Conventional treatment for female infertility:
- Medicines and hormones: Medicines may include antibiotics, anti- fungal medicines when infections are suspected. Hormones and other medicines are given to regulate your cycles, in cases of endometriosis to increase fertility. Fertility medicines like Clomifene, Letroz are used to induce ovulations. In some cases injections of gonadotrophins may also be used.
- Follicular study: This is sonography of pelvis mostly done vaginally, usually done to monitor follicular growth and track ovulation. Ovulation prediction kits can also be used to determine ovulation and plan intercourse accordingly.
- Surgery: Surgery may be done in cases of adhesions, scars, PCOD (for big cysts procedure called Ovarian Drilling), uterine abnormalities and blocked fallopian tubes. Laparoscope or hysteroscope can also be used for some of the procedures. Reversal surgeries can also be considered in female who have opted for tubal ligation but now wants to have child.
- Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART): Depending on the case, intrauterine insemination (IUI), In Vitro fertilization (IVF), Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) may be required, where other measures fail to achieve pregnancy.
- Common types of ART are-
- IUI (Intra uterine insemination): This is a procedure wherein woman is given fertility drugs and when there is ovulation, semen is collected, rinsed with a solution and the sperms are deposited inside uterus using narrow catheter. Follicular monitoring is used to track exact time of ovulation.
- IVF (In Vitro Fertilization): Female ovaries are stimulated with fertility drugs and mature eggs are collected. Then in a laboratory dish, male partner’s sperms are used to fertilize the eggs. The resulting embryos are checked for good quality and viability and later transferred back into woman’s uterus.
- Other techniques are ICSI (Intra cytoplasmic sperm injection), GIFT (gamete intrafallopian transfer), ZIFT (Zygote Intrafallopian transfer), embryo cryopreservation, egg/embryo donation, surrogacy (use of other woman’s womb to carry the pregnancy).
