Fields of treatment / Gynecology / Comprehensive fertility care
Comprehensive fertility care
A healthy female releases her eggs once a month. There is a 15% success rate for getting pregnant during that time slot. That means that an egg cell is fertilized by male sperm and embryo develops. Approximately 60% of women get pregnant in 6 months of. 85% of women trying to conceive get pregnant in 2 years. The remaining 15% of couples fail to achieve pregnancy. These can be considered infertile and may need help.
Examination
If we want to know what causes your infertility, you will have to undergo fertility testing. There are a few tests available. Most of them can be performed in our fertility department.
First, we get your full medical and family history. Next, there are gynaecological examinations, ultrasound as well as lab tests, hormonal profile test, semen analysis for men, virology test and bacteriological exam. Other tests include hysteroscopy (uterus examination), laparoscopic examination that looks inside your abdomen. These examinations may help detect and diagnose problems that affect fertility like intrauterine adhesions, ovarian cysts, endometriosis). Finally, there is a hysterosalpingography which is a procedure to see if fallopian tubes are blocked or not.
You may also be offered genetic counselling services at our medical genetics department to supplement the examinations above.
You may also need consultations with a specialist: an andrologist, an immunologist, a sexologist or another one.
Semen analysis
This is also known as a sperm count test. It is the basic method to determine if a male is infertile. Major factors for sperm health include appearance, volume, liquefaction, sperm count and movement of the sperm
Heathy sperm parameters:
- Volume: > 1,5ml
- Total sperm count > 39 million
- Sperm concentration: > 15 million/1ml
- Abnormal size and shape: >96%
The outcome of all these examinations is the determination of the cause of infertility. Also, action plan is developed to achieve a healthy pregnancy and finally to give birth to a healthy baby.
Our policy is to move from easy and less burdensome techniques to more demanding ones. In practice, this means that, for example, when anovulation with irregular menstrual cycle is diagnosed, your menstrual cycle will be adjusted using certain medication. Also, you will be administered anti-estrogenic medications. Low doses of gonadotropins might be injected. We will also talk to you about what timing is best for you to get pregnant. In close partnership with fertility clinics (Gennet, Sanus, ISCARE) we will provide IUI (intrauterine insemination) or IVF (in vitro fertilization) for you.
