ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Secondary Infertility: What Are Some Causes and Treatment Options for Secondary Infertility

Updated on August 25, 2010

Secondary Infertility: What is it?

Secondary infertility is the inability to conceive and carry a pregnancy to term after having one or more children. Secondary infertility is more common than most people think, as it accounts for over 60% of all infertility cases. Most people assume that if you already have one child that proves that you are fertile and you should not have a problem having another. However, it often turns out not to be the case.

Secondary Infertility Causes

Causes of secondary infertility are mostly the same as for primary infertility.

Problems with egg quality, ovulation, lowered ovarian reserve, blocked tubes endometriosis, uterine fibroids and uterine polyps are most often the reasons. In addition, the man may have issues with semen quality and ejaculation.

Your age is an additional factor, as your fertility (especially egg quality in women, but also semen quality in men) decreases as you get older.

Coping with Secondary Infertility

There is a false but common belief that once you are fertile, you'll always be fertile, and that if you just "keep trying",eventually it will happen. Even some doctors share this attitude. This belief makes the couples who experience secondary infertility much less likely to get proper treatment.

Couples suffering from secondary infertiliy usually do not get the support that they need from their family and friends. Some couples may even find that others criticize them for being ungrateful for the child or children they already have. They may hear comments, like "You have a wonderful child. What are you complaining about?" or "You have great kids already. Why do you need more?" This makes the secondary infertility even more difficult.

Whether or not you decide to get treatment, it may be helpful to try therapy or join a support group to find better ways to cope with the problem. Joining therapy groups is a good way to find support in difficult times.

Secondary Infertility: Treatment Options

At what point should a couple seek help from a fertility specialist?

Couples who have been trying unsuccessfully to conceive a child for one year should go and seek help of a specialist. Women in their late 30s or early 40s, you should do that even sooner - after 6 months or so of regular, well-timed, unprotected sex.

You should also consult a doctor if you have had multiple (2 or more) miscarriages, your periods are not regular and/or very painful, if you have burning vaginal discharge. In men, lower sex drive, painful ejaculations and impotence are also signs of problems that require consultation with a specialist.

For initial consultation, you should schedule an appointment with a reproductive endocrinologist or to a GP or ob-gyn with experience doing fertility work-ups (confirmation of ovulation, semen-quality analysis, etc.).

The treatment options are the same as for primary infertility: intrauterine insemination and IVF process. Look for a clinic that offers a full range of services and special procedures, but not so big that you feel lost.

In additional to conventional treatments, read the book "Inconceivable" by Julia Indichova and get inspired!

Recommended Reading For Infertility

Inconceivable, 20th Anniversary Edition: A Woman's Triumph over Despair and Statistics
Inconceivable, 20th Anniversary Edition: A Woman's Triumph over Despair and Statistics
At a time when more and more women are trying to get pregnant at increasingly advanced ages, fertility specialists and homeopathic researchers boast endless treatment options. But when Julia Indichova made the rounds of medical doctors and nontraditional healers, she was still unable to conceive a child. It was only when she forsook their financially and emotionally draining advice, turning inward instead, that she finally met with reproductive success. Inconceivable recounts this journey from hopeless diagnoses to elated motherhood.
 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)