An Ounce of Prevention

15 Simple Ways to Prevent Infertility

Each year more than 7.3 people in the United States are affected by infertility, yet there are many simple ways to prevent infertility from affecting you. Dr. Craig Sweet, a board certified practitioner in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, offers 15 ways you can combat infertility:

Some stress is normal but extremes of stress or inappropriate response to stress may affect fertility. By eating inadequately or in excess, your general medical condition may deteriorate, making conception more difficult. By coping with stress through smoking and alcohol, additional damage to your fertility may occur. Either through abstinence or condoms, one should always attempt to avoid sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, herpes and venereal warts. Nearly all forms of substance abuse can affect sperm production, egg release and embryo development. These substances include recreational drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. If you know that a close relative (parent or sibling) had diseases such as endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), early menopauseor hypothyroidism, you may be at an increased risk for some of these same diseases. While not usually inherited like the color of hair and eyes, many families have predispositions for specific diseases, and these diseases may affect fertility. If there is going to be a significant delay in reproduction or if a patient may be at risk for loss of their eggs or sperm (i.e., chemotherapy and/or surgery), the freezing of sperm and eggs (considered investigational) may want to be considered. There may be some circumstances where it may be wise to consider freezing testicular and ovarian tissue, although these procedures are experimental.

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