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INFERTILE COUPLE
BY
DR NDENWANEKU JULIET
20/6/2023
Supervisors: Drs Danyaro/Salisu
• A 27-Year-Old Woman Comes to Your Officewith Her HusbandA 27-
year-old nulligravida woman comes to your office with her husband.
They are concerned about not having conceived after a year of
regular, unprotected intercourse. The patient denies any major
medical illnesses, and she takes no medications. The husband reports
he is healthy and has never fathered a child. Both thepatient and her
husband are visibly upset and somewhat tearful while discussing their
frustrations about not being pregnant yet. They express that they are
anxious to begin “all the tests necessary” as soon as possible so they
can have a child without further delay
• 1. What is the most appropriate diagnosis for this
• couple’s condition?
• a. primary sterility
• b. secondary sterility
• c. primary infertility
• d. secondary infertility
• e. diminished fecundity
• 2. Infertility is defined as failure to conceive with regular unprotected sexual
intercourse after:
• a. 1 month
• b. 3 months
• c. 6 months
• d. 1 year
• e. 2 years
• 3. What is the most appropriate initial step in this couple’s evaluation?
• a. basal body temperature (BBT) charting
• b. history and physical examination of both
• partners
• c. semen analysis
• d. referral to a reproductive specialist
• e. urine ovulation predictor kit testing
• 4 All of the following may be direct causes of female infertility except:
• a. previous uncomplicated abortion
• b. pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
• c. endometriosis
• d. polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
• e. hyperprolactinemia
• 5. Evaluation for tubal patency or “pelvic factor” is best accomplished by:
• a. transvaginal ultrasound
• b. hysteroscopy
• c. hysterosalpingogram (HSG)
• d. pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• e. pelvic computed tomography (CT) scan
• 6. Appropriate initial screening for male infertility includes which of the following?
• a. two semen analyses done at least 3 month apart
• b. serum testosterone and FSH levels
• c. postejaculatory urinalysis
• d. scrotal ultrasonography
• e. transrectal ultrasonography
• 6. It is appropriate to initiate an infertility evaluation after 6 months of
trying to conceive in which of the following conditions?
• a. the woman is older than age 35 years
• b. the man is older than age 40 years
• c. the woman has used Depo-Provera within the previous year
• d. the woman has used oral contraceptive pills for at
• least 10 years
• e. the woman has a history of recurrent vaginitis
OUTLINE
• DEFINITION
• EPIDEMIOLOGY
• AETIOLOGY
• EVALUATION – MALE, FEMALE
• INVESTIGATIONS
• MANAGEMENT
• PSYCHOSOCIAL PROBLEMS ASSO WITH INFERTILITY
INTRODUCTION
Childlessness is regarded as a curse in this environment. People often
see child bearing as an essential aspect of keeping a marriage.
A woman will go to any length to look for a child to keep her marriage
intact.
Family Physicians as frontline doctors and gate keepers of the health
system would be confronted with these issues.
It is important for primary care physicians to be familiar with the
workup and prognosis for infertile couples.
• Infertility prevalence rates in African among married couples ranges between 15% to 30%
• The prevalence is found to be less in developed countries and more in developing countries
• About 30% of infertility cases is attributed to female factors, 30% to male factors, 20- 30%
to combined male and female factors while 10% is unexplained origin
Types of Infertility
• Primary - Primary infertility refers to the inability to conceive or
achieve a successful pregnancy after at least one year of regular,
unprotected sexual intercourse in couples who have never had a child
• Cryptorchidism
• delay surgery beyond 2yrs
• Risk of cancer 4-10 fold
• Mumps Orchitis
• after puberty- bilateral in 17% Can lead testicular atrophy
• Radiation
• Testicular trauma
• Varicocele
• Y chromosome defect
• Altered sperm transport (as seen in 10 to 20 % of male ifertility)
• Absent vas deferens or obstruction
• Erectile dysfunction
• Retrograde ejaculation
• Vasectomy
• Secondary hypogonadism which is a problem with
pituitary/hypothalamic problem as seen in 1 - 2 % of male infertility.
Conditions which result into this include:
• Pituitary adenoma
• Trauma
CAUSES OF FEMALE INFERTILITY
• Ovulation disorders which results from:
• Advancing age.
