We generally tend to be troubled about our various bits and pieces only when they don’t seem to be running properly – just how you probably haven’t ever bothered much about the condition of your uterus. But uterine infertility is not that unusual as a healthy normal uterus is essential for getting and staying pregnant. Uterine infertility is caused by a number of things:
· Fibroids – Also referred to as myoma or leimyoma, these are little benign growths that form on the endometrium. They can obstruct the fallopian tube or cervix openings if there are lots of them or if they are quite large.
· Polyps – Ever seen a skin tag? Well, a uterine or endometrial polyp is similar to a little skin tag on the inner wall of the uterus. Usually you wouldn’t even realize if you had them, but if you have abnormal bleeding that may be an indicator of polyps. Like fibroids, polyps can block the cervix or fallopian tube openings making it difficult for the sperm and the egg to meet.
· Uterine deformities – You may inherited an irregularly formed uterus, which could impact your chances of getting and staying pregnant.
· Scar tissue – Also known as Asherman’s syndrome, this is when scar tissue is present on the inside of the uterus. Like fibroids and polyps this scar tissue may cause miscarriage or infertility. The scar tissue might be a product of infection or due to repeated abortions or previous surgery.
· Endometriosis – This isn’t strictly a problem with the uterus, but this occurs when tissue that generally only grows on the inside of the uterus grows outside as well, causing incredibly painful menstruation and increasing the chance of ectopic pregnancy (when the fertilized egg implants in the fallopian tube and starts to grow – yes, that is as terrible as it seems).
· Muscular problems – Usually the uterus assists the sperm to get up the fallopian tubes by contracting – particularly during ovulation. If these contractions are absent or don’t happen at the right time it can make getting pregnant more difficult.
· Luteal phase defect – The name looks quite daunting, but this just suggests that the lining of the uterus doesn’t develop properly.
· Abnormal endometrial lining – Those in the know still aren’t exactly sure on exactly what defines whether the endometrial lining that is too thick or too thin, but either one of the two can cause problems.
Various tests that are used to diagnose these conditions:
· Sonohysterogram – Once the uterus has been injected with a salt water solution an ultrasound scan is done to screen for any structural irregularities.
· Hysterosalpingogram – A solution that shows up on X-ray is squirted into the uterus and then an X-ray is done to check if there are any odd growths or blockages.
· Laparoscopy – The doc gets to have a peek for any obvious irregularities through a tiny camera that goes in through a small cut in the abdomen.
· Hysteroscopy – Similar to a laparoscopy apart fromt eh fact that the camera goes in via the vagina.
During any of these tests the doctors could take samples or swabs of the tissue to screen for problems like Luteal Phase Defect.
That looks like a stack of things that may go wrong, but a large number of women have these problems and don’t battle to get pregnant at all. If you’re battling to get pregnant then it’s good to know that uterine infertility is generally easily treated, so although the tests might be awkward and uncomfortable at least you’ll be closer to identifying what the problem is and that means you’ll be more able to fix it.
Here is more information on Endometriosis and Infertility. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Infertility.