Baby-making trouble?
babyworld's infertility expert answers your questions
If you have been trying to conceive for a while you are bound to have many questions - whether it's why you haven't conceived, what fertility tests mean or what the treatments are likely to entail.
We have picked out a selection of your fertility questions answered by babyworld's fertility expert Prof Steve Killick - just click on each question to see his answer.
General fertility questions
- Difficulty conceiving second child
- Effect of taking pill for 10 years
- Hormones
- Low hormone level and discharge
- Male fertility ovulation
Ovulation and tester kits
- Frequent periods
- Irregular periods
- Poor ovulation response to drugs
- Using ovulation predictor kit while on clomid
- Effect of fertility drugs on pregnancy tests
Physical conditions
Fertility treatment
- Aiding conception during fertility treatment
- Fertility treatment
- Clomiphene
- Egg donation
- FSH injections
- Fertility test results - what do they mean
- Failed IVF
- Overstimulation with IVF drugs
- Unexplained subfertility
Difficulty conceiving
second child
Q. "My
husband and I have been trying for a baby for 10 months. We
already have one child aged two (with whom I got pregnant in the
first month of trying). Since having him I have suffered with
slightly heavier periods and dull lower back pain before and
during my period. Could there be some reason why I am not
conceiving? Should I see my doctor? I am 29 and my husband is
33."
Effect of taking the
Pill for 10 years
Q. "I
was on the pill for about 10 years and for the last seven months
my partner and I have been trying for a baby. My doctor has put me
on clomid tablets. Could it be the length of time that I was on
the pill that is preventing me from conceiving and what is the
success percentage of using clomid?"
Hormones
Q. "I
have a 5-year-old daughter and have been trying for another baby
for three years. I have had an investigation done by my doctor. I
had a laparoscopy, which showed that my womb was on my pelvis, and
that my tubes were stuck as well. I had an operation 18 months ago
to correct everything. This was done successfully. I then had the
dye put through my tubes, and that showed that the dye was passing
OK. So I was told to go home and forget about trying to become
pregnant, which is very hard to do. I was also told that they
would not consider IVF until I am 30, which is three years away. I
am contemplating whether to go back to my doctor, and ask to see
if she would do any tests to see if my hormones are OK (I suffer
from spots all through the month which makes me wonder if my
hormones aren’t right), or if I m still ovulating. I feel as if
I am a failure in not being able to have another child. I fell
pregnant with my daughter very easily. Any advice you can offer
will be greatly appreciated."
Low hormone levels
& discharge
Q. "We've
been trying for a baby for almost two years. I have had initial
blood tests and my husband a sperm test, both of which proved
normal. My friend, in the same situation, has been receiving
hormone injections each month because she is lacking in the
hormone that holds the fertilised egg in the womb. This hormone
imbalance was not picked up in her blood test, but had something
to do with the fact that during the first couple of days of her
period she had a discharge of brown blood. I have the same most
months. Do you think something similar applies to me?"
Male fertility
Q. "I
read recently that male fertility decreases in your 30's. I am 32
and my wife is 30. What is the average length of time it might
take us to conceive? I realise you can only give a general
answer."
Ovulation
Q. "My
husband and I have been trying for a baby for five months now
without any luck. I am 27 and have been using Persona for the last
year and a half and have been ovulating each month around day
10-12 of a 29/30-day cycle. Everything I read says I should be
ovulating on day 16 of a 30-day cycle and I am beginning to worry
that I have a problem. I haven't been checking my temperature but
my cervical mucus becomes 'fertile' just before ovulation and I
sometimes get a sharp pain in my side. Have I got a problem with
ovulation?"
Frequent periods
Q.
"Will having frequent, irregular periods affect my chances of
conceiving? We have been trying for a year now and have had no
luck as yet. I have a period every 2-3 weeks and my GP can only
suggest going on the pill, which I obviously don’t want to
do."
Irregular periods
Q. "I
am 27 years old and my husband and I have been trying for a baby
for nearly seven years now since coming off the pill. I took
clomid quite a few years back to no avail. I have had one very
early miscarriage (at about six weeks) and two failed IVF
attempts, all in the last two years. Since my last course of
treatment five months ago, I have only had about two proper
periods (I also have polycystic ovaries). My last few periods have
been all over the place. I have been having a day or two every
couple of weeks where I have been spotting and then a week ago I
had a full period which was quite heavy. The doctors and
specialists I have been seeing are not prepared to do anything
until I can pay for another course of treatment, which at the
moment I cannot afford. Please can you advise me on what I could
do to increase my chances of conceiving, or at least getting my
periods as normal as they possibly could be. It is very
frustrating because I can't even work out when I could be
ovulating."
Poor ovulation
response to drugs
Q. "I'm
36 and have had four failed fertility treatments. The first was
long protocol, which shut me down completely. The second was short
protocol and insemination. The third was short protocol with HRT a
month before menogon injections. This produced six follicles, of
which three were fertilised and two were put back. The fourth was
the same as the third, but it only produced four follicles, of
which one was put back. Is there a reason for my poor response to
the drugs or anything I can do to improve it? I ovulate around day
11-13 every month. My husband’s sperm count is low. I would
appreciate any advice you can offer."
Using
ovulation predictor kit while on clomid
Q. "I
have been trying to conceive for 18 months now without success. I
am considering purchasing an ovulation prediction kit and have
read a leaflet that says that if you are on fertility treatment,
you should not use it. I am taking Clomid. Can you advise
something that will help me to pinpoint my ovulation day, or do
you think an ovulation kit would be OK whilst on Clomid?"
Effect of
fertility drugs on pregnancy tests
Q. "I
have done two pregnancy tests and they have both come back
positive. I have been taking Profasi and clomiphene to help me get
pregnant. Will these drugs affect the test results?"
