Infertility shows an increasing rate for many modern couples. Approximately 15% of the couples that attempt to have a baby face an infertility problem.
Reproductive medicine has come to provide solutions in male problems, female problems and to infertility of unknown cause.
The objective of Dr Bagiokos and his Fertility Team ( Dr. Kalogirou I. member of the Fertility Unit in Rea hospital and Mr. Triantafyllou Triantafyllos, Clinical Embryologist– in charge of the Embryological Laboratory of the Fertility Unit in Rea Hospital ) in REA Fertility Unit is to help couples to achieve the desired result, in the most immediate and painless way possible.
The most common factors of infertility in men are:
- Reasons related to the way of living (alcohol, smoking, use of drugs, use of anabolic steroids, bad diet, anaemia and excessive stress)
- Unhealthy working conditions
- Very tight underwear or trousers
- Injuries and operations in testicles
- Inflammations in other reproductive organs (e.g. prostatitis, epididymitis and orchitis)
- Chromosomal disorders
- Genetic anomalies
The most common factors of infertility in women are:
- Fallopian tubes conditions (salpingitis, fallopian tube obstruction, hydrosalpinx)
- Ovaries conditions (endometriosis, tumours)
- Cervix conditions (fibroids and cervicitis, etc.)
- Endocrinological disorders
- Genetic / chromosomal anomalies
- Advanced female age (over 40 years or FSH>11)
- Overweight or underweight women
- Reasons related to the way of life (excess alcohol consumption, use of drugs and stress)
When should a couple ask for help?
When a couple has free, unprotected sexual intercourse for 1 year and has not become pregnant, then they should address their doctor.
Couples with some history or signs of infertility should see their doctor earlier or even before start trying.
Signs for men are:
- Sperm problems
- Erectile disorder or premature ejaculation
- Azoospermia
Signs for women are:
- History of inflammations in reproductive system (endometritis, salpingitis, endometriosis, etc.)
- History of surgeries in the reproductive system (fallopian tube removal, ovarian cyst removal, etc.)
- Menstrual cycle abnormalities
- History of miscarriages
- Advanced age (over 40 years or FSH>12)