Infertility

As technology has advanced, the treatment for an infertile couple has progressed greatly. However, society's opinion of infertility treatment has not progressed. There is a widespread ignorance about the different aspects of infertility. This ignorance plays a role in how little empathy is shown to couples undergoing infertility treatment. An infertile couple undergoes serious risk at a very high cost to be able to bear a child. Despite the fact that Infertility Treatments are high risk, they are an important tool for infertile couples.

For as long as the human race has been in existence, infertility has been a problem. In the book of Genesis, there is a story of two sisters: Leah and Rachel. Leah was plain and unloved, but Rachel was beautiful and highly desired. God made it possible for Leah to bear children. However, Rachel remained barren. When Rachel was finally able to conceive, she declared, "God has taken away my disgrace by giving me a son." (Brown). Rachel believed that infertility was a disgrace, an idea that many infertile women have shared over the centuries.

In the past we have seen many examples of ignorance to the causes of infertility. In some ancient cultures, men were allowed to hang their wives if they did not produce offspring. The husband of Marie Antoinette, King Louis XVI of France suffered from male infertility. However, the people of France blamed Marie Antoinette referring to her as the "Austrian Whore". The French were so callus as to produce pamphlets instructing her on how to properly perform (Brown). Infertile women today suffer the same sort of indignities at the hands of well-meaning friends and relatives.

Infertility treatments assist infertile couples to produce biological children. While adoption is a viable option for couples that are infertile, many would like to have biological children. There is nothing like that fantastic moment when a mother holds their child for the first time. It is unexplainable why a mother would be so willing to undergo the pain of childbirth. Nevertheless, for many infertile couples, they long to be a part of wondrous experience.

Few people are able to identify with a couple undergoing infertility treatments unless; they themselves have been through similar circumstances. For female patients, the frustration is often elevated when one of their friends has become pregnant. The patient is torn between being happy for their friend and somewhat of a jealous sadness for themselves.

In normal ovulation, which occurs in the female body, hormones are released which stimulate the different processes necessary for a successful pregnancy. Initially, the hormone FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) leads to the development of the follicle and the egg. Because of the increased levels of FSH, excess estrogen is released into the bloodstream. When the estrogen levels in the bloodstream increase, it triggers a surge of the hormone LH (luteinizing hormone) and causes the endometrium (the lining of the uterus) to thicken. The following graph shows how the hormone levels rise and fall during a normal 28-day cycle.

(Graph from ARC)

The LH surge triggers ovulation, which is the process by which the follicle bursts, releasing the egg into the fallopian tube (ARC). The following illustration represents the ovulation process over the same 28-day cycle.

(Illustration from ARC)

Once ovulation has occurred, the egg will travel through the fallopian tube to the uterus. This process can take anywhere from three to five days. During this time, if the egg unites with a sperm in the fallopian tube, it will become fertilized and attach itself to the endometrium when it arrives in the uterus and pregnancy will ensue. If fertilization does not occur, the proper hormones will be released to break down the endometrium and menstruation will occur (Encarta).

The first step in treating infertility is to determine which partner is infertile. Until recently, if a couple was not able to conceive, the blame would fall with the female partner. However, due to increasing study and advancing technology, researchers have shown that up to half of all infertility cases may be traced back to the male partner (Grayson).

Often, the treatment administered to an infertile patient is hormone therapy. There are hormones available to treat both male and female infertility. For female infertility, many of these hormones either inhibit ovarian function or over-stimulate it. It is quite common for these drugs to throw the natural hormonal balance of the patient off. This imbalance can lead to severe mood swings, cramping, nausea, dizziness, and a possible increase in the susceptibility of ovarian cancer (ARC).

For male infertility, there are hormones available to help stimulate and increase sperm production. If the problem is just a low sperm count, doctors will often advise their patient to have intercourse less frequently to help build up the sperm count. Other recent studies have shown that a good multi-vitamin can help to improve sperm count (Grayson).

There are many known causes of infertility and several other suspected causes. Chem-tox, a company that researches the effects of chemicals and pesticides on health, publishes extensive information on their website about possible environmental causes of infertility. According to Chem-tox's website, recent studies have shown that these substances may be the primary causes of infertility: coffee, alcohol, tobacco, MSG, food additives, pesticides, plastics, cosmetic chemicals, vehicle exhaust, and artificial sweeteners.

Chem-tox cites data from a 1994 study published in the Fertility Sterility Journal, which showed that, on the average, a smoker's sperm count is 13% to 17% lower than a non-smoker's. Furthermore, in the same study, three men who had quit smoking were tested approximately 15 months after quitting and their sperm counts rose between 50% to 800% (Sinclair). Men who smoke cigarette have also been shown to have a higher rate of sperm abnormalities. Cigarette smoking may also have a detrimental effect on a woman's natural reproductive cycle as they have a decreased ability to conceive in their first cycle of attempting pregnancy (Sinclair).

Infertility treatments can be very risky for the patient and the potential child. Quite frequently, infertility treatments result in a multiple fetus pregnancy. Infants born from a multiple pregnancy at higher risk for: low birth weight, birth defects, cerebral palsy, and other physical problems. Multifetal pregnancies are also two to three times more likely to result in early births (Boyles). These early