Endometriosis
Q. "I
have been told by my doctors that I may have endometriosis, as I
have problems conceiving. My 21-day blood test was fine and I’m
ovulating. My husband’s tests were fine too. We have been trying
to conceive for nearly two years. I am told that pregnancy can
cure endometriosis, but am receiving no treatment to help the
condition. Someone suggested going back on the contraceptive pill
to help alleviate it. Do you have any advice?"
Fibroids
Q. "Please
can you tell me how fibroids affect fertility? I have a 3cm
fibroid which a scan revealed is possibly blocking my right
fallopian tube. I have been trying unsuccessfully to conceive for
a year. My partner has a normal sperm count and my blood tests
reveal I am ovulating. I was wondering if my fibroid could be
causing problems? Both my partner and I conceived successfully in
our 20's. We are now both 33. A friend of mine with a 4cm fibroid
in the middle of her womb was told that she must have it removed
in order to conceive successfully. Do you think this may be the
case for me?"
Q. "I have been trying for a baby for three years now. I have been told I have polycystic ovaries. I had an operation and that didn’t work. I have now been given Provera to start a bleed instead of taking Clomid, but the Provera doesn’t seem to be working. I don’t know when I should take Clomid and whether it will work as nothing else seems to. I have had Clomid before and it didn’t work. What would you recommend I do?"
Sexually
transmitted disease
Q. "We
have been trying for a baby for three months. We have been having
intercourse at least three times a day, but with no luck to date.
I have previously had a sexually transmitted disease (chlamydia)
and my husband had NSU, which was treated quickly. I suffer from
mild polycystic ovaries but am still menstruating regularly. Does
any of this information I have given, in your opinion, affect our
chances of having a child? Finally, does having intercourse three
times a day affect our chances at all?"
Aiding conception during
fertility treatment
Q. "I
am 30 years old and we have been trying for a baby for about four
years. We discovered after various tests that (a) I have
polycystic ovaries, which although only mild does make my periods
extremely irregular, and (b) my husband is infertile due, we
think, to his having had a kidney transplant eight or nine years
ago. At the beginning of the month we went for our eighth
treatment but I got my period a few days ago. My question really
is what can I do to help things along. I am on 100mg of clomiphene
citrate, I walk the dogs about six times a day and go swimming
twice a week. I don't smoke, very rarely drink, don't eat refined
foods, eat masses of fruit throughout the day, along with brown
bread and wholewheat breakfast cereals. I do drink quite a lot of
tea, though I have cut that back to around six cups a day and I
plan shortly to stop drinking tea/coffee/hot chocolate altogether.
We have four attempts left, and I wondered if there is anything
else I could be doing/eating or not doing/eating that might
help."
Fertility treatment
Q. "My
husband and I have been trying for a baby for six years and still
nothing is happening. We are on our local register for infertility
treatment (ovulation induction) but it is going to be another 18
months before we are seen. We have used ovulation kits and have
followed my cycle and still I am not pregnant. Where are we going
wrong?"
Clomiphene
Q. "After
trying for my first child for two years, I was prescribed
clomiphene tablets. I did, after six months of taking these, fall
pregnant. I have been trying for a second child for a few months
now and am still having irregular periods. Do you think it is
likely that I will have to take clomiphene tablets again?"
Egg donation
Q. "My
fiancée was born with Turner’s syndrome and cannot conceive a
child because she doesn't produce eggs. As our local health
authority won't provide IVF, where can we go for the most
affordable treatment?"
FSH injections
Q.
"I have been diagnosed with PCO and have been taking Clomid
but have not yet not fallen pregnant and my progesterone level is
very low. My doctor has told me I will need injections to
stimulate my ovaries. Please can you explain what these injections
do and what side effects there are if any. Also how successful is
the treatment?"
Meaning of
fertility test results
Q.
"My partner and I have been trying for a baby for a year now
and have been to our doctor for the usual tests to make sure
everything is OK. The results are not good. My partner's sperm has
0% motility and his sperm count is slightly low. I have been to my
doctor twice now for my results but have not been told what they
mean. My day 8 blood test was ‘OK’ but my day 21 blood test
was not. I have now learnt that my progesterone level is 1 when it
should be at least 15. When I asked the doctor what this actually
means, he didn’t answer. Please could you explain it to me. I
would also like to know how it lowers my chances of conceiving and
what happens now regarding fertility treatment."
Failed IVF
Q. "I
have been funded with IVF and have had my first attempt at this
which failed. Tests have shown nothing wrong with either my
partner or myself. Is there anything that could be causing us not
to conceive which may have been missed? It is so frustrating not
having a problem that can be pinpointed. I was pregnant once ten
years ago, but miscarried. Please can you help with any
suggestions of what else I could do or what should be done
next?"
Overstimulation with IVF
drugs
Q. "My
first attempt at IVF resulted in a non-viable pregnancy. For this
attempt, I took Puregon and I did not overstimulate. I have had
two further attempts and have overstimulated on both. With each of
these, the drugs used were Metrodin. Does the overstimulation have
an effect on the quality of the eggs? Also, is there anywhere that
I can purchase Puregon with written permission from the clinic I
am attending? So far we have spent around £8000 and we don’t
have the funds for another attempt if we pay the full price for
the drugs package. I have today had a negative test result, so we
are back to square one."
Unexplained
subfertility
Q. "I
have been advised that I have unexplained infertility. Are there
any fertility drugs that someone with my condition can be
prescribed? I hear about friends with ovulation problems taking
Clomid etc and then falling pregnant. Can this sort of thing be
given to women with no immediately apparent problem?"
