The Road to Fertility

Secondary infertility is inability to conceive or carry ahead the pregnancy again after a woman has once conceived earlier. There are broadly two type of couple here, one who already have a baby and fail to achieve a pregnancy second time around, and secondly, couple who conceive but the pregnancy does not carry forward for any medical reason. These couples suffer for a trauma and emotional stress not very well appreciated. Difficulty in conceiving a second child may come as a shock to the couple, particularly if no problems were experienced before. The reaction that some couples face “ be happy you have one” can be very depressing for a couple desperately trying for a child. The average incidence of secondary infertility is 20-30 percent of the general infertility population. The main causes for secondary infertility are similar to those of Primary infertility like tubal block, endometriosis, fibroid uterus, altered sperm parameters with the added burden of age and lifes...

There was a subject called economics that we science students frowned upon religiously in college days. What could possibly be the attractions of a dry number driven complex topic for the pursuers of life and living beings and the forces that drive them, we asked! The answers came by, albeit a bit delayed, in the years of practise. For the health care is also driven by something we learnt as Demand and supply theory! Especially the optional treatment branches.  Fertility is such a branch, which is catering to healthy couple who are not suffering from a disease (infertility is yet listed as a condition and not as a disease) and is availed of as an optional, even boutique therapy. Only couple under the clutches of infertility realise what can be the devastating effects of the condition. Because is not an emergency or life threatening condition, usually couple have enough time and resources to choose the place of treatment. The question is, are our couples seeking fertilit...

Geoffrey Chaucer said "Time and tide wait for no man”. I would like to put an addendum with due respect to Chaucer, "Time, Tide and Biological Clock wait for no woman". Women mature with age, become more mellowed and beautiful and confidant after the twenties, but does her fertility follow this graph too? Sadly, no! Each month a bunch of eggs, start their journey towards ovulation. Only one best egg is selected and the rest are discarded by a natural selection.  By the age of 37 years there is a sharp decline in the egg reserve and the number steeply declines till the age of 40+ when there are but few good eggs left to come to the aid ofthat persistent sperm and make a living of their own!  Thanks to the advents of science, we now have a way forward with egg freezing or Ooocytecryopreservation as we call it.The American Society of Reproductive Medicine has removed the "experimental" label from oocyte cryopreservation in 2012 and it has been included in ...