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

\