Infertility In India - Its Prevalence And When To Seek Help!

Nothing is more rewarding than holding your child for the first time. While most people dream about the day they get to hold their own children, some people are unable to have an offspring. Infertility in men and women can leave a couple without children for the rest of their lives. This is a traumatic experience.
In India, around 10-15 percent of married couples are infertile. This means that almost 27.5 million people across the country cannot have children. This prevalence of infertility is due to a few factors.

Risk factors for infertility-
This huge rise in infertility among young Indians is due to a combination of lifestyle factors.
• Smoking cigarettes
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Obesity
• Endometrial tuberculosis
• PCOS

Many cases of infertility are treatable. However, due to the social stigma around infertility, only around 1per cent of affected couples seek treatment for the disorder.
Additionally, it is important to understand that infertility can affect either gender. According to doctors in India, most patients who visit them to report fertility issues are women. In some of these cases, the women are fertile and their husbands may be infertile. However, the blame for the failure to conceive always falls on the woman.

When to visit a fertility expert-
Even couples who do not have fertility problems may require quite a bit of time to achieve pregnancy. Therefore, it can be difficult for couples to understand when they should seek the help of a doctor, in order to conceive.
If you and your partner have engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse for over a year and failed to conceive, you should consult a doctor. However, you should seek medical help sooner in the following cases.

• If you or your partner notice signs and symptoms of infertility, you should seek help from a doctor. For example, if a woman suffers from PCOS or irregular menstrual cycles, she should visit the doctor sooner, rather than waiting for a year.

• If you have a family history of infertility, early menopause and other fertility disorders, seek help from the doctor.

• If you suffer two miscarriages in a row, consult the doctor before trying to achieve pregnancy a third time.

Additionally, if you are older than 35 years, you should test your hormone levels before trying to get pregnant. Hormone levels start to drop with age, which can lead to fertility issues.