What is Infertility?

Infertility affects people from walks of life therefore understanding it is imperative. Specialist of Urology and Infertility Dr. Tamer Ali Abouelgreed further explains.

What It Means and Causes

Infertility can be defined as the lack of a successful pregnancy after one year of a regular marriage relationship. The cause
of infertility may be attributed to either the male or the female and in some cases, a specific reason cannot be determined by medical examination nor by laboratory analyses. However, it is observed that pregnancy may occur 5 or 10 years post-marriage without any treatment.

Pregnancy Facilitators

In order for pregnancy to occur, some important prerequisites need to be available, as follows:

In the husband:

1. The production of a sufficient number of sperm with normal motility, viability, and shape.
2. Sperm is composed of a head, the central region, and the tail. There must be at least 60 percent of sperm with normal form. The sperm count should be of 30 to 60 million per milliliters of semen, and pregnancy can take place with fewer numbers; up to 20 million per millilitres. It has been observed incidence of pregnancy with less than that sperm count, provided that there is an active movement of sperm.
3. Movement must make up more than 70 percent of the active movement in the first hour of ejaculation, no less than
4. 50 percent of them moving in the third hour after ejaculation. It can monitor moving sperm in vagina after 48 hours after sexual intercourse.
5. The proportion of pus in sperm can bypass a ratio of 4 to 5 pus cells/milliliter.
6. The amount of semen should be 2 to 6 milliliters. It decreases in prostate infections and chronic seminal vesicle diseases. The amount of semen increases in the presence of testicular varicose, and the semen must be of a certain viscosity as it turns into a liquid in less than 30 minutes post ejaculation.
7. The secretion of seminal fluid containing the basic elements necessary for sperm vitality such as zinc, dextrose and
8. phosphatase.
9. Semen transporting channels should be passable (not obstructed).
10. The glands that secrete semen (mostly prostate and seminal vesicle) should be healthy with no infections.
11. Endocrine glands that are relevant to fertility, should acting normally.
12. Intercourse should be sufficient and in proper and timely manner.

In the wife:

1. The ovaries should be healthy and produce an egg in a timely manner.
2. Fallopian tubes should be sound and passable and not obstructed.
3. There should be no organic disease of the uterus or any endocrine course that prevents the occurrence of pregnancy.
4. • There should be no anti-sperms in uterine secretions which can lead to the death of viable sperm.