Your Age Affects Your Fertility

"Infertility is a condition where a couple (husband-wife) cannot have a child after getting married and having regular sexual intercourse without condoms or other contraceptives," said dr. Binarwan Halim, Sp.OG(k), M.Ked(OG), FICS, obstetrician-gynecologist, Director of Halim Fertility Center (HCF), IVF Center of O& G Dept. of Faculty of Medicine USU, Medan.

According to dr. Birnawan, age affects fertility, especially on women. "At the age of 35, women' s fertility starts to decline, so it is recommended for those with disorders to take a fertility program. For those above 35, the treatment is progressive as their fertility declines fast. The graphic shows women' s fertility falls fast at the age of 35 to 37. It becomes worse once they reach 40. Whereas for men, the decline is much slower. Their fertility starts to fall once they are above 55 years old," he added.

Infertility factors may come from one or both sides of the couple. Factors of infertility on women are: (1) Endometriosis in the abdominal cavity (peritoneum), (2) decreasing number of ovum in the ovary, (3) blocked fallopian tube, and (4) polyp, infection, or cervical discharge blocking the sperm from reaching the uterus. Two factors of infertility on men are: (1) Decreasing number of sperm and (2) inability to have penetrative sex, for example, due to erectile dysfunction.

"Before reaching 35 years old, the infertility condition can be examined within the first year of marriage having regular sex and no child can already be categorized as infertility. Once reaching 35 years old, infertility can be examined within the first 6 months of marriage," said dr. Binarwan.

Many think that genetic factor contributes considerably to the inability to conceive a baby. However, dr. Birnawan said that it is not entirely true. "Infertility is rarely genetically passed, unless there is a history of family suffering from infertility, for example, the husband completely lacks sperm (azoospermia) and in vitro fertilization must be taken in order to have a baby. It is possible for the parent to pass the azoospermia to the baby. Additionally, there are also inherited diseases which may affect fertility such as Fragile X Syndrome on women or Mosaic Turner Syndrome. For such conditions, it is necessary to do a screening. However, in most cases infertility is not caused by diseases," he emphasized.