Fertility Treatment Options

African American couple speaking with a doctor about infertility treatment options.

Fertility issues affect more families than you might think. In fact, out of 100 couples in the United States, about 12 to 13 of them have trouble getting pregnant. If you’re dealing with infertility, know that you are not alone and there are fertility treatment options available.

Treatment Options for Both Men and Woman

If assisted reproductive technology is required for pregnancy, meaning both the egg and sperm are worked with to create a pregnancy, there are multiple ways to do so. Here are some of the most common types of assisted reproductive technology:

  • Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) happens when sperm is injected into a mature egg directly.
  • If the couple’s egg or sperm is not able to produce the baby itself, a donor egg or donor sperm may be used to help stimulate what cannot happen naturally.
  • When the embryo is implanted into the uterus, this is called assisted hatching. It requires opening the outer covering of the embryo to do so.
  • A gestational carrier may be needed if a woman is not able to carry the baby herself, whether that be because they don’t have an operating uterus or if other health issues make pregnancy risky for the mom. A gestational carrier carries the egg and sperm for the couple.

Fertility Treatments for Women

For women facing infertility, there are countless treatment options. The most common ones are as follows:

  • If a woman is having issues with ovulation, there are multiple fertility drugs available, whether they are to help regular ovulation or to induce it.
  • Endometrial polyp, scar tissue, endometriosis, fibroids, and uterine septum are several examples of medical illnesses that require a woman to have surgery in order to fix her infertility.
  • Intrauterine insemination occurs when healthy sperm is placed directly into the uterus after the ovary releases eggs, helping to aid in the success rate of pregnancy.

Fertility Treatments for Men

If a man is struggling with infertility, here are the treatment options most common:

  • Certain medications that improve testicular function, sperm count, pregnancy success, and sperm quality are often prescribed to men struggling with infertility.
  • Lifestyle changes might also increase the chance of pregnancy. Some of these options include cutting back on drinking or smoking, exercising more, stopping medications that interfere with reproductivity, increasing the amount of sex in the relationship, and eating a healthier diet.
  • Surgery may be required to reverse issues like sperm blockage or repairing a varicocele.
  • If there are issues with sperm and ejaculation, then sperm retrieval is another common treatment resource, in which the sperm is retrieved manually to put with the egg to create the baby. There are multiple ways to receive sperm and multiple ways to use it once it has been retrieved. You can read more about this option here.

If you are facing infertility, Avant Gynecology is here to help. Click here to schedule an appointment today or call us at (404) 352-2850 to discuss fertility treatment options.