Understand Secondary Infertility

People’s fertility tends to decline with age and struggling to conceive can be a challenging and frustrating experience. Things become even more confusing when you’ve already had one or more children. When a woman has had a pregnancy once and is now finding it difficult to have another pregnancy, it is called secondary infertility.

Here are the critical facts about secondary infertility to help you navigate such hard times and to make things easy to understand.

The causes of primary and secondary infertility can be almost identical, but the impacts can be very different from each other. More or less, these may include issues like increasing age, obesity, ovulation issues, and so on.

Causes of secondary infertility in women include:

• Poor egg quality or quantity

• Uterine issues

• Endometriosis

• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

• Lifestyle

On the other hand, secondary infertility in men is caused because of issues related to sperm quality, quantity or motility, hormonal imbalance or problems related to their reproductive health.

• Low sperm count

• Sperm abnormalities

• Azoospermia

• Varicocele

• Anti-sperm antibodies

For both women and men, lifestyle plays a crucial part in causing secondary infertility. Unhealthy eating patterns, regular smoking or alcohol consumption, lack of proper sleep are primary factors. The good news is that switching to a healthy lifestyle could help you overcome secondary infertility.

Simple ways to cope with secondary infertility issues:

One of the fundamental aspects of the pregnancy period is what you eat and drink. Most doctors recommend following healthy food habits and staying away from cigarettes and alcohol, negatively impacting overall well-being.

A healthy routine along with light exercises brings a lot of goodness. Practising meditation and yoga brings positivity to the individual and helps combat stress levels.

Maintaining the right body mass index is always essential to keep fertility issues at bay. It can be achieved by following a healthy diet and routine in your day-to-day life.

A wide range of treatment options is also available to cope with secondary infertility. Once the cause has been identified, the doctor may discuss the most suitable treatment option. Those options are medications, surgical procedures and ART (Advanced Reproductive Technology).

The experience of secondary infertility is harrowing due to frequent appointments with doctors, undergoing treatments and the time invested throughout the whole process. However, stay hopeful and be kind to yourself. Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future.