different types of fertility treatments?
Fertility treatments are a variety of assisted reproductive technologies that help men, women and LGBT couples or individuals who otherwise cannot get pregnant or maintain a pregnancy to build a family.
The best infertility treatment options depend on the underlying cause(s) of fertility issues, personal choice, age and medical history.
Common fertility treatments utilize personal lifestyle changes, medications, inseminations, and even in vitro fertilization (IVF), alone or in combination.
Fertility Risks are best discussed with patients prior to beginning treatment, as the potential risk depends on what is being done. Common risks include an increased chance of multiple births (twins or more) as well as bleeding, infection and swollen ovaries due to hormone medications. However, there are also risks in doing nothing, as not conceiving can affect women and their partners as well.
For an appointment, contact us online or call 855-759-4124
What is infertility and how is it treated?
Infertility is a medical condition defined by the inability to achieve pregnancy after one year of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse. However, many think a diagnostic workup is reasonable after six months of failing to get pregnant if a woman is 35 or older, has underlying risk factors, or is emotionally stressed about not conceiving.
Men, women or a combination of both partners can contribute to infertility issues. Recommended treatments vary depending on the underlying cause(s) of infertility, along with personal preferences.
Related Information: Causes of Infertility Overview
Personal Health Factors Influencing Fertility Treatment Plans
There are a number of health factors that can impact your fertility journey. Three such examples of personal factors that can impact your reproductive outcomes include:
- A medical event can impact reproductive outcomes where a sudden medical event changes everything, i.e. chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery that removes part of your ovary. And all of a sudden, your ovarian reserve completely changes.
- Autoimmune diseases: inflammation caused by autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, autoimmune thyroiditis, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, a chronic disease that causes inflammation in connective tissues) have been linked to decreased fertility.
- And lifestyle factors such as nutrition, weight, exercise, psychological stress, environmental and occupational exposures, cigarette smoking, illicit drug use, and alcohol and caffeine consumption can impact reproductive health.
The point is, before recommending a fertility treatment plan, it is important to understand:
- Underlying cause(s) of infertility
- How long infertility has been an issue
- The woman’s age, which affects egg quality
- Health and medical history
- Personal preferences on treatment solutions, time involved and assertiveness
A Tailored Approach to Fertility Treatment
Positive Steps Fertility knows that no two individuals or couples are alike – and no two treatment plans are either. Our first step in developing a treatment plan is talking with the individual or couple. From there, we utilize an extensive range of fertility treatment options to tailor our approach to help people build their families.
An Overview of Fertility Treatment Solutions
The following are the more common types of fertility treatments we provide – some for men, some for women and some applicable to both. After careful diagnosis and examination, we discuss the options with our patients based on their situation.
As a rule, we prefer to start with the simplest treatments that have a reasonably good chance of success.
Lifestyle changes can improve fertility
Fertility Medications can increase your odds of getting pregnant
The most common fertility medications used to treat infertility address hormonal issues to help stimulate or increase ovulation of viable eggs in women. Fertility drugs generally work like natural hormones — follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) — to trigger ovulation. They’re also used in women who ovulate to try to stimulate a better egg or an extra egg or eggs.
Fertility medications can also include drugs to improve sperm count for men.
Fertility Medications are often the first steps in treatment. They can be used alone or in conjunction with inseminations, IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies.
Diagnostic or Operative Hysteroscopy can be used to diagnose or treat uterus abnormalities
Diagnostic hysteroscopy, is a quick procedure utilizing a hysteroscope (a small, lighted fiber optic camera) placed vaginally, which allows a physician to examine a woman’s cervix and uterus. This procedure can help diagnose the cause of infertility, such as fibroids, polyps or an abnormally shaped uterus. Minimally Invasive Surgery can also repair certain causes of infertility once identified, sometimes within the same diagnostic procedure.
In some cases, other surgeries may be recommended to facilitate fertility, such as a vasectomy reversal.
Intrauterine insemination (IUI) Fertility Treatment
Top Three Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) used for Fertility Treatment
#1 In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most common form of ART Fertility Treatment.
In IVF a man’s sperm and a woman’s eggs are collected and then combined together in a lab for fertilization. Fertilized eggs (embryos) are then implanted in a woman’s uterus in the hope of a successful pregnancy. IVF is a primary treatment to work around many fertility problems, including ovulatory issues, fallopian tube blockage, male infertility factors and DNA factors that prevent the embryo from developing properly.
#2 Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) can be an additional step in IVF Fertility Treatment
ICSI involves a doctor using a tiny needle to place a single sperm directly into the cytoplasm of an egg where fertilization occurs. This increases the chance of fertilizing the egg to create a healthy embryo. ICSI is often performed when the man’s sperm counts are extremely low or abnormal. If fertilization occurs, the fertilized egg (embryo) is implanted into the woman’s uterus, as in the standard IVF procedure.
#3 Assisted Hatching Fertility Treatment
Assisted Hatching is a technique that assists the implantation of the embryo into the lining of a woman’s uterus by opening the outer covering of the embryo (thus “hatching” the embryo). This is useful for women who have had previous failed attempts at embryo implantation or for women with infertility related to the uterus environment.
Egg, Embryo or Sperm Donation Fertility Treatment
The decision to use donor eggs often comes after multiple failed attemptsat pregnancy using the woman’s own eggs. Others have suffered the heartbreak of miscarriages. Whatever the root causes, it’s important to understand that no one takes donor eggs—or egg donors—lightly. For many who choose IVF with donor eggs, it’s a difficult decision that comes after a long journey, and thanks to egg donors, successful pregnancies can be possible.
Couples may consider using donated eggs, sperm or embryos in cases where:
- No or very few sperm or eggs are present
- Sperm or eggs are abnormal
- A man’s vasectomy reversal has failed
- Women who have had their ovaries removed or whose ovaries do not work
- For men or women who have a likely chance of passing on a genetic disease.
At Positive Steps Fertility, we recognize the commitment and time invested in the process of giving. Egg Donors are compensated up to $35,000. To learn more, go to Positive Steps Egg Donor.
Gestational carrier (Surrogate)
Some women are unable to carry a successful pregnancy, or carrying a pregnancy would put the woman’s health at risk. For these situations, or for gay male couples, a gestational carrier (a form of surrogacy) can carry the pregnancy. A gestational carrier is a woman who agrees to have another couple’s embryo, achieved through IVF, implanted in her womb for pregnancy, delivering the baby for the intended parents.
Fertility treatments for LGBTQ individuals or couples
- Sperm, egg or embryo donation
- IUI
- IVF
- Gestational carrier.
Fertility treatment risks and complications
- Multiple births (twins, triplets or more) increase the likelihood of premature labor and delivery, as well as pregnancy concerns such as gestational diabetes. Multiple births may also cause premature birth, and preemies are at increased risk of health and developmental problems.
- Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a swelling of the ovaries due to ovulation-inducing medication. This condition causes mild abdominal pain, bloating and nausea and in rare but severe cases, rapid weight gain and shortness of breath.
- After surgeries or invasive procedures, patients may experience bleeding, infection and pain.
Next steps: Schedule a consultation to end infertility
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