Fertility Diagnosis Reference Guide

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If you’ve just received a medical diagnosis, or you’re concerned that something in your present or past health history might be jeopardizing your fertility, check here for quick info on common medical conditions and how they can affect conception and pregnancy.

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Age
Women’s fertility declines after about age 27. By the time a woman is in her mid 30s, she has lost many of her viable eggs through menstruation and natural attrition.

AIDS
Infection with human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is the virus that leads to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) if not stalled by medication.

Alcoholism
The term “alcoholism” refers to a disease known as alcohol dependence syndrome, the most severe stage of a group of drinking problems which begins with binge drinking and alcohol abuse.

Anorexia
An intense fear of gaining weight. Someone with anorexia obsesses about food and limits food intake, even though she or he is too thin.

Autoimmune Diseases
A group of diseases that occur when the immune system malfunctions and attacks the body.

Azoospermia
Azoospermia can be caused by problems with sperm production or problems in the sperm delivery.

Blood Clotting Disorders
Conditions that cause the blood to clot too easily or prevent clots from dissolving properly.

Bulimia
Just like anorexia, bulimia is a type of eating disorder in which the person is preoccupied with her/his weight and body shape, often judging herself severely and harshly for perceived flaws.

Cancer
A class of diseases in which a group of cells displays uncontrolled growth and divides beyond the normal limits.

Celiac Disease
A common but often undiagnosed autoimmune digestive disorder that results from an allergic reaction to gluten, which is found in most wheat products, rye, barley, oats, and many other foods.

Chlamydia
Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, which can damage a woman's reproductive organs.

Colitis
Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease in which sores and inflammation develop along the lining of the large intestine.

Crohn's Disease
A chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract.

Depression
Depression is a serious medical illness involving the brain; the condition causes intense, persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness that interfere with daily life.

DES Exposure
DES (diethylstilbestrol) is a synthetic form of estrogen, which was prescribed from 1938 until 1971 to help some pregnant women who had experienced miscarriages or premature deliveries in the past assuming that the root cause were low levels of estrogen in the woman's body.

Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin (a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy).

Digestive Disorders
Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, and celiac disease are all serious gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. What all three have in common is a tendency to greatly reduce the amount of nutrients that the body absorbs; doctors suspect that the extreme weight loss and malnutrition that can result is what eventually causes problems with getting pregnant.

Diminished Ovarian Reserve
(also referred to as High FSH) A high level means a woman doesn’t have a lot of eggs left, because the body producing more and more FSH in an attempt to stimulate the ovaries.

Eating Disorders
Women with anorexia may have a body mass index (BMI) so low that their hormone production is disrupted and they do not ovulate. Women with bulimia may appear to be normal weight, but may have severe nutritional deficiencies that can affect fertility.

Endometriosis
A non-cancerous condition, endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disease in which cells from the endometrium (the lining of the uterus) grow in the wrong spot.

Erectile Dysfunction (men)
Also known as impotence, it is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection.

Fibroids
Fibroids are benign uterine growths (or tumors), made up of abnormal connective tissue and smooth muscle cells.

Genetic Abnormalities—Congenital Bilateral Absence of the Vas Deferens (CBAVD) (Men)
Men with CBAVD are born without any vas deferens—the tubes which lead from each testicle to the penis—making it impossible for sperm to travel to the urethra (the tube that expels the sperm through the penis).

Genetic Abnormalities—Klinefelter's Syndrome (Men)
One of the most common fertility-threatening chromosomal abnormalities in men is Klinefelter’s syndrome. Instead of having the usual XY chromosome pattern that most males have, men with Klinefelter’s Syndrome inherit an extra “X” (female) chromosome, so they have an XXY pattern.

Genetic Abnormalities—Micro Y Deletion (Men)
In about 10 to 15 percent of cases of male infertility involving no blockage and no sperm, genetic testing will reveal a missing sex chromosome.

Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI), caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a bacterium that can grow and multiply easily in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, including the cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes in women, and in the urethra in both women and men.

Hashimoto’s Disease
An autoimmune disorder in which the body produces antibodies that attack cells in the thyroid and slow down production of thyroid hormone, resulting in hypothyroidism. It is the most common thyroid disorder in the United States.

High FSH
(also referred to as diminished ovarian reserve) A high level means a woman doesn’t have a lot of eggs left, because the body producing more and more FSH in an attempt to stimulate the ovaries.

Hyperthyroidism
A condition in which an overactive thyroid produces too much hormone, kicking the metabolism into high gear. One common cause of hyperthyroidism is Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder that tends to run in families and affects the entire thyroid gland. Another cause is so-called “hot nodules” that can form on the thyroid. The nodules contain cells that produce too much of the thyroid hormone thyroxine.

