Читать книгу Need to Know Fertility, Conception and Pregnancy - Harriet Sharkey - Страница 113

• The ovaries may not produce or release an egg every month.

• The fallopian tubes that carry the egg from the ovary down to the womb may be blocked. This blockage prevents the fertilized egg reaching the womb or even being fertilized, as the sperm meets the egg in the fallopian tube.

• Endometriosis can also cause damage to the tubes and ovaries. This is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows on places such as the ovary, the tube or in the pelvis. Every month this tissue passes through a cycle, just as the lining of the womb, but, there is no way for the blood to escape and this leads to inflammation and scarring.

• Sometimes, the lining of the womb may not be ready for the implantation of a fertilized egg.

• There can be difficulty in the sperm getting from the vagina to the womb. This is because the mucous, which is at the neck of the womb, may be too thick or hostile to the sperm, preventing them from passing through the mucous at the cervix and into the womb itself.

• Age. Fertility wanes after the age of 35 years and especially after a woman passes 40. For example, only 77 per cent of fertile 38-year-old women conceive after three years of unprotected intercourse. Older women are likely to not only produce fewer eggs, but the eggs they do produce may not be so able to implant into the womb after fertilization as they were at a younger age. Age has much less of an effect on male fertility.