Myths and Facts about Infertility

• Rahul Awasthi
• Nov 30, 2020

When it comes to infertility, there are a lot of myths revolving around it in our society.

Initially, an individual might feel hesitant and embarrassed to discuss it openly and when they do, they tend to seek suggestions from their close friends and relatives which most of the time are not only unhelpful but wrong.  Even your closest people can contribute to such misinformation and lead you to disaster.

Here’s an attempt to clear the clutter of myths revolving around the topic of infertility.

Myth: Fertility and age aren't connected with each other.

Fact: A couple might desire to get pregnant at any age they want but the age factor is directly involved with fertility of an individual, the fertility of a woman starts to decline after the age of 35, and after 40, the decline in fertility speeds up even more.

Myth: When it comes to infertility a woman is the one at fault.

Fact: Conception and Pregnancy are complicated events that depend on multiple factors like the production of healthy sperm by the male and eggs by the female. Conception might not take place in absence of any of the factors influencing it. In fact, for about half of the cases of infertility, male factor is the contributing element. 

Myth: Assisted reproductive techniques are always successful.

Fact:  There’s no certainty of conception or pregnancy in any of the ARTs whether that be Intrauterine insemination (IUI) or In vitro fertilization (IVF). Although since the first successful IVF delivery back in 1978, the technology has advanced a lot and so has the rate of successful deliveries, still, any kind of certainty cannot be claimed in such treatments.  

Myth: There is no chance of future infertility if you’ve had a successful delivery previously.

Fact: The fertility of an individual does not remain constant over time, it depends on multiple factors including, age, toxic exposure, lifestyle, etc. 

Myth: Smoking does not affect infertility.

Fact: Lifestyle has a direct influence on the fertility of an individual. Consumption of alcohol and smoking on a regular basis might decrease the sperm count and quality in a male body whereas in a female body it speeds up the depleting rate of eggs. Hence fertility will directly be affected by it.

ALSO READ

What’s different between IUI and IVF?

Things you should know about In vitro fertilization