There are many types of fertility treatments for those who are having difficulty conceiving a child. Success is not ensured with any of the different types of fertility treatments. As well, certain treatments are now raising ethical issues both inside and out of the medical community.
A basic infertility diagnosis is the first step toward fertility treatments. Often, a couple needs to try conceiving naturally for at least a year to 15 months prior to seeking fertility treatments. In some cases, couples may not be diagnosed with any fertility problems.
When no fertility problems are diagnosed, couples may be given specific instructions as to when to conceive, based on the woman’s ovulation cycle. They may also be given instructions on sexual positions, holding positions after sex, and in other areas, in order to help increase the chances of getting pregnant. In some cases, those having trouble conceiving may use injections of sperm, rather than intercourse to increase likelihood of pregnancy.
When problems are diagnosed, fertility treatments depend significantly on the type of problem. A woman with scarring in the fallopian tubes may undergo surgery to remove scarring and increase chances of pregnancy. As women age, age of ova also can affect ovulation in a healthy woman, meaning that women may not always ovulate at predictable times or eggs may not be viable.
In some cases, fertility treatments involve injection of fertility medications to boost ovulation and cause women to release possibly more than one egg per month. These medications are usually hormone based, and they do have some unwanted side effects, like weight gain, skin breakouts, and instability of mood. Many women feel these side effects are worth the price.
Men may also take medication to boost sperm count, if this is one of the recommended fertility treatments for a couple. Medications used may result in pregnancy, but also carry a higher rate of both miscarriages and multiple births. In men, temporary feminizing characteristics may occur.
When injections and other methods still do not result in pregnancy, couples may look to in vitro fertilization in order to achieve pregnancy. In this procedure, eggs and sperm are harvested from the couple, and then combined to create an embryo. At the appropriate time of the month, several embryos are injected into the uterus.
In vitro fertility treatments are highly expensive. Usually one round of in vitro injection costs about 10,000 US dollars (USD). Others believe in vitro compromises ethical issues that have not been thoroughly resolved. For example, since more than one embryo is implanted, this significantly increases the risk of heavy multiple births.
While a woman can usually carry twins or even triplets to term, a greater number of babies means greater health risks to all the unborn children. In these cases, doctors may strongly advocate aborting some of the embryos. This position is thought by many to be a violation of religious ethics. As well, such fertility treatments often create embryos which will never be implanted, and thus must be destroyed. Some people believe that the creation of such embryos with no intent to give them a chance at life is morally wrong. Others worry about these embryos being donated and later exploited for the purpose of stem cell harvesting.
Since many in the public have registered concern of fertility treatments that result in extra embryos, some in stem cell research are now putting forth effort to harvest stem cells from elsewhere, like from umbilical cord blood. At some time in the near future, the use of embryos to harvest stem cells may no longer be an issue.
Others forgo common medical fertility treatments and explore alternative or complementary medicine. Some follow strict dietary practices, pursue acupuncture, or take herbs that appear to increase fertility. Since the medical community does not study many of these methods, it is of value to research results of these practices, and safety, prior to attempting them.
