Parenthood is important for both, whether you are a man or a woman. It is like a desire that becomes a yearning for the couple to have and raise children if not fulfilled. According to a careful estimate, about 15 percent of couples worldwide cannot become parents yearly. Out of which 25 to 30 percent of married couples face infertility problems. 

Not only do women face this problem, but men can also be the ones with the problem. It is a dark side of the East where a woman is blamed for being the culprit of not having a child. Regretfully, people never bother to think of the other side.

According to studies, 40-30% of infertility is caused by men and 70-60% by women, while 10-20% involve both. 

The good thing about this is that infertility is not incurable. If the cause is discovered, treatment is possible.

• About 15% of couples globally face infertility issues annually, with causes affecting both genders almost equally.
• Infertility is treatable, with advanced methods like IVF, IUI, and ICSI offering significant success rates.
• A woman’s fertility begins declining after age 30, with only 3% of eggs remaining by age 40.
• AI technology is revolutionizing fertility treatments by enhancing embryo selection for implantation.
• Cryopreservation allows eggs and sperm to be stored for future parenthood, preserving fertility.
• ICSI helps men with low sperm count or immobile sperm achieve parenthood through precise fertilization.

The age of women is also a concerning factor. If the age of a woman is up to 30 years, then it’s the best time to conceive. A woman’s ovaries naturally have a good number of fertile eggs. The number of eggs never increases, but with age, this number decreases. 

When a woman reaches the age of 40, only 3% of the eggs are left, and at 51, when a woman begins menopause, the number of these eggs is reduced to only 100. These eggs are eliminated naturally every month. 

Thus, the expectancy of ovulation is to a minimum. So, if a woman at 25 is facing the problem of infertility, she should consult a specialist doctor. 

After the age of 30, a woman’s fertility declines, and at 40, her chances of becoming a mother naturally disappear.

Like all other fields, medical science has reached new horizons in obstetrics. For couples who could not naturally have children, technology has suggested some artificial means. 

The sperm and egg are united unnaturally and then put in their natural place, the mother’s womb. The pregnancy proceeds in the womb, and the embryo grows naturally. 

Here is a brief introduction of some popular ways:

Sometimes, about 30% of men’s reproductive material is not active, and its quantity also does not penetrate through the inside path. For this problem, a particular treatment method called “IUI” helps to inject a large amount of reproductive material into the vagina. The sperm is pushed into the track, increasing the eggs’ chances of fertilization. This treatment method is tried where the reproductive material is not active or regular.

When your ovary releases one or more eggs to be fertilized, washed, concentrated sperm is inserted directly into your uterus. Intrauterine insemination aims to fertilize an egg by sending sperm into the fallopian tube. IUI may be synchronized with your usual cycle or fertility drugs.

Depending on many variables affecting a couple’s fertility, your doctor may suggest this treatment. The treatment is for couples who have: 

If the partner is wholly deprived of living sperm, the couples use IUI to become pregnant using donor sperm. Before IUI, frozen donor sperm is thawed from accredited laboratories. Women also donate ovarian eggs.

IUI and ovulation-inducing drugs are routinely used to treat unexplained infertility.

Selenium allergies seldom cause infertility. Semen in vaginal ejaculate produces redness, burning, and swelling. A condom prevents pregnancy and reduces symptoms. IUI may be successful if your sensitivity is extreme since many semen proteins are eliminated before sperm is introduced.

 Your partner’s semen study may show below-average sperm concentration, motility, or size/shape abnormalities (morphology). Preparing sperm for IUI separates highly mobile, normal sperm from lower-quality sperm.

Endometriosis-related infertility is commonly treated with medication and IUI.

Your cervix offers the passage between your vagina and uterus. During ovulation, the cervix produces mucus that helps sperm reach the fallopian tubes. If your cervical mucus is overly thick, it may block sperm. 

The cervix may also block sperm. Biopsy or other scraping may thicken the cervix. IUI skips the cervix, delivering sperm straight into the uterus to meet the egg.

IUI may be done for women with ovulation issues, such as no ovulation or few eggs. This might be a problem faced in advance age.

In addition, another method of treatment called “IVF” involves taking the female’s reproductive eggs and mixing them with the male’s reproductive substance in the laboratory. The embryo (EMBRYO) is prepared from this process, and the germs and kept in the incubator for three to five days. Then this embryo is placed in the woman’s vagina. 

IVF (in vitro fertilization) combines eggs and sperm in a lab. It helps individuals conceive. IVF is a complicated method of ART.

Many individuals require more than one IVF cycle to become pregnant. IVF boosts your chances of conception if you have fertility issues, but it’s not guaranteed to succeed for everyone.

Taking fertility drugs for many months helps your ovaries generate mature, fertile eggs. Through a simple surgery, your doctor removes or retrieves mature eggs once your ovaries develop enough. Using an ultrasound, the doctor inserts a thin, tube into your vagina, ovary, and egg follicles. The needle is attached to a suction device that gently removes the eggs.

Insemination mixes your eggs with your partner’s or a donor’s sperm in a lab. Fertilization occurs when eggs and sperm are kept together. Low-motility sperm may be injected into eggs to facilitate fertilization and kept under observation. 

3-5 days following egg extraction, embryo implantation (embryo transfer) is done via a tiny tube inserted through the cervix into the uterus, usually painless.

Embryos connect to the uterine lining to cause pregnancy. The patient has to take a rest after embryo transfer and, from the next day, can resume routine activities.

In ICSI or intracytoplasmic sperm injection, the reproductive material in the ovum is transferred directly into the vagina with the help of a syringe so that it can multiply.

These procedures involve a lot of vaccinations and tests, but also the pain women have to endure to become a mother.

ICSI raises the possibility of a successful pregnancy with assisted reproductive technologies. It uses a machine to help sperm reach the egg without waiting. ICSI injects the egg with the most potent sperm. Once fertilized, the egg will develop in the lab. This embryo will develop in a particular solution until it becomes a blastocyst, then be transplanted back to the uterus to continue growing in pregnancy.

ICSI or intracytoplasmic sperm injection is a specific method under assisted reproductive technology that enhances the possibility of a successful pregnancy.

Parenthood is a longing that married couples worldwide have in their hearts. In many cultures, it is simply a critically expected next step to marriage. As soon as the couple is tied in the knot, the nearby ones ask about the good news.

And the couple who somehow could not conceive soon seems to be pitied by people. Infertility, a natural phenomenon or a result of some treatable ailment, is taboo in some societies and sometimes even attributed to bad luck. 

As time went on and technology improved, infertility treatments have been developed. Obesity, thyroid problems, and mental stress can sometimes cause infertility. 

Thanks to advancements in technology and the expertise of doctors and obstetricians, many couples struggling to conceive have been able to have children through their consultations.