INFERTILITY

I. Introduction A. Thesis II. Infertility A. Causes B. Symptoms C. Treatment III. Causes A. Ovulation Disorders Article by Robin Weiss B. Quote from Weiss “Ovulation is the other cornerstone of your fertility. Just as you cannot get pregnant without a lining for the fertilized egg to burrow into, if there is no egg to fertilize pregnancy is not possible” C. Paraphrase from article. IV. Symptoms A. Symptoms of Infertility by The Staff at Mayo Clinic 1. Quote by the staff “The main symptom of infertility is the inability of a couple to get pregnant. An abnormal menstrual cycle that's too long (35 days or more) or too short (less than 21 days) can be a sign of female infertility. There may be no other outward signs or symptoms.” 2. Paraphrase from research. B. Article by The New York Times 1. Quote from article “The main symptom of infertility is the inability to become pregnant. Specific symptoms depend on what is causing the infertility.” 2. Paraphrase from article. V. Treatment A. Clomiphene citrate 1. What is Clomiphene citrate and how does it work? B. Human menopausal gonadotropin (Repronex, Menopur) 1. What is it? C. In vitro Fertilization VI. Conclusion

I.

Mery Gonzalez
Coach Drinkwater
English IV
1 Feb 2013
INFERTILITY
Every woman dreams of having children as they reach their late 20’s early 30’s, and most women are successful in conceiving a child. But 40 percent of women are not so lucky, so let’s explore why these women cannot have children. We’ll talk about the many causes of this problem, the few symptoms that there are, and if there is any treatment for this problem.
Infertility is the inability of failure to conceive a child after a year of regular intercourse without the use of contraceptives. There are two categories to classify infertility, Primary and Secondary. Primary infertility happens in women who have never had children while Secondary happens in women who have had previous pregnancies but they’ve failed. Infertility affects 1 in 6 couples who try. There are many causes to this problem but there aren’t many symptoms, but the good thing is that there plenty of treatments for it. There was a woman I knew who was in her late 30’s who tried to get pregnant for years but it never happened for her, it turned out that her egg count was low. She tried to use injections and took pills which only messed with her body and she never got pregnant. So treatment can be good or bad, it can work for you or not.
Let’s begin with the causes of this problem. There are many, many causes to this but the one we’re going to focus on is Ovulation Disorders. “Ovulation is the other cornerstone of your fertility. Just as you cannot get pregnant without a lining for the fertilized egg to burrow into, if there is no egg to fertilize pregnancy is not possible.”(Weiss) Most doctors agree that it is mainly associated with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. What is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome? It is a Multi-System hormonal disorder and there are many symptoms like an irregular menstrual cycle, obesity, baldness, etc. Back in the 1930’s it was known as Stein-Leventhal disease after the Doctor who first discovered it.
Now on to symptoms of infertility which there really aren’t many. “The main symptom of infertility is the inability of a couple to get pregnant. An abnormal menstrual cycle that's too long (35 days or more) or too short (less than 21 days) can be a sign of female infertility. There may be no other outward signs or symptoms” (Mayo Clinic Staff). If you’re in your early 30’s or younger, it’s better to try and conceive before you begin using any treatment or testing. But if you are 35-40 and you’ve tried for 6 months and have not been successful then go to a doctor to begin treatment or at least express your worry. The New York Times’ article says that “The main symptom of infertility is the inability to become pregnant. Specific symptoms depend on what is causing the infertility.” Also that not being able to conceive causes many painful emotions for one or both partners who would make it even harder if they want to continue trying to conceive. Wanting to conceive a child and not being able to takes a toll on you physically and mentally. Wanting to conceive is
If you’re wondering if there’s treatment for infertility, then the answer is yes. There are many treatments for infertility, for example Mayo clinic staff did some research and they said that Clomiphene citrate (Clomid, Serophene) is a treatment. Clomiphene citrate is a drug that is taken orally and it stimulates ovulation in women who have polycystic ovary syndrome. How does it work you’re wondering? Well it causes the pituitary gland to release more FSH and LH, which stimulate the growth of an ovarian follicle containing an egg. Another treatment is Human menopausal gonadotropin (Repronex, Menopur). What it is, is an injection that women who don’t ovulate on their own because of a pituitary gland problem. But instead of stimulating the pituitary gland this drug stimulates a woman’s ovaries. It contains both FSH and LH. One of the most common methods for treating infertility or just trying to get pregnant is IVF or In Vitro Fertilization. It’s involves retrieving mature eggs from a woman, fertilizing them with a man's sperm in a dish in a laboratory, and implanting the embryos in the uterus three to five days after fertilization. It is the most common way of treating infertility and probably the most effective way to be successful in conceiving a child.
To conclude my paper, Infertility is the failure to conceive after a certain time of trying. It is hard but treatable in most cases, however, since science is becoming so advance in the future there will probably be a way to cure it and women in their 50’s and 60’s will be able to have children also. It will also be easier and quicker to tell when a woman cannot have children.

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