According to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH),15% of couples have difficulty in conceiving and suffer from infertility across the globe. Infertility is a common challenge faced by millions of people which not only affects them but their families and communities too.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), infertility is a disease affecting the reproductive system of men and women which results in failure of conception even after trying for 12 months or more. Fertility can affect both men and women and the causes can be different.
The problem of fertility might be primary or secondary and the distress, chaos, and mental stress people go through for the inability to not get pregnant is serious and disheartening. This also leads to the spread of wrong information, myths, and misconceptions regarding the causes and treatment.
Therefore, in this article, we shall be busting all the infertility-related myths.
If You Have Had a Child Before, You Don't Need To Worry About Infertility
It is a misconception and it is due to the lack of knowledge about secondary infertility which is as common as primary fertility, affecting 1 in 8 couples and 12.5% of people who suffer from the condition (Cleveland Clinic).
According to the doctors of Mayo Clinic, secondary infertility refers to a condition when a couple cannot carry a full-term pregnancy or become pregnant at all after a successful pregnancy in the past.
Infertility Is Mainly a Woman's Problem
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is a myth that infertility is only a woman's problem. The truth is that for 35% of the infertility cases in couples, men have been the contributing factor.
According to NIH, in one-third of cases men are responsible for the difficulty in conceiving, in one-third of cases women are the infertile ones and the rest one-third are the cases where both the partners might be facing challenges related to infertility.
Age Affects Only Women's Fertility
People have been under a wrong perception that only women's age can affect the chances of a couple's fertility and it is because most of the fertility-related research has been done with women as the prime subject.
According to the National Center for Biotechlogy Information, age also impacts male fertility, sperm quality, and sexual function. It has been found that male fertility reduces after the age of 40 due to poor sperm quality. Moreover, there has been a 30% reduction in the fertility rate of men aged below 30 years.
Your Health Doesn't Have To Do Anything With Infertility
According to the CDC, the health of both partners can affect the fertility rates and their chances of getting pregnant. According to the doctors of Mayo Clinic, the few lifestyle habits that can increase the risk of infertility include excessive drinking, excess use of tobacco, being overweight or underweight, and unhealthy exercise patterns.
Therefore, it is advisable to look after your health and consider changing your dietary and lifestyle habits before giving up on your pregnancy plans.
Birth Control Can Cause Infertility
According to Healthline, the use of contraceptives and their relation to infertility is often confused with and prevents people from practising safe sex and taking precautionary measures.
According to PubMed Central, there is no link between the use of hormonal pills or any other contraceptives and infertility. The use of hormonal contraceptives might delay the fertility rate but the fertility levels return back to normal after one has stopped using the contraceptives.
Irregular Periods Mean Woman Has Infertility Issues
According to the NIH, irregular periods are quite common due to modern lifestyle and increase in stress levels. The other lifestyle factors affecting your periods might be changes in diet, exercise, weight, travel, or disease. But these things only delay periods without any cases of infertility.
Medical conditions like fibroids, endometriosis, and PCOS can be the other factors contributing to delayed periods. These might pose a risk of infertility. Therefore, the causes of delayed periods should be known to understand their effect on fertility levels (Cleveland Clinic).
Young Couples Don't Have Infetility Issues
With wrong information in the air, there is no doubt that people believe the problem of infertility is a challenge for older couples only. However, the truth is that couples in their 20s and 30s also face infertility as a barrier to pregnancy.
According to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, infertility can affect any man or woman irrespective of their age. For instance, research shows that 7% of women between 20-24, 9% of women between 25 and 29 and 15% of women between 29 and 34 are infertile.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)