Infertility is the inability of a person, animal or plant to reproduce naturally. It is not usually the natural state of a healthy adult, except particularly in certain eusocial species (mostly haplodiploid insects). However, it is the healthy state of a human child or other young offspring, because they have not yet undergone puberty, the beginning of the body's reproductive capacity.
In humans, infertility is the inability to conceive after one year of sexual intercourse without contraception involving a male and female partner. There are many causes of infertility, including some that can be treated by medical intervention. Estimates from 1997 suggest that about five percent of all heterosexual couples worldwide have an unresolved problem with infertility. However, many more couples experience at least one year of involuntary childlessness: estimates range from 12% to 28%. Male infertility accounts for 20-30% of infertility cases, while 20-35% are due to female infertility and 25-40% are due to combined problems in both parts. No cause is found in 10-20% of cases. The most common cause of female infertility is ovulatory problems, generally manifested by scanty or absent menstrual periods. The most common cause of infertility today in Western populations is delayed motherhood, as egg quality declines dramatically with age, especially after 35. Male infertility is usually due to deficiencies in sperm, and sperm quality is used as a surrogate measure of male fertility.
Women who are fertile experience a natural fertility period before and during ovulation, and they are naturally infertile during the rest of the menstrual cycle. Fertility awareness methods are used to discern when these changes occur by tracking changes in cervical mucus or basal body temperature.
Treatment BeterKlinic
BeterKliniek is the clinic for Integrative Medicine that bridges regular and non-regular medicine.
An van Veen (physician) and Michael van Gils (therapist) look for the cause of a condition or disease. That is where the treatment starts otherwise, as people often say, it is 'carrying water to the sea'. We call this cause medicine. Sometimes it is also desirable to treat the symptoms (at the same time). We call this symptom medicine.
Chronic disorders often have their cause in epi- genetics. You can schedule a free informative telephone consultation (phone number 040-7117337 until 1 p.m.) at BeterKliniek to discuss your symptoms so that we can provide you with further advice.
