Female Infertility : A Complex System
Female infertility can be much more complex than male infertility for the simple reason that the female reproductive system is far more complex than the male reproductive system - and the woman has a much more important role to play in making babies than the man does. While the man's role is very simple - he just has to deposit a large number of good quality sperm in the vagina, the woman is responsible for much more :
- producing eggs;
- transporting the embryo to the uterus through the fallopian tube;
- nurturing the embryo in the uterus.
Not only are the chances of medical problems much higher in the female reproductive tract, causing female infertility to be a more complex problem; to add insult to injury, treating infertility often means putting the woman through lots of medical procedures - some of which can be invasive. This is true, whether the problem is male infertility or female infertility !
To make matters even worse, since having a baby is usually the "woman's job"; infertile women suffer from many more personal and social stresses as a result of their infertility !
The commonest causes of female infertility include:
- problems with egg production (ovulation); and
- tubal factor problems. Other areas of concern are:
- endometriosis and
- cervical mucus problems.