• Tobacco use
CAUSES OF FEMALE INFERTILITY
Problems with ovulation;
• polycystic ovary syndrome (commonest cause)
• Uterine Fibroids : when it blocks the fallopian tube or distorts the shape
of the uterine cavity. It may also result in reducing blood flow to the
uterine lining
• Cervical Polyps
• Age
• Other systemic examination for possible causes of infertility e.g CNS for
brain tumour
INVESTIGATIONS
• After a detailed history, the couple is investigated to determine the
possible cause(s) of the infertility
• Before any invasive procedure is carried out on the female, the male
partner should carry out a seminal fluid analysis
PARAMETERS OF SEMEN ANALYSIS WHO
• STANDARD TESTS
• Volume = ≥2mls
• Ph =7.2-8.0
• Semen Conc. = ≥20X106/ml
• Total sperm count = ≥40X106/ejaculate
• Motility =25%with rapid progression
• =50% with forward progression
• Vitality =75%alive
• =25%dead
• Morphology = 30%Normal
• Wbc = <1X106/ml
• Immunobead test = <50%
• Mixed Agglutination reaction= <50%
• The following conditions can be present in the SFA
• The sample are kept at body temperature with prompt delivery with analysis
carried out within 2 hours of collection.
• Serum testosterone
• Serum FSH
• Testicular biopsy
Female infertility testing
• Pelvic/transvaginal ultrasound to detect and structural abnormality
such as uterine fibroid distorting the uterus (cystic ovary in
transvaginal USS)
• Serum estradiol
• Serum FSH
• Serum Prolactin
• TSH
• A high serum FSH level+ high LH + a low estradiol level = ovarian
failure
• A high serum estradiol level + normal FSH level has also been
associated with lower pregnancy rates.
Tubal factor investigation if progesterone is normal
• Hysterosalphingography – minimally invasive with some therapeutic
benefits
• Laparoscopy with dye test- more invasive and can also be used for
diagnosis of endometriosis
• Hysteroscopy: invasive
MANAGEMENT OF INFERTILITY BY FAMILY
PHYSICIAN
• Information and education on infertility and the detected cause of their
infertility
• Reduce stress
OVULATION INDUCTION
• Ovulation induction in anovulatory women with use of :
• Clomiphene on day3 or 5 with 50mg daily.
• Can be increased to 100mg daily (used for a total of 3-6 months if it fails
after each use)
• Intra-uterine Insemination (IUI): which involves placing the sperm directly in the
cervix (called intracervical insemination) or into the uterus (called intrauterine
insemination. This can be used for unexplained infertility and female cases with
minimal endometriosis
• In-vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and Embryo transfer (ET): with either the couples own
egg/sperm or donor source.
• Depression
• Sexual anxiety
• Marital tension
• Low self-esteem
• Depression
• Divorce
MANAGING PSYCHOSOCIAL PROBLEMS ASSO. WITH
INFERTILITY.
EVERYTHING DONE IS COUPLE CENTERED
• Evaluation and psychological therapy intervention- is necessary at the
beginning of the infertility evaluation, when psychiatric indications are
obvious and at the termination of unsuccessful treatment or with a
pregnancy loss.
• Support groups- couples can get social support from other couples
with similar condition and couples who have overcome infertility.
These group of persons understand and have experienced the fear,
worry or expectation that comes with infertility.
• Counselling- this is usually considered in cases of depression, anxiety
and preoccupations. It might include individual or couple therapy. It
aims at providing sufficient emotional support and developing healthy
coping mechanisms.
• Religion- studies have shown that turning to religion and prayers have
been a good coping strategy and this helps in reducing despair.
• Pharmacotherapy- the use of antidepressants especially SSRIs has
shown significant effect on improving symptoms of depression found
in cases of infertility.
• Also anxiolytic agents are helpful for anxiety episodes.
• Even couples with fewer children than wanted are still under this societal
distress.
• Although success rates vary by age and diagnosis, accurate diagnosis and
effective therapy along with shared decision-making can facilitate
achievement of fertility goals in many couples treated for infertility.
• 6. Appropriate initial screening for male infertility includes which of the following?
• a. two semen analyses done at least 3 month apart
• b. serum testosterone and FSH levels
• c. postejaculatory urinalysis
• d. scrotal ultrasonography
• e. transrectal ultrasonography
• 7. It is appropriate to initiate an infertility evaluation after 6 months of
trying to conceive in which of the following conditions?
• a. the woman is older than age 35 years
• b. the man is older than age 40 years
• c. the woman has used Depo-Provera within the previous year
• d. the woman has used oral contraceptive pills for at
• least 10 years
• e. the woman has a history of recurrent vaginitis
THANK YOU
REFERENCES
• Alfred FT, Joseph ES, Nancy WD. Infertility. In: Adity B editor. Swanson’s Family
Medicine Review: A problem-oriented approach. 9th edition. Philadelphia: Elsevier,
Inc.; 2022. P 426-429
• Lindsay TJ, Vitrikas KR. Evaluation and treatment of infertility. Am Fam Physician.
2015 Mar 1;91(5):308-14. Erratum in: Am Fam Physician. 2015 Sep 15;92 (6):437.
PMID: 25822387.
• Loto O.M. The Infertile Couple [Lecture]. FMCGP Revision course; June 23, 2008