Requirements for pregnancy

In recent years and decades, medicine has made drastic and rapid progress in the field of reproductive medicine. Nowadays, many couples for whom “natural conception” was deemed impossible are successfully fulfilling their desire to have children.

The following conditions are advantageous for a successful pregnancy with the support of reproductive medical technology:

• Existing menstrual cycle
  
• No acute or chronic infections (uterus, ovaries)
  
• Fair general health
  
• sufficient/adequate semen quality
  
• Lack of existing genetic alterations/abnormalities
  
• Functional, balanced hormonal cycle

If any of these points are inadequately or not fulfilled, our team of physicians will decide which method is the most promising treatment option to induce pregnancy.

However, time is an important factor:

The likelihood of pregnancy increases the sooner the cause of infertility has been identified and, if possible, corrected or treated.

The result: “time” is significant factor. The age when the unfulfilled desire to have children is initially diagnosed and treated is relevant for the chance of getting pregnant; the younger the patient is, the higher the change of getting pregnant.

The type of treatment

The type of treatment is dependent on the diagnosis responsible for infertility.

Every treatment at the Wunschbaby Institute Feichtinger begins with a complete medical history, check-up, and analysis of previously gathered medical data.

One approach examines the possible causes of infertility based on previous medical findings. The knowledge gained from these results oftentimes indicates the most productive therapy plan.

Sometimes, the fulfillment of a couple’s desire to have children cannot be achieved at the exact point in time that the couple had hoped for. It can take a while for a new life to make its way into our world. Hoping for children is reliant on being confident that treatment will be successful.

Planning and starting a family is a foundation that is constantly adapting, and today it often takes place later due to various socio-cultural norms. Numerous celebrities, such as Nicole Kidman, Monica Bellucci, and Madonna took part in the trend of having children at a later age: they were all over 40 years old when they gave birth to healthy children.

However, the chance of becoming pregnant still decreases with age. The spontaneous pregnancy rate for women over the age of 40 lies around 2%. This means that out of 100 couples who have regular unprotected sexual intercourse, only 2 of those couples become pregnant. In women over the age of 45, there is only a mere 0.2% chance of obtaining spontaneous pregnancy.

By comparison, the chances of spontaneous conception in healthy women between the ages of 20-25 with regular unprotected intercourse and no apparent illness, is approximately 30% within months.

The cause for an unfulfilled desire to have children can be both age-related and age unrelated.

Age-related causes

Age-related causes are usually dependent on both the quality and quantity of the egg and sperm cells. The following changes can be seen with increased age:

Decreased number of egg cells

Conception, implantation of the fertilized egg cell in the uterus lining, and the further development of the embryo may be more difficult or may not occur.

Decreased egg cell quality

With every menstrual cycle, a large number of egg cells grow and mature, but only the best egg cell is released at ovulation. The amount of potential egg cells that partake in the natural selection process during the menstrual cycle decreases with age. This causes a decrease in the quality of the “best” egg cell with age as well.

Decreased sperm quality and/or quantity

Sperm quality parameters include quantity, motility, and form of the individual sperm. A decrease in the quality or quantity can lead to a decrease in the amount of or the ability of the sperm to reach the egg cell in the fallopian tubes or may also lead to unfavorable fertilization of the egg cell.

Age-unrelated causes

Age-unrelated causes include:

Obstruction of the fallopian tubes, myomas, endometriosis, and hormonal imbalances (for example PCOS), can all make ovulation more difficult or prevent it entirely.