Hormonal Imbalance and Fertility

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Oct 17, 2014/ 0 Comments / in Infertility / by
Hormonal Imbalance and Fertility

Hormonal Imbalance and Fertility

If you are trying to get pregnant, hormonal imbalance can disrupt and prevent you from conceiving. If left untreated, the problem can make you infertile as well. In order to conceive, you ought to have a perfect hormonal balance in your body, as hormones run the ovulation process.


Ovulation

At the beginning of a menstrual cycle, a woman’s brain sends a message to the pituitary gland to produce a hormone needed for preparing some eggs. The follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) signals the ovaries to start maturing eggs for the menstrual cycle. Upon the maturation of follicles, there is a rise in the level of estrogen. As a result, the pituitary gland gets a signal that the egg is mature and starts producing a luteinizing hormone (LH) to signal the ovary to release the egg. According to the American Pregnancy Association, after almost 24 to 48 hours of this LH surge, ovulation occurs and ovaries begin to raise progesterone level.


Hormonal Imbalance and Fertility Problems

Hormonal Imbalance in Women ImageProgesterone is a crucial hormone required for pregnancy, which prepares the uterus lining for pregnancy. The body keeps up the production of progesterone if the egg is fertilized. If not, there is a drop in progesterone levels, which triggers the menstrual cycle. Ovulation may be disrupted if there is hormonal imbalance during any part of the process, causing fertility problems. In some women with hormonal imbalance problems, the corpus luteum does not produce enough amount of progesterone to sustain pregnancy during the initial phase of gestation. One reason for this can be the inability of the follicle to develop due to low levels of follicle stimulating hormone.

An imbalance of progesterone hormone is often the prime cause of hormonal imbalances in women suffering from fertility issues. It is therefore important to be aware of the relationship between hormonal imbalance and fertility to avoid complications.

Progesterone is critical for conception, fertility, and pregnancy. A woman with inadequate progesterone levels will have a short luteal phase – which is period between ovulation and the start of menstrual cycle. With a short luteal phase, fertilized eggs do not get enough time to properly implant in the uterus, often resulting in miscarriage.


Hormonal Imbalance Treatment

Fortunately, progesterone imbalance is the easiest to treat. Women with ovulation problems who want to conceive may be prescribed fertility-enhancing medications. The drugs work by stimulating the pituitary gland to induce ovulation. However, some women may not benefit much from these fertility-enhancing drugs and require reproductive therapies along with hormone treatments, including in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection, to treat hormonal imbalance and induce fertility.