Reasons for not getting pregnant

With the continuous improvement of modernization, people's quality of life is also constantly improving, people's pace of life is also constantly accelerating, and people's living standards are also constantly improving. It is precisely because of this situation that people do more things, and people's lifestyles are constantly changing. This reason for infertility is one of them.

As for the reasons for infertility, there are actually many different reasons in society, so people don’t need to worry too much because medical technology is advanced. The following is some information about the reasons for infertility.

1. Abnormalities in reproductive organs lead to sexual dysfunction and infertility. Mainly based on innateness. Congenital uterine malformations include: double uterus, bicornuate uterus, unicornuate uterus, etc. Although a few of them may not affect conception, those who can become pregnant have relatively more complications. There is also uterine hypoplasia or an immature uterus, which may also hinder conception or cause infertility due to difficulty in implantation of a fertilized egg due to anovulation, corpus luteum insufficiency, sperm upward obstruction, etc. A retroverted or retroflexed uterus can cause the cervix to tilt upward, making it difficult for sperm to enter the uterus, which can also lead to infertility. The so-called "retroversion" refers to the posterior displacement of the longitudinal axis of the uterus, and "retroflexion" refers to the posterior flexion of the uterine body, causing the uterine body and the cervix to form a backward angle. When retroversion and retroflexion exist at the same time, it is called "retroverted uterus". Generally, there are no subjective symptoms, but the amount of leucorrhea will increase due to congestion and increased secretion of cervical glands. In severe cases, there may be excessive menstruation, prolonged menstruation, or dysmenorrhea due to poor discharge of menstrual blood. Those with severe retroversion may experience lower abdominal distension and pain, back pain, sexual discomfort or pain during sexual intercourse, and may experience constipation.

2. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that if the kidney qi is not sufficient, the "heavenly essence" will not arrive, or the menstruation will not come at the right time, and the essence cannot be discharged. In other words, endocrine dysfunction such as hormones in the body is an important cause of infertility. The main aspects related to endocrine dysfunction are as follows: 1. Adrenal glands. Insufficient adrenal hormone secretion will affect the development of gonads and sexual organs, and ovulation of the ovaries. ② The thyroid gland secretes thyroid hormone, which can participate in the body's metabolism and has a certain influence on tissue differentiation, gonadal maturation, testicular spermatogenesis, and ovarian ovulation. ③ Hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary (sexual axis). If any link in the "sexual axis" is abnormal, it will affect the development of the egg, making the endometrium unable to complete the secretory phase changes, leading to infertility. ④ Pancreas, which has a certain relationship with the sexual axis.

3. Infection causes inflammation and infertility. The six exogenous evils (wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness and fire) are external factors that cause disease, and wind, dampness, fire and cold are closely related. The so-called inflammation is mostly caused by pathogen infection and is a common factor in female infertility. Inflammation of the reproductive tract caused by pathogen infection can engulf sperm, such as the more common Trichomonas infection. After the infection, the glycogen in the vaginal epithelium is consumed, which hinders the synthesis of lactic acid, destroys the acidity and alkalinity of the vagina, and reduces local resistance, resulting in Trichomonas vaginitis. Others include Candida albicans infection, which can cause fungal vaginitis, change the vaginal environment, increase vaginal discharge and contain a large number of white blood cells, which can phagocytize sperm. Candida albicans can also agglutinate sperm. These multiple factors can lead to infertility.

4. Mental factors can cause infertility. People have mood changes, which Chinese medicine calls the "seven emotions" (joy, anger, worry, thought, sadness, fear, and shock). Excessive or insufficient emotions can become factors that cause disease. In other words, excessive or cold emotions can affect the body's normal reactions. Modern medicine calls this psychological factors, also called "psychogenic." The reason why it can affect pregnancy is that emotional tension or a bad environment may cause fear or emotional discord, resulting in autonomic nervous dysfunction, affecting the endocrine system and inhibiting ovulation, or disharmonious sexual life, causing infertility. For example, some men suffer from impotence and depression due to long-term masturbation before marriage, and become nervous and suffer from premature ejaculation after marriage. Some women, due to having been subjected to violence or fear, develop sexual tension, which causes spasms in the uterus and fallopian tubes, affects sexual pleasure and causes egg-retention disorders, all of which can cause infertility. Traditional Chinese medicine has a relatively comprehensive discussion of emotional factors, because the seven emotions are intrinsically linked to the internal organs, affecting the circulation of qi and blood, the production of essence, and thus affecting pregnancy. For example, thinking too much will cause qi stagnation, being too happy will deplete the heart's energy, and depression will cause qi stagnation, resulting in poor circulation of qi and blood, and ineffective production of essence and blood. Fear, in particular, will damage the kidneys, which will be detrimental to storing essence and sealing the kidneys. Therefore, we should take a holistic view and understand the impact of emotions on reproductive function.

