Trying to Have a Baby?
Womens Health > Trying to Have a Baby?
Infertility affects many women. For those looking to become pregnant, this is a serious women's health issue. Most often, the issues that face women who cope with infertility are mental and emotional. An entire phase of the life experience can be lost. However, there are various treatments and options for those who are having trouble with, but want to have, a baby. It is important to speak with a women's health specialist, who is well acquainted with infertility issues, in order to determine which method is right for you.
Hormonal treatments, as well as various fertility prescription regimens, can provide women with the ability to increase their chances of becoming pregnant. Some of the drugs are designed to prevent pregnancy loss, while others are meant to help the body produce higher levels of the hormones that promote the conditions necessary in the uterus for pregnancy. Fertility drugs can increase the chance the woman will have a multiple-birth pregnancy.
Artificial insemination is another method of combating infertility. In this procedure, sperm from a donor, usually the woman's husband, is washed and then injected into the woman during ovulation. While this procedure is not painful, discomfort is sometimes reported.
In vitro fertilization takes place outside the woman's body. This method of trying to best infertility has actually been relatively successful. After the woman ovulates, her eggs are surgically removed and fertilized by the donor sperm. At the proper time of development, the embryo is then implanted into the woman, where it can develop full term.
An infertility solution tried by some women's health specialists related to in vitro fertilization is Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer. This involves the transfer of the egg to the fallopian tube, where the sperm is also injected. However, unlike in vitro, there is no way to document the success of the joined sperm and egg.
If a woman's infertility arises from a problem with her tubes, surgery can be used to treat it. Endometriosis, a condition in which uterine lining is found outside the uterus. This can cause pelvic pain and infertility. This is another condition that can be treated with surgery.
For those dealing with infertility, there are other options. They involve not actually becoming pregnant, but finding a way to have children without actually giving birth.
For women who wish to raise a child containing her own genetic material, but physically can't (or maybe doesn't want to) carry a baby to full term, surrogacy can be a rewarding choice. An embryo of a woman's egg and a man's sperm (partner or anonymous) is placed through in vitro into a third party. There are many women who enjoy pregnancy but have no desire to raise children. A women's health specialist who deals with infertility can help you find a suitable surrogate. It is also important to consult a lawyer to find out your rights to your genetic material.
Adoption is another choice some women choose to beat their infertility. There are many babies born around the world who are unwanted or orphaned. Some women find it very fulfilling to love and raise these children rather than undergo the sometimes rigorous and disappointing process of infertility treatments.