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Title: A Guide to Fertility Treatments
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A Guide to Fertility Treatments

Babies-Preparing for Baby-19

If you have been trying to have a baby for some time, then perhaps it's time to investigate fertility treatments. With so many options, investigating treatment options can quickly become a daunting task. You will need to consider medical history, convenience and cost before making any decisions.

Preparing for Infertility Treatments
Before you begin treatments for infertility, you will need to compile a full medical history for both you and your partner. This will help doctors to identify anything that might have contributed to poor fertility. Doctors will also want to run tests on both men and women. About one-third of infertility is caused by a low sperm count, while common problems with women include fallopian tube damage and poor ovulation. Doctors will do smear tests, blood tests, sperm tests and urine tests to identify potential problems before recommending treatments.

Treating Infertility with Drugs
If you are having trouble with ovulation, and are not producing enough eggs, some fertility treatments use drugs to get the process started. The most common of these is clomiphene citrate, which is a pill that stimulates estrogen production. You may experience mood swings, nausea, headaches, hot flashes and heavy periods and you may gain weight. The costs associated with fertility treatments using clomiphene citrate are about $50 per month for the drug itself, and you may have to take it for up to six months.

Gonadotrophins stimulate the pituitary gland to start ovulation if it has failed. Side effects include feeling nauseous, stomach pains, heavy periods and headaches. This drug is injected into the bloodstream with a battery-operated pump. With both of these drugs, between 20% and 60% of women get pregnant, though these may be combined with other treatments such as IVF. The costs for fertility treatments with gonadotrophins are between $2,000 and $5,000 per month. You may have to take these for three to six months, and you may have multiple births if you conceive. It is rare to use drug treatments for male infertility.