Infertility

Every couple planning their family desires to beget a healthy progeny. But there are some who are unable to achieve this desire by natural means. Infertility is a term indicating the inability to conceive even after one year of unprotected sex.

To achieve a successful conception, there are a few prerequisites like;

•     The woman’s body must release a healthy egg from one of her ovaries ( Ovulation )
•    The man’s sperm must fuse with the egg in the fallopian tube ( Fertilization)
•     The fertilized egg must go through the fallopian tube, towards the uterus.
•     The fertilized egg must get attached to the inside of the uterus ( Implantation )

These are just a few primary requisites. There are several cases where a woman becomes pregnant but is unable to carry her pregnancy to the full term. This might be experienced once or multiple times indicating that there is some incompetency in the reproductive system.

Any abnormality in either the woman’s reproductive system or the man’s reproductive capacity can lead to Infertility. The inability to conceive can be due to the woman (33%), the man (33%), by both sexes (10%) or due to unknown causes.

There can be several reasons for this very problem. Women have a very natural interplay of hormones functioning in their body which when flows in a synchronised way, are healthy for her.  But when this musical interplay gets disturbed, it causes various problems in her reproductive health.

According to Ayurveda, there are about twenty types of genital disorders in women which can be a result of improper food habits or faulty practices, deranged menstrual flow, defect in ovum etc.

It is said in Ayurveda, that when a woman indulges in excessive use of dry, penetrating, pungent, sour, salty foods, resorts to suppression of natural urges, takes to sexual intercourse in wrong postures etc., her reproductive health gets impaired.

With today’s life style, a girl hardly gets time to give the much needed attention to her food habits, sleep patterns, menstrual cycle regularity etc. We do not realise that all this can affect our body at a later stage in life. The menstrual cycle, its regularity, the nature of flow, the consistency, colour, odour are all indicators of the woman’s health.

A painful genital tract preventing successful coitus, absence of ovulation, hormonal imbalance due to conditions like PCOD, tubal rupture or block, uterine fibroids, malformation of any part of the reproductive system, any abnormality with the cervix, excessive drinking, excessive smoking, advancing age, obesity etc. can all contribute to the woman not being able to conceive.

Even in men, it can be as a result of excessive indulgence in coitus, over exertion due to exercise, untimely coitus or abstinence from it, excessive intake of rough, dry, bitter, astringent, salty, hot foods, age, anxiety, grief, excessive drinking, smoking, stress, emaciation due to diseases etc. These go on to affect the semen carrying vessels and cause defects in semen.

Men experience conditions like low sperm count, low motility, erectile dysfunctions, undescended testis, failure to deposit sperm high in the vagina, ejaculation problems etc. All of these eventually result in infertility.

The primary line of treatment adopted in Ayurveda is to cleanse the body, improve the metabolism so that all the bodily tissues are nourished adequately and then to prepare the body for successful conception.

The body needs to be detoxified with the Panchakarma therapies, starting with Snehana(oleation) and Swedana (sudation ). A body that is clear from impurities and has healthy tissues is more receptive to medicines and treatments. The woman’s body needs to be prepared by strengthening the uterus and associated organs. For this,we administer medicated oils and decoctions into the reproductive tract.

This treatment is called the UttaraVasti. It has a rejuvenating action on the uterus and is even useful in cases of tubal blocks. The treatment might go on for 14 to 21 days after which investigations can be repeated to check the status of the woman. Along with this are given internal medications to check the hormonal imbalance. These medicines are unlike other hormonal therapies which can even pose a threat of breast cancer in later stages.

In men also we administer the detoxification therapies after which his metabolism has to be corrected. Then rejuvenators which will nourish all the body tissues will be administered. Sperm is said to be the essence of all tissues, so by the use of Rasayanas, the quality and quantity of sperm will improve. These procedures along with dietary modifications will be advised for the treatment which will require about two to three weeks.  After the treatment course, considering the woman’s ovulation date and fertile period, the couple can try for conception.

Apart from the treatment methodologies, the couple needs to have a positive mind and strength within which will help them achieve what they wish to.