5. Nutrition also has an important relationship with infertility. Fat people have more dampness and deficiency in the middle, while thin people have more fire and loss of body fluid, so both overnutrition and imbalance are abnormal. Eating well or eating more does not mean good nutrition. Obesity can cause infertility in women because of fat accumulation that affects hormone balance; in some obese people, the ovaries have histological changes similar to polycystic ovary syndrome; in some obese people, the insulin concentration in the blood is high, which inhibits the development of follicles and ovulation, resulting in infertility. Improper eating habits of men, especially excessive drinking, smoking, and picky eating, can cause nutritional imbalance and affect sperm production or sperm motility, leading to infertility. Recent studies have confirmed that vitamin E can promote human metabolism, enhance body vitality, maintain blood circulation, improve peripheral circulation, delay aging, and at the same time promote spermatogenesis and enhance sperm motility, and also enhance the function of the ovaries. In addition, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, etc. all have the function of regulating conception to varying degrees. Trace elements in the body also play a role in spermatogenesis and improving sperm motility. The trace element zinc is involved in sperm metabolism. Insufficient protein intake will affect hormone synthesis, causing lower hormone levels, which is also the cause of infertility. In pursuit of beauty, some women blindly go on a diet to "lose weight", resulting in malnutrition, which in turn affects ovarian function, such as infrequent menstruation, low hormone levels, and sexual apathy.

6. Other causes of infertility include tumors in the female reproductive organs, chromosomal abnormalities, immune infertility, drug-induced infertility, etc. Immune infertility refers to the phenomenon that when pathogens or foreign objects invade the human body, lymphocytes are activated, producing humoral immunity (B lymphocytes, producing systemic or local antibodies) and cellular immunity (T lymphocytes, producing cytotoxic effects). The latter can eliminate pathogens, and the former can neutralize toxins. This action is called "immune response." It is essentially an antigen and antibody reaction. Immune responses can occur throughout the body. Reproductive immunology research related to pregnancy suggests that semen and sperm are both antigens. They enter the female reproductive tract through sexual intercourse. Under normal circumstances, due to their immunosuppressive function, they generally do not produce anti-sperm antibodies. However, when there is inflammation, trauma or bleeding in the reproductive tract, anti-sperm antibodies can be produced. Then, with each sexual intercourse, the sperm that enters the reproductive tract becomes a natural immune enhancing stimulant, which gradually increases the antibody titer. Women may also develop autoimmune infertility, that is, zona pellucida autoimmune antibodies can be detected in the serum. In every menstrual cycle, some follicles become atretic follicles. If the zona pellucida is active, it can become an antigen, stimulating the body to produce anti-zona pellucida antibodies. Or, due to infectious factors, the zona pellucida denatures and stimulates the body to produce anti-zona pellucida antibodies, thus causing infertility. Drug-induced infertility. Drugs are originally designed to treat diseases, but we should also be aware of their adverse reactions. Using medicine is like using soldiers, there must be rules. Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes that the way to deal with the aftermath is to regulate the body through diet. The so-called "do not destroy the harmony of nature" means not to damage the natural positive energy of the human body. In recent years, people have gradually paid more attention to the negative effects of drug side effects, and some drug-induced diseases have also attracted attention. As for female infertility, some people take contraceptives for a long time after marriage, or take estrogen and progesterone for a long time due to gynecological diseases, which will interfere with the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis (sexual axis) and affect normal ovulation. Also, taking certain drugs, such as thiazides, diazepam, metoclopramide, cimetidine, reserpine, etc., will increase the level of prolactin in the blood, thereby inhibiting the sexual axis. Adrenal cortical hormones (such as prednisone) can also interfere with the sexual axis, inhibit ovulation (or spermatogenesis), and cause amenorrhea in women and impotence in men. Long-term use of diazepam, propranolol, methyldopa, imipramine, cimetidine, and scopolamine drugs can also reduce sexual desire. If you suffer from an immune disease and use immunosuppressants such as cyclophosphamide for a long time, the seminiferous tubules in men may atrophy, leading to oligospermia or azoospermia, and the ovaries in women may atrophy, affecting ovulation and causing amenorrhea. In addition, aspirin, indomethacin, cottonpol, etc. can affect the quality of sperm and eggs, causing infertility. Therefore, the long-term use and selection of drugs must be very cautious, and doctors must also make comprehensive considerations. Of course, some drug-induced conditions are reversible and can be recovered as long as the drug is stopped in time, but there is also a chance that they are irreversible, so you should be very careful when taking medications. Other factors that affect pregnancy include harm caused by life and environment, such as excessive smoking, alcoholism, excessive drinking of coffee and beer, etc., which often affect fertility.

Through the above understanding and introduction, I believe everyone can have a certain understanding of the reasons for infertility. At the same time, I also hope that the above knowledge can be helpful to everyone. At the same time, everyone can do more exercises suitable for themselves in daily life. At the same time, I also hope that everyone can develop a habit of going to bed early and getting up early in daily life.