Fertile women experience a period of fertility naturally during and before ovulation, while every woman is infertile naturally for the remaining period of menstrual cycle. To be able to conceive, a woman should be able to ovulate i.e. she should be able to release a mature egg which should be able to travel from ovary to the uterus without any kind of restrictions. Along with that her male partner should be able to ejaculate millions of motile and mature sperms.
A woman is born with all the eggs she can ever have at birth while on the other hand a man produces sperm throughout his life.
However some unfortunate women are not able to conceive naturally because of some problems associated with ovulation. Such ovulation dysfunction can result from dysfunction of some part of brain or dysfunction of the ovaries or dysfunction of glands that control ovulation procedure. It is possible for every woman to determine the occurrence of ovulation or its absence by making use of hormone predictor tools or by measuring the temperature of the body with special thermometers. Urine tests or blood tests or ultra sonography can be used to confirm if there is a problem with the ovulation process.
Causes
Malfunctioning of one or more part of the system that controls ovulation can result in ovulation problems. Pituitary gland, hypothalamus, ovaries, thyroid gland, adrenal gland and some other glands involved in the procedure of reproduction are examples of some of such parts.
- For ovaries to trigger ovulation, a hormone named gonadotropin is required. This hormone is released by hypothalamus, which is a part of brain and it stimulates the pituitary gland which then secrets some other glands that in result trigger the ovaries. So malfunctioning of any of these glands can result in ovulation dysfunction.
- Secretion to too less follicle stimulating hormone or luteinizing hormone by the pituitary gland can also be one of the reason of ovulation problems.
- Secretion of quiet less estrogen by ovaries is one of the major problems behind ovulation dysfunction.
- Secretion of higher level of prolactin hormone by the pituitary gland can result in ovulation problem. This is because of the fact that secretion of higher level of prolactin by pituitary gland results in secretion of other hormones, which are essential in the process of ovulation, in lower level hence results in ovulation problem.
Treatment
Some of the treatments methods used to treat ovulation dysfunction are:
- Clomiphene and medroxyprogesterone: if the problem of ovulation continues for a long period then generally clomiphene along with medroxyprogesterone is advised to the patient. The patient is given medroxyprogesterone orally for approximately five to ten days. This will lead to menstrual like bleeding immediately after that the patient is given oral dose of clomiphene for around five days. After the intake of clomiphene is stopped, ovulation occurs within ten to twelve days. Usually a period of menstruation that lasts for fourteen days is followed by ovulation.
- Human gonadotropins: If treatment of clomiphene does not result in the desired results, then human gonadotropin technique is followed. In this technique human gonadotropin is injected under the muscle or below the skin. It is a hormonal therapy that stimulates the ovary follicles to become mature. Follicles are the cavities filled with fluid inside them and contain eggs within them.
The woman should take proper diet with balanced nutrients. Light exercise and a positive mindset will play a significant role will help in preparing the body and mind to overcome the problems related to ovulation and infertility.