6 Effective Treatments for Infertility

Infertility is heartbreaking for couples seeking to start a family. Research shows that 10-15% of infertile couples suffer very real emotional effects due to the struggle, including devastating grief and feelings that a long-held dream has been dashed. 

If you and your partner are dealing with infertility, Dr. Kevin Hooker and our caring team at Lake Havasu OB/GYN Affiliates are ready to offer compassionate care and effective treatments that can help make your dream of having a baby a reality. Dr. Hooker provides the most advanced OB/GYN services to the women of the Lake Havasu City area and is a true partner in your care.

Infertility: A painful puzzle 

A couple is considered infertile if they’ve either tried to get pregnant for at least a year with no success or have a history of miscarriages or stillbirths. 

When you seek treatment from Dr. Hooker for infertility, he investigates a host of issues that exist for both genders that can pose obstacles to becoming pregnant. 

For example, certain gynecological conditions such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOD), pelvic inflammatory disease, and others can be culprits, as can obesity, eating disorders, hormonal imbalances, diabetes that’s not well-managed, and genetic abnormalities.

In men, conditions like cystic fibrosis and genetic problems can cause problems. If a man’s testicles haven’t descended or if he has enlarged veins in the testes, fertility challenges can occur, and premature ejaculation is an issue, too. 

In both men and women, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), reproductive injury, having undergone chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer, and environmental toxins can also contribute to trouble conceiving. 

Infertility solutions exist

There’s good news. Both you and Dr. Hooker can support your efforts to conceive. He shares information on a multitude of infertility treatments, including these six:

1. Surgical solutions

Certain surgical procedures can increase the chances that a woman will conceive. These include hysteroscopy, a surgery in which fibroids, polyps, or scar tissue from the uterine cavity that impedes conception are removed. The procedure also allows the surgeon to see if the woman’s uterus is shaped unusually. 

Laparoscopy is surgery that allows your doctor to address conditions that prevent conception, including endometriosis, fibroids, and damaged fallopian tubes. 

Abdominal myomectomy is a procedure where a surgeon removes fibroids or noncancerous growths that grow within the uterus’ layers of muscle and lead to bleeding, pain, and fertility problems. 

All these procedures are minimally invasive, meaning the surgeon makes small incisions and uses tiny cameras and specially designed instruments to perform them. This type of procedure is associated with faster healing and less pain, bleeding, and scarring as compared to traditional surgery.

2. Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)

This infertility treatment involves the manipulation of a woman’s eggs or embryos, such as taking eggs from the ovaries, uniting them with sperm in a lab, and returning them to the woman’s body. 

3. Intrauterine insemination

This is a kind of artificial insemination where washed and concentrated sperm are placed in the uterus at the time of ovulation.

4. Medications

Different oral medications can stimulate ovulation and help women with health conditions like diabetes, PCOS, and hormone imbalance problems get pregnant. There’s also an injectable drug that stimulates a woman’s ovaries to make multiple eggs. 

5. Behavioral therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a very successful treatment for people facing anxiety — a frequent feeling among couples trying to have a baby. This type of counseling shows you how to reframe thought patterns in more positive and realistic ways, as sometimes catastrophizing can be an emotional side effect of infertility. 

This treatment mode also helps people learn to use deep relaxation practices, such as mindfulness practices like medication, to help lessen anxiety. 

6. Modifiable lifestyle changes

A couple can change things like what they eat, how much they exercise (daily movement is the ideal to work toward), getting tested for STIs, and keeping their weight in check, increasing their chances of becoming pregnant. 

It’s also important to steer clear of things we know aren’t good for us, like smoking, drinking excessively, and using illicit drugs. It’s smart to cut back on caffeine, too. Couples must also consider their home and work environments and assess whether toxins are present that might inhibit conception. 

Everyone at Lake Havasu OB/GYN Care is behind you in your quest to have a family. Support from family, friends, and, yes, your care team is critical as you navigate this journey.

Call our office at 928-683-1667 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Hooker, or contact us through our website so we can help you start working toward parenthood as soon as possible.