Unexplained infertility, a frustrating problem in which your health care provider cannot find any medical explanation for your infertility, can be a sticky problem to solve.
Statistics show that as many as 10 percent of all couples who see an infertility specialist are given a diagnosis of unexplained infertility.
Couples seeking help for unexplained infertility usually fall into two broad categories: Those who have no medical problem causing infertility, but cannot conceive due to timing and other non-medical issues, and those couples who have an undiscovered medical reason for infertility.
A diagnosis of unexplained infertility may be due to a limited number of tests run by your doctor or specialist. To get to the source of an infertility problem, you may have to undergo more stringent, specific, high-tech tests to determine why you are not able to conceive.
Possible Factors in Unexplained Infertility
Some conditions don't show up on initial and routine fertility tests and may be the source of unexplained infertility.
Abnormal fallopian tubes. Abnormalities in the structure of the fallopian tube, the fimbria or the cilia, which help move the egg through the fallopian tubes, could be preventing fertilization.
Abnormal eggs. If eggs don't have the right size, shape and chromosomal makeup, they won't be able to be fertilized.
Luteinized Unruptured Follicle Syndrome. If the eggs get trapped in the sac that protects them, ovulation doesn't occur properly.
Prematurely Aging Ovaries Syndrome. As a woman ages, the number of follicles within the ovaries decreases, causing infertility. PAO occurs when this process happens to younger women, well before menopause.
Immune System Problems. A woman's immune system can become confused and begin to attack her eggs, and a man's immune system can attack sperm cells.
Infection. Some infections that cause infertility are difficult to detect through a normal examination.
Weak sperm. Some sperm are healthy looking but are not strong enough to break through the outer shell of the egg for fertilization.
Psychological factors. Studies show that depression, negative thinking and emotional distress can interfere with the body's ability to conceive.
What You Can Do About Unexplained Infertility
Specialists urge patients with unexplained infertility to keep trying and not give up hope. There is a chance that you will conceive even without fertility treatments. Here are some steps you can take to increase your chances of conception.
Fertility drugs. A woman's body will release more than one egg each month with fertility drugs, increasing her chances of fertilization.
Intrauterine Insemination. This assisted reproductive technology helps the fertilization process by collecting sperm from the male partner and releasing it into the female partner's uterus.
In-vitro Fertilization. For women who have faulty fallopian tubes or ovaries, this process places the egg and the sperm in a dish and, once fertilized there, places the embryo into the woman's uterus.
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