Infertility is a serious subject and it can be sensitive to discuss. It affects more couples than you may think and can lead to other illnesses. The inability to conceive after trying for at least a year usually determines that you or your partner are infertile.
After being diagnosed as being infertile can lead to serious mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. It can also have negative effects on relationships.
Due to there being many misunderstandings about what infertility is and how it affects someone creates rumors and myths that give people the wrong idea about the disease. There are many things that people fail to realize about infertility and how it can happen.
1. Age doesn’t affect fertility
Many people may have the belief that you can get pregnant at any time in your life as long as you’re having sex. This belief can misconstrue the overall knowledge about pregnancy. Women who over the age of 40 have the least possibility of getting pregnant due to the beginning stages of menopause.
The fertility rate in women decreases starting at the age of 27 and will take more time and effort to conceive.
2. Birth control leads to infertility
Birth control does not affect how fertile a woman is. Although, it may be believed due to the fact that contraceptives may delay ovulation and after using it for extended periods of time.
There is still a possibility to get pregnant while using birth control so why would it be a reason you become infertile? Birth control has no negative effects on reproduction in the future.
3. Fertility is only a woman’s problem
Many people think that infertility is only associated with women but it affects men just as much. Due to the fact that we know that only women can get pregnant, we may think that being infertile can only happen to a female body.
Women are almost always blamed in history for not being able to conceive when it could’ve been her counterpart.
A portion of infertility cases go to women and the same portion goes to men as well. Male infertility is usually due to low counts of sperm but can be a result of abnormal shape and sperm movement. There are treatments available for men who struggle with infertility just as much as there are treatments for women.
4. IVF and other infertility treatments are too expensive
In vitro fertilization or IVF is a process that women undergo to help the sperm fertilize the egg but it is done in a lab rather than inside the body. Once the sperm fertilizes the egg, it is then placed in the woman’s uterus.
There is a myth that this treatment option, or all treatment options, are extremely expensive and are not worth the price. Many couples believe that the IVF process is definitely worth it and there are ways to take care of the costs. With health insurance, the cost is majorly covered and loans or savings help pay the remainder.
There are also rumors that this process is what works for most patients when that is not true. The success of IVF depends on the patients and multiple tries may be required. Sometimes women’s bodies reject the sperm and it doesn’t take resulting in an unsuccessful pregnancy.
Other treatments available for infertility:
- Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
- Ovulation treatments
- Surgery
- Medications
5. Infertility means you can’t have a baby
This is not the case when there are many options that are available to help increase fertility. Infertility only means that you’re unable to have a baby after a certain amount of time.
It takes a year to know if you’re infertile or not. Infertility relates to the fact that it takes longer to get pregnant that it would when a fertile person is trying to get pregnant.
6. Infertility is a psychological issue
Being infertile is classified as a disease of the reproductive system and has absolutely nothing to do with psychological issues. Although being infertile can cause mental illnesses and create strain in relationships, it is not the result of having a mental issue or disability.
This condition is solely physical and should be understood as that. The fact is that psychological effects of infertility are prominent in those living with the disease.
