Anything unexplained can often lead to frustration. Not only is it frustrating, but it’s also demoralizing, depressing, and engenders a feeling of helplessness. Unexplained infertility is one of them.
According to Prof. Dr Human Fatemi, Medical Director, IVI Middle East Fertility Clinics, around 30% of couples suffering from infertility receive a diagnosis of unexplained infertility worldwide. While the problem exists, its root cause can’t be easily detected using the usual current methods.
“We perform several medical tests to establish the factors that may be causing the infertility problem. A diagnosis of unexplained infertility often leaves the couples unsatisfied because, while the test results show that everything seems normal, pregnancy still eludes them despite years of trying. Knowing the underlying issues is always better for more effective treatment,” Dr. Fatemi said.
He further added, “We understand the frustration. So, we always inform the couples about the tests we use to determine the factors that could be making conception difficult for them. Unfortunately, we often have to ask them to go through detailed diagnostic tests as we need to determine the cause to define a course of treatment.”
Poor oocyte quality, poor sperm quality, and fertilization failure are some of the not-so-obvious obstacles to natural conception and cannot be spotted at the onset. A host of other conditions may lead to infertility as well. These include endometriosis, which cannot be established with blood work alone; many autoimmune diseases; diabetes, thyroid disorders, and several other factors.
After the diagnosis, couples decide to go through with the defined treatment and are able to make informed decisions. Although this time, they apply the necessary lifestyle and dietary changes to increase their chances. Advanced fertility treatments help many of them to reach their parenthood dream faster.
Many patients often confuse Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) with In-vitro Fertilization (IVF). Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) is a fertility treatment that involves placing sperm inside a woman’s uterus to facilitate fertilization. The goal of IUI is to increase the number of sperm that reach the fallopian tubes and subsequently increase the chance of fertilization.
Unlike the process of IUI — in which the sperm is placed in the uterus and fertilization happens inside the wife´s womb, IVF involves combining the eggs and sperm in the laboratory. Once an embryo or embryos form and genetic tests are carried out, the healthiest baby is implanted in the uterus for pregnancy.
Taking Clomid in conjunction with the Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) procedure is recommended in some situations and has helped many couples become pregnant. However, if this treatment is not adequate or unsuccessful, fertility experts suggest to go for further fertility treatments.
Fertility experts point out that, in many cases, they often discover poor egg quality, poor fertilization, and embryo and implantation failure issues only while the IVF process is ongoing – conditions that would not have been discovered otherwise. This way, IVF also acts as a diagnostic tool.
“By discovering these infertility factors, we are able to further improve our treatment strategy. This, in turn, leads to better chances of successful pregnancy and healthy live birth. Therefore, the IVF technique remains at the core of the treatment. It is a method that often leads to better pregnancy rates as compared to other simple assisted reproductive treatments,” Dr. Fatemi concluded.
IVI Fertility is a leading institution of infertility treatments in the Middle East and has three advanced clinics – Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Muscat. IVI has the highest success rate in the region of over 70% and hundreds of doctors with several years of global experience work together to deliver success for couples.
