Sunday, August 14, 2022
01:19
Dr. Pablo J. Ávalos, a gynecologist specializing in reproductive medicine at the IGOM Comprehensive Medical Center, talked with us about the treatments available for those who want to start a family or enlarge it.
Both women and men regularly come to his office to start with the necessary treatments to achieve a pregnancy when it is not achieved during a long period of searching or when, for various reasons, they wish to postpone the family project and want to make sure that they can achieve it once the time comes.
When to consult?
Most of the patients arrive when they have been looking for a pregnancy for some time and cannot achieve it; After going through several professionals, they come to us. But what you need to know is that the age of the woman is very important. So if it is about female patients under 35 years of age, who after a year of having sex regularly and without using any contraceptive method do not achieve pregnancy, it is time to consult a specialist. In the case of female patients over 35 years of age, the time to consult comes when they have 6 months of searches without results.
What studies are carried out?
We study women in various aspects. We study the uterus; whether or not the tubes are permeable, since this is what allows the union of the egg with the sperm; we studied her ovarian function with a blood test and performed an ultrasound to carry out an antral follicle count. With this we already have an idea of the ovarian reserve, of the number of ovules that a woman can have.
It must be taken into account that as the woman ages, the number of eggs decreases. That is why when menopause arrives, the woman stops menstruating because she has run out of eggs.
As for the man, the quality of the spermatozoa is studied. According to the result, the type of treatment is decided.
In addition to age, what other factors prevent pregnancy?
30% is due to causes that derive from women, another 30% that derive from men and 25% are shared causes. The remaining 15% is called “sterility without apparent cause” because no study shows negative results but pregnancy is not achieved. In these chaos, food, tobacco and coffee consumption, among others, greatly influence the quality of sperm. In turn, overweight in women leads to hormonal changes that at the same time generate changes in cycles. These imbalances must be corrected to increase the chances of achieving pregnancy.
Do women consult more than men?
In general, they have the idea that they should come to the consultation as a couple. But it happens many times that only the woman comes alone because the man thinks that he does not have the problem.
There are more and more queries from same-sex couples or single women who want to freeze their eggs.