You probably didn’t ever give much attention to your uterus until the day you chose to start trying for a baby. You normally need to have a healthy uterus to be able to conceive. Unfortunately uterine infertility is not that unusual. Uterine infertility is caused by many different factors:
· Fibroids – These are small benign lumps that grow on the endometrium. They can block the fallopian tube or cervix openings if there are many of them or if they are quite large.
· Polyps – Evidently look identical to a skin tag, just on the inside of the uterus. Usually you wouldn’t even be aware if you had them, but if you experience abnormal bleeding that could be an indicator of polyps. Similar to fibroids, polyps can obstruct the fallopian tube or cervix openings making it difficult for the sperm and the egg to get together.
· Malformations of the uterus – You may have been born with an irregularly formed uterus, which can impact your odds of conceiving and having a baby.
· Scar tissue – Also referred to as Asherman’s syndrome, this is when scar tissue is present on the inside of the uterus. This tissue can make it hard to get pregnant or can increase the possibility of miscarriage. Abortiongs, surgeries or infections can cause scar tissue.
· Endometriosis – This isn’t exactly a uterine problem, but this is when tissue that usually only grows on the interior of the uterus grows outside too, causing acutely painful menstruation and raising the risk of ectopic pregnancy (when the zygote implants outside the uterus and starts to develop – yes, that is as bad as it sounds).
· Muscular problems – Usually the uterus assists the sperm to get up the fallopian tubes through contracting – particularly during ovulation. If these contractions are feeble or don’t happen at the right time it may make getting pregnant more difficult.
· Luteal Phase Defect – When the uterine lining doesn’t form properly.
· Abnormal endometrial lining – The jury is still out on exactly what defines whether the endometrial lining that is too thick or too thin, but either condition could cause problems.
The following tests might be done to screen for uterine infertility:
· Ultrasound – A salt-water solution is squirted into the uterus and then an ultrasound scan is done.
· Hysterosalpingogram – This is also to screen for ‘plumbing problems’ by filling the uterine cavity (and fallopian tubes) with a substance that shows up on X-ray.
· Laparoscopy – The doc gets to have a peek for any obvious problems through a miniature camera that goes in through a little cut in the abdomen.
· Hysteroscopy – The camera goes in via the vagina rather than through an incision in the abdomen.
During any of these procedures the doctors might take samples or swabs of the tissue to test for irregularities like Luteal Phase Defect.
That looks like a large number of things that might go wrong, but many women have these problems and don’t battle to conceive at all. It’s helpful to understand that although the testing process can be somewhat uncomfortable, most of these conditions are easily treated.
Here is more information on Endometriosis and Infertility. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Infertility.