OBSTETRICS GYNECOLOGY AND INFERTILITY CLINIC
Doç.Dr.Yasemin Çekmez
What Is Infertility (Sterility)
Infertility (sterility) is the condition, in which the couple have had sexual intercourse without contraception regularly for 1 year but they have not achieved pregnancy. If the woman is older than 35 years old, the waiting period to achieve pregnancy is reduced to 6 months. Infertility occurs in 15-20 out of every 100 couples and unfortunately occurs more frequently with increasing female age. In women older than 35 years old and in couples with a history of infertility (sterility), further investigations and appropriate treatment options should be started immediately
How Does Pregnancy Occur Naturally?
The ovaries are the main organs that contain female sexual (reproductive) cells. They contain millions of female reproductive cells that are too small to be seen with the naked eye or even with ultrasonography. These cells have a certain lifespan and gain different sizes and properties at each stage of their lives. Female eggs in the ovaries are called "follicles".
In the ovaries (right and left) of a healthy woman, in the first three days of menstruation, approximately 8-10 eggs (oocytes) develop into antral follicles so that they can be fertilized. Antral follicles are 2-7 mm in size and their size can be measured by ultrasound imaging. In order for these eggs to mature, the brain begins to secrete a hormone called FSH, and under the influence of this hormone, antral follicles begin to grow. One of these follicles grows faster and prevents the secretion of this hormone from the brain, preventing the other antral follicles from maturing further.
But; The first one, which contains the egg (oocyte), which is your dominant female sex cell selected for ovulation, will continue to mature. On the one hand, your selected egg secretes hormones that will prepare the inner lining of the uterus, increasing its thickness and making it suitable for the growth of the embryo. On the other hand, it continues to grow in a predetermined manner, increasing its size by 1-1.5 mm every day. Finally, this selected follicle cracks (ovulation) between the 13th and 15th days of the menstrual period and releases the female reproductive cell inside. This is actually a kind of little explosion that pushes the germ cell into the uterine tube. The hairy structures at the end of the tube catch the egg and take it inside.
The egg inside begins to move forward with the movements of the hair-like soft brooms inside the tube. Unfortunately, the lifespan of this egg is only 1 day. When the couple has sexual intercourse, male reproductive cells (sperm) are deposited at the entrance of the uterus (cervix). They will then begin to swim forward on their path using their own energy. First, they will reach the cervical canal, second, they will reach the uterine cavity, and then, moving through the tube, they will fertilize (fertilize) the female reproductive cell (egg or oocyte); He will only survive one day.