Hypothyroidism
A condition in which an underactive thyroid gland produces too few hormones, thus slowing down the body’s metabolism. It is the most common thyroid disorder. A common cause of hypothyroidism is Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disorder in which antibodies attack cells in the thyroid, causing it to produce less thyroid hormone.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease
A collective term for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, which cause severe inflammation in the intestines.

Luteal Phase Defect
A condition in which the luteal phase of a woman’s monthly cycle—the time between ovulation and menstruation--chronically runs shorter than 10 days. This causes fertility problems, because the uterine lining cannot build up sufficiently for an embryo to implant.

Ovulatory Disorders
A condition in which a woman ovulates irregularly, or stops ovulating completely.

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a secondary infection of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and/or cervix, usually caused by previous untreated sexually transmitted diseases.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
An overproduction of male sex hormones (such as testosterone) in the woman’s ovaries, which disrupts normal, healthy ovulation.

Pregnancy Termination (Abortion)
Many women who’ve had abortions and are now having difficulty conceiving are plagued by guilt, convinced that their difficulties getting pregnant are related to that procedure, no matter how long ago.

Premature Ovarian Failure
A cessation of periods and loss of ovarian function in girls and women under age 40. Women with POF may not menstruate at all, or may menstruate very infrequently.

Progesterone, low
Progesterone is a female sex hormone that prods the uterine lining (the endometrium) to thicken and prepare for an embryo to implant. If a woman produces too little progesterone, the lining cannot build up sufficiently for implantation.

Recurrent Miscarriage
Recurrent pregnancy loss is defined as two or more failed pregnancies.

Scarring
Scarring refers to tissue or adhesions produced as a result of healing after surgery or trauma, or by the body’s reaction to certain disease.

Secondary Infertility
The inability of a couple to achieve a pregnancy after having been pregnant before.

Sexually Transmitted Infections
Chlamydia and gonorrhea are the most common STIs. Others include bacterial vaginosis (BV), genital herpes, human papillomavirus infection (HPV), syphilis, and AIDS.

Smoking (Cigarettes or Marijuana)
Both nicotine and marijauana can interfere with ovulation, but a past fling with them shouldn’t affect your fertility now.

Sperm: low sperm count
Less than 20 million sperm per milliliter of semen is considered low. Healthy, fertile men may have upward of 100 million.

Sperm: problem with motility
Sperm motility refers to the sperms’ ability to move normally ; sperm have to be able to swim on their own in order to reach the egg.

Sperm: problem with morphology
Morphology refers to the shape and structure of sperm, which is as important as quantity. A normal sperm has an oval head and a long tail that propel it forward. Sperm with large, small, or misshapen heads or kinky, curled, or double tails are less likely to be able to fertilize an egg.

Testosterone, low
Testosterone is the most important male sex hormone. It helps in sperm production and keeps men interested in sex. Low testosterone impairs a man’s fertility and sex drive.

Thyroid Disease
A condition in which the thyroid gland becomes overactive (hyperthyroidism) or underactive (hypothyroidism), producing either too much or too little of the hormones that regulate the body’s metabolism.

Tubal Ligation
A surgical procedure to render a woman incapable of conceiving a child. Some women who change their mind after sterilization and decide they want to become pregnant opt for in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Ulcerative Colitis
A condition in which sores and inflammation develop along the lining of the colon or large intestine.

Undescended Testicle (men)
A testicle that hasn’t moved into its proper position in the scrotum prior to birth.

Unexplained infertility
The inability to conceive after one year of regular unprotected intercourse despite no apparent medical cause.

Uterine abnormalities
Some women are born with malformed uteruses that make it difficult to carry a pregnancy to term. For example, the uterus may be divided down the middle by tissue, developed only on one side, or separated into two horn-shaped structures. In some cases, there may be a double uterus with two cervixes. In extremely rare cases, a woman may have no uterus at all.

Varicoceles
Problems arise when one or more veins in a scrotum sac become enlarged. Called varicoceles, these enlargements are caused by a faulty vein valve that allows blood to back up.

Vasectomy (men)
Vasectomy a simple, safe, and highly effective surgical sterilization procedure for men. Vasectomy reversal surgery aims to reconnect the obstructed sperm pathway.

Weight, overweight
Experts define normal weight as a BMI (body mass index) of 18.5 to 24.9. Overweight is a BMI between 25 and 29; 30 and over is considered obese. The formula to calculate BMI is a bit complicated: Take your weight in pounds and divide it by your height in inches, squared. Multiply that result by the number 703. Or, for an easier way, plug your height and weight into Conceive’s automatic BMI calculator: BMI Calculator

Weight, underweight
Experts define underweight as a BMI (body mass index) less than 18.5. The formula to calculate BMI is a bit complicated: Take your weight in pounds and divide it by your height in inches, squared. Multiply that result by the number 703. Or, for an easier way, plug your height and weight into the National Institutes of Health automatic BMI calculator: BMI Calculator