MT

menopause in women

  • 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