Female Fertility

What is the ideal timing of female fertility?

At birth, a female baby has around 400000 immature oocytes in her ovaries; every month, in each ovary, about 20 to 30 follicles start to grow, but most of them end up degenerating; so, when a girl reaches puberty, each ovary has about 100,000 oocytes.

Thus, the woman is born with a vast number of follicles in the ovaries, which, meanwhile, is consumed throughout her life (with no replacement of the follicular heritage), until the age of menopause where that number runs out.

As women age, there will be a decline in ovarian function and hence, a decrease in women's fertility.

Causes of infertility

The causes can be feminine (30%), masculine (30%), mixed (30%) or idiopathic (without cause identified by the common methods) (about 10% of the situations).

Causes of female infertility:

1- Woman's advanced age, which is associated with the decrease of the ovarian reserve

2- Ovulation disorders

3- Tubal factor (tubal permeability compromised or nonexistent)

4- Endometriosis

5- Uterine factors: uterine fibroids, endometrial polyps, hyperplasia and endometrial hypoplasia

6- Malformations of the female genital tract

7- Genetic modifications

8- Autoimmune diseases, among others