Couples who come to us for infertility treatment want answers; in some instances this could be their first visit to an IVF clinic, while at others they may have gone to various other clinics, been unsuccessful in getting pregnant, and will have come to us. Regardless of which category they fall in, they all want answers ! The first question is the most basic one - What is causing our infertility?
I tell them very candidly that we can’t always provide them with an answer to what seems to be a simple question, even though we do have the skills and technology to treat it in the best possible way.
What makes the unexplained infertility reason so puzzling for patients is that they expect IVF specialists to have all the answers because we are the medical experts. However, now we are saying that we can’t pinpoint the problem! Patients are understandably frustrated with this “non-diagnosis” because from their point of view, it’s a dead end. The good news is that this is not true, because even though we are not good at identifying problems , we are good at bypassing them !
The Facts
• The first question to ask here is- when exactly do we say that a couple is infertile? They are said to be infertile only if they are unable to achieve pregnancy for 1 year despite having had frequent, unprotected sex. In the case of younger couples (below 35 years), this timeframe is 6 months.
• So, if you hear the term unexplained infertility, it simply means your IVF doctor has tested your fertility and your results are normal. This is actually reassuring, and you should count your blessings that your tubes are open and that the sperm test is normal. Would you be happier of your tubes had been blocked ?
• Of course there is some limitation to the number of tests that current day technology allows doctors to perform. Typically, infertility is said to be unexplained if:
- The woman is ovulating regularly
- Her fallopian tubes are healthy & open
- Her partner has a good sperm count and the sperm motility is good
This is the standard on which we decide whether a couple has unexplained infertility . One in ten infertile couples will be labeled with this diagnosis.
Infertility Treatments
Even though our diagnostic technology has limitations, patients are happy when they realize that our therapeutic technology is far more advanced . Even though we cannot identify the problem, we can solve it by bypassing it.
I remind patients that the question should NOT be "Why am I not getting pregnant ? " Rather, it should be - What can I do in order to get pregnant ?" After all, no one cares about problems - we only care about results - about having a baby !
The diagnosis of unexplained infertility means that the eggs and sperm are not meeting in your fallopian tubes when you are trying naturally, even though all your test results are normal.
You can read more about this at http://www.drmalpani.com/knowledge-center/articles/unexplained-infertility
The logical treatment option is HMG/IUI, to increase the chances of the eggs and sperm
meeting. You can read about this at http://www.drmalpani.com/knowledge-center/articles/iui
If 3 cycles of this fail, then we advise IVF ( http://www.drmalpani.com/our-services/ivf). This allows to do in the lab what is not happening in the bedroom !
For young patients with unexplained infertility, we have such high success rates that we can offer a money back treatment option. You can read more about this at http://www.drmalpani.com/knowledge-center/articles/money-back-program
Need help in getting pregnant ? Please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/free-second-opinion so that I can guide you!
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