Optimize Your Fertility: what do gynecologists do?

Infertility affects 6.1 million American men and women. Fortunately, advances in medicine have helped many of these couples start families. Today, effective medical treatments exist for every type of infertility problem you might encounter giving infertile couples more treatment options than ever before. If you have trouble getting pregnant and have decided to seek treatment, your doctor will perform a thorough evaluation to determine the best options for you.

Typically, your doctor will review you and your partner's, medical histories. He will discuss topics with you such as your family medical history, your surgical history, as well as discussing your current sexual practices. In addition, your doctor will also perform a physical exam. What do gynecologists do? - based on your medical and lifestyle history, your doctor will conduct some basic tests, including lab work, pelvic exam, Pap smear, routine cultures for STD's, and usually a pelvic ultrasound. Your partner will also be examined; he will need to provide a semen sample for analysis, and possible blood tests.

What do gynecologists do? - There are several important questions your doctor needs to answer before he recommends any type of treatment.

 Is there a male factor or sperm problem? Is there a problem with ovulation (releasing an egg each month)? Can the egg and sperm actually meet in the fallopian tubes? If the egg and sperm do unite, can the embryo implant into the womb? Most of these questions can be answered with basic testing. However, later in the evaluation, you may need advanced testing, including an x-ray study of your tubes (hysterosalpingogram), a biopsy of the uterus or womb, hysteroscopy to look directly at the lining of the uterus, and, possibly, laparoscopy (minimally invasive surgery) to look at the entire pelvis.

What do gynecologists do, patients have subsequently gone on to find successful treatments. Generally, treatments fall into five categories:

• Ovulation Induction if your body doesn't produce enough hormones, or fails to release the right hormones at the right time. Medications are used to replace or supplement these hormones to induce ovulation or sperm development.
• Surgery can correct anatomic problems of either partner including scar tissue, varicoceles, endometriosis, fibroids, and other uterine problems.
• Artificial Inseminationor intrauterine insemination (IUI) is the process of placing sperm directly into a woman's womb around the time of ovulation to increase the chances of fertilization.
• Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) is an advanced infertility technique, but only has to be used in about 5% of couples. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) unites a sperm and egg in the laboratory followed by placement of an early embryo back into the womb, basically by-passing the body's fertility problem.
• Micromanipulation Technique, called Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (or ICSI), is used to increase the success rates of IVF. This technique involves injecting a single sperm directly into the egg.