Ovarian induction is a fertility treatment involving the use of hormone-based fertility drugs to stimulate a woman’s egg production and increase the chances of pregnancy. These drugs are usually taken at the start of the menstrual cycle, and your body’s response is monitored throughout your cycle using ultrasound. This fertility treatment can be employed independently or in other assisted reproductive technologies like intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Below are five factors that might affect ovarian induction.
- Age Of The Woman
Age is always a principal factor with conception-related issues for women, and it affects ovarian induction significantly. Advanced female age is perhaps the single most essential factor influencing fertility potential. From a physiological viewpoint, there is a steady decline in fertility capacity in women aged 35 and above. This reduced fertility capacity reflects biological ageing, the declining number of remaining follicles, and exposure to numerous harmful influences on the ova left in the ovaries. By age 42, spontaneous pregnancy is a rare event, so your chances of successful ovarian induction at this age and beyond decreases considerably.
- Body Mass Index
Being overweight or obese can also influence your chances of successful ovarian induction. Many overweight and obese women have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), contributing to their infertility. Ovarian induction in women with PCOS is often more challenging than in women without the condition. Also, higher BMI values are associated with poorer ovarian induction outcomes. Ovarian induction using Clomid and Metformin is typically the first treatment option for anovulatory PCOS women seeking fertility. Also, weight loss is the best means of physically inducing ovulation in obese and overweight women with PCOS since it can restore ovulatory cycles and allow spontaneous pregnancy.
- Hormone Levels
Hypothalamic dysfunction, whether hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, can interfere with producing the hormones responsible for stimulating ovulation. The hypothalamus oversees reproduction by producing GnRH, the gonadotropin-releasing hormone. GnRH stimulates the production of the luteinising hormone (LH) and the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), both of which are crucial for egg production and ovulation. Consequently, problems with the hypothalamus can significantly affect FSH, LH, and estrogen levels in the body, influencing ovarian induction negatively.
- Prolactin Levels
Prolactin is one of the many hormones produced by the pituitary gland, famously responsible for stimulating milk production in women after childbirth. High prolactin levels can influence ovarian induction negatively in several ways, and it is widely considered one of the most frequent causes of anovulatory sterility. High prolactin levels can make it harder for a woman to ovulate, causing this category to experience irregular periods. Also, the body reduces its estrogen production when the pituitary gland produces excess prolactin. As such, it isn’t uncommon for women who have excess prolactin to experience infertility and ovarian dysfunction.
- Structural Problems
Structural problems with the ovaries and other reproductive organs, such as ovarian cysts and tumours of the pituitary glands, can also induce changes to a woman’s ovulation schedule and affect ovarian induction.
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