Secondary infertility is an unexpected struggle, where couples face difficulties in their second pregnancy even though they have a history of successful pregnancies. This is indeed an important topic to be discussed because many couples don’t know exactly what to do when they are facing issues in their second pregnancy.
It’s because they had a healthy baby previously, so they keep believing that everything will be alright soon and start waiting. However, this is not the right thing to do, read further to learn what you should do while facing issues with a second pregnancy.
Secondary infertility - an overview
Secondary infertility is an inability to conceive even though a woman has previously given birth. You may think who will have such issues, but this condition affects millions of parents as per the National Centre for Health Statistics.
Indeed, secondary infertility can be a huge issue and very hurtful for the parents, because building a family according to their wishes will be everyone’s desire. However, secondary infertility doesn’t occur in every family, sometimes, this could happen in the third or any other upcoming pregnancy. Here is the list who have the risk of secondary infertility.
Who has the risk of secondary infertility?
Both men and women can be the reason for secondary infertility. The reasons for this condition can be diverse. However, doctors can help you effectively and treat this condition.
Reasons for secondary infertility
Some common reasons for secondary infertility are age, complications from previous surgery and pregnancy, an increased Body Mass Index (BMI), medications, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), and lifestyle changes after the first pregnancy such as smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.
In men
Particularly, these reasons in men can contribute to secondary infertility. Reduced testosterone levels occur due to several factors including genital infections, thyroid diseases, diabetes, tuberculosis, mumps, smallpox, blood diseases, emotional stress, coma, stroke, respiratory failure, and myocardial infarction.
Testicular varicocele, poor semen and sperm quality, low sperm count, prostate enlargement or removal, consumption of certain drugs affecting fertility, and lifestyle changes are some of the most important reasons for secondary infertility.
In women
Women experiencing secondary infertility may be affected because of pelvic inflammatory disease or other sexually transmitted infections, irregular menstrual cycles, frequent or occasional miscarriages, low sperm count, hormonal imbalances, and lifestyle changes.
What are the treatments available for secondary infertility?
Now, you know what reasons can contribute to secondary infertility. It’s time to understand the infertility treatments.
Semen analysis, blood tests, and ultrasound scans can help doctors detect what exactly the problem is in the couples. Semen analysis is only for men, while blood tests and ultrasound scans are suitable for both.
Once the fertility experts identify the treatment options for secondary infertility, they will analyze your body condition and suggest a suitable treatment to increase the chances of pregnancy. Couples can choose these medications and treatments for optimal conception, they are:
Ovulation-inducing medications such as clomiphene or clomid and letrozole induce egg rupture properly, so trying for a baby around this period can improve the pregnancy chances. Couples can openly discuss such things with their healthcare provider to know the ideal fertile window for successful pregnancy results.
IUI, which is intrauterine insemination can be a huge gift for women or couples struggling to get pregnant after their first parenthood. In this artificial procedure, the fertility expert will choose a washed concentrated sperm to insert through a thin tube. When a male partner’s sperm is weak, then you can also choose donor sperm to get optimal pregnancy results.
In vitro fertilization is a very successful ART procedure that many couples facing infertility choose and can get an enhanced success rate. In this procedure, women’s egg and men’s sperm health and quality should be very high. The doctors will retrieve eggs to fertilize them in the laboratory at an optimal temperature and place them back in the uterus.
Other than these techniques and medications, doctors recommend surgery for uterine-related complications like removing scar tissue, fibroids, and polyps in women. For males, experts could suggest surgery to repair testicular varicocele.
Final thoughts
Secondary infertility can be frustrating for couples happily living with their first babies. Yeah, building a family and making it complete is based on a couple’s decision and when they want to have another child that is not possible makes them worried. However, couples don’t want to get worried just because of their secondary infertility, they can consult the fertility expert to know the right treatment and have a healthy second pregnancy journey.
People also ask
There is no assurance that a woman will face difficulties in conceiving a second child because it can be as smooth as the first one or the toughest. According to a woman’s health conditions, the pregnancy journey varies and difficulties may happen because of the above-listed conditions.
There is a chance for delay in getting pregnant with a second or third baby even though it happened very quickly the last time. Therefore, no matter how your first pregnancy was, it can be different from the following ones due to various reasons.
Maintaining a minimum gap of 3 years between the first and second pregnancy. Research suggests that an age gap of 27 to 32 months is associated with the best health outcomes for both mom and baby.
The fallopian tube blockage after your first pregnancy is quite common because of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which happens due to the sexually transmitted infections.
The success of ARTs depends on the individual’s health condition and medication response. The success of IVF lies between 65 to 75% for women under 35 and between 35 to 51% for women over 35.
