as women ages the quantity and quality of the ova produced declines

as a woman ages there are changes to the endometrium that make successful implantation more difficult

eventually the woman will stop producing ova

hyperthyroidism/hypothyroidism

• under a overactive thyroid glands can cause fertility problems in both sexes

• in women hypothyroidism can cause increase in the levels of prolactin which inhibits the FSH production

• hypothyroidism in women causes irregular menstrual cycles and thinner endometrium

• harder to conceive and less likely to implant and remain

• in males both conditions can lead to erectile dysfunction

• reduced testosterone production that lowers the sex drive

ovulation disorders

• leading cause of infertility

• anovulation (no ovulation) ova does not develop normally

• menstruation may or may not take place

• causes - hormonal imbalance and eating disorders

• women elite athletes who exercise a lot may stop ovulating

• oligo ovulation where ovulation is irregular and may have a menustrual cycle that is longer than normal

• there may be abnormalities in oocyte formation leading to increased chances of a mischarge

physical barriers to contraception

• in females there may be blockages in the fallopian tube that prevent an ova reaching the uterus,the blockage will also prevent sperm from reaching the egg

• occurs as a result of an infection (mainly STI’s)

• fibroids in the uterus

• non cancerous growths in the uterus will that prevent implantation

assisted contraception for debility problems

• intrauterine insemination

• sperm are introduced into uterus at the time of ovulation

• in vitro fertilisation

• ova are collected from the mother’s ovary and are fertilised with sperm outside the body and reintroduced into the uterus

• donated gametes are used in the above methods

contraception

• contraception

• vitro fertilization

• female contraception

• the pill

• patches

contraceptive pill

• combined - contain oestrogen and progesterone

• usually synthetic versions of the human hormones

• work by preventing follicle formation,prevent ovulation and thicken cervical mucus

• progesterone only pill

• work by inhibiting ovulation,then the endometrium and thicken the cervical mucus

• there is no contraceptive pill for men on the market though there have been several types that have undergone medical trails

• pills would only work if they reduced testosterone levels sufficiently to prevent sperm production

• this is fairly easy to achieve by using injections of slow release progesterone but there are side effects

• depression,mood disorders,acne and muscle pain