How to distinguish poor fertility of elderly women from infertility?
With the development of modern society, more and more women choose to postpone childbearing. However, the poor fertility of elderly women has become a concern. What's the difference with infertility? This article will elaborate from many aspects.
1. Age and genital changes
With the growth of age, a series of changes will take place in female reproductive organs. The number of follicles gradually decreased, the quality of eggs decreased, and the thickness of endometrium decreased. These physiological changes are one of the main reasons for the decline of fertility of elderly women.
Infertility refers to failure to conceive after a year or more of regular sexual life. Unlike older women, infertility may be caused by a variety of reasons, such as endometrial abnormalities, oviduct obstruction, ovarian dysfunction, etc. Therefore, infertility does not refer to age.
2. Childbearing history and lifestyle
Older women usually have had some childbearing experience and may have given birth to one or more children. These experiences may have a certain impact on their current fertility. With the increase of children, the endometrium will gradually become thinner, and the risk of diseases such as hysteromyoma will also increase. In addition, the lifestyle of older women may also affect their fertility, such as eating habits, exercise status, etc.
Infertility patients may have little or no reproductive experience. The cause of infertility can be physiological problems or other unpredictable factors. The lifestyle of infertile patients usually does not have a direct impact on fertility.
3. Inspection and diagnosis of reproductive function
For older women, poor fertility may be a natural physiological phenomenon, which is difficult to reverse. Doctors usually judge a woman's fertility based on her age and birth history. Through a series of reproductive function tests, doctors can assess ovarian function, fallopian tube patency and uterine health.
For infertile patients, doctors will make diagnosis according to the time of infertility, living habits and the results of genital examination. The specific diagnosis process may include blood examination, imaging examination, endoscopy, etc. After the cause of infertility is diagnosed, doctors will develop personalized treatment plans.
4. Treatment and assisted reproductive technology
In view of the poor fertility of elderly women, doctors usually advise them to consider childbearing as soon as possible and provide corresponding life advice and health care measures. However, for older women who already have fertility problems, assisted reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), may be needed to achieve fertility.
For infertile patients, the choice of treatment method and assisted reproductive technology depends on specific reasons. For example, patients with abnormal endometrium may need endometrial curettage. For patients with tubal obstruction, tubal patency or tubal recanalization may be required. For the quality of eggs, in vitro fertilization technology can be considered to obtain better pregnancy opportunities.
Summary
There are obvious differences between poor fertility and infertility of elderly women. The fertility of elderly women is weakened mainly due to the change of age and reproductive organs, while infertility can be caused by a variety of reasons. Reproductive history and lifestyle, examination and diagnosis of reproductive function, treatment and assisted reproductive technology are also important factors to distinguish the two. For older women, early consideration of childbearing and keeping healthy living habits can have a positive impact on fertility. For infertile patients, it is necessary to solve the fertility problem through doctors' diagnosis and treatment.
