When you and your partner want a baby more than anything else in the world but you can’t conceive, you need helpful advice and practical solutions from someone you can trust. Carolyn Kaplan, MD, of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Group in Atlanta is an expert in reproductive endocrinology and a leading authority on the causes and treatments of infertility. Dr. Kaplan has been helping infertile couples for many years, so if you’re having problems starting a family, arrange a consultation with Dr. Kaplan by calling the clinic today or booking an appointment online.
Infertility means being unable to conceive a child. Conception in healthy women normally occurs within the first six months of trying to conceive, so if you’ve been trying to have a baby for more than a year with no success, it’s likely that you have fertility problems.
Conception is most likely to take place if you’re having sex at the optimum time, within two or three days of ovulation. Charting the menstrual cycle to ensure you know when you’re ovulating may be all that’s required to solve the problem. Lifestyle issues can also have an influence on conception, for example, stress or ill health, or anything that prevents regular intercourse from taking place, such as working away from home, or painful intercourse.
The first stage in determining a cause for infertility is for the couple concerned to have a consultation and examination. Checking ovulation dates and looking for signs of anovulation, hormonal imbalance, or any pain can often reveal where the problem lies.
Other diagnostic procedures can also identify the cause of infertility, including:
Using diagnostic tests such as these confirms or rules out problems with your hormone levels or fallopian tubes and conditions like endometriosis, as well as evaluating sperm quality and quantity.
The treatment plan for each couple varies according to what’s causing their infertility. First line treatment is medication to establish or enhance ovulation, which helps up to 15% of women to conceive, even when the cause of their infertility is unknown.
If the primary approaches to resolving infertility aren’t working within six months, you should see a reproductive endocrinologist (RE) like Dr. Kaplan. Bearing in mind that women’s fertility declines naturally with age, it's advisable to seek Dr. Kaplan’s help without delaying too long.
The first stage will be a review of your medical history and any previous test results. Dr. Kaplan looks for indicators that could impact your fertility, such as:
Stress, in particular, can be a cause of fertility problems, and this, unfortunately, adds to the pressure, and couples can become trapped in an increasing spiral of chronic stress. Following her initial investigations, Dr. Kaplan can recommend the course of treatment that is likely to prove most fruitful.
She can guide you through the process and provide a range of fertility treatments including intrauterine insemination (IUI) with ovulation induction, or in vitro fertilization (IVF), that offer hope to couples facing serious challenges with conception.
To learn more about how a reproductive endocrinologist can help you, call Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Group today, or book an appointment online.
