Counselling-
Infertility is a medical condition which can became a challenging part of your life. How you will act in these situation depends on your personality and life experiences. It can affect your relationship and life. Most people can benefit from the support of family, friends, medical caregivers, and mental health professionals. When considering infertility treatment options such as sperm, egg, or embryo donation or gestational carriers, it is best to take assistance from fertility counselor.
What is the Ultimate Goal of Infertility Counselors?
The ultimate goal of infertility counselors is to assist the individual or the couple and teach them healthy coping skills. Their aim is to help the couple navigate their infertility challenges in a healthy and productive way.
What Methods do Infertility Counsellor use?
Infertility counselors use a variety of methods to help couples to solve the problems related to infertility. A most common step used in infertility counseling is emotionally-focused therapy (focusing on the emotions involved with this “new reality,” when it comes to having a child).
IUI (Intra Uterine Insemination)-
When a woman conceives naturally, sperm travel from the vagina through the cervix (narrow, lower part of the womb), into the uterus (womb), and up into one of the fallopian tubes. If sperm arrives in a tube soon after the release of the egg from the ovary (ovulation); the sperm and egg can meet and unite (fertilize) in the tube.
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) is a fertility treatment that involves placing sperm inside a woman’s uterus to facilitate fertilization. The goal of IUI is to increase the number of sperm that reach the fallopian tubes and subsequently increase the chance of fertilization.
IUI provides the sperm an advantage by giving it a head start but still requires a sperm to reach and fertilize the egg on its own. It is a less invasive and less expensive option compared to In Vitro Fertilization.
Reproductive endocrinology-
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) is a surgical subspecialty of obstetrics and gynecology that trains physicians in reproductive medicine addressing hormonal functioning as it pertains to reproduction as well as the issue of infertility. While most REI specialists primarily focus on the treatment of infertility, reproductive endocrinologists are trained to also test and treat hormonal dysfunctions in females and males outside infertility. Reproductive endocrinologists have specialty training (residency) in obstetrics and gynecology (ob-gyn) before they undergo sub-specialty training (fellowship) in REI.
When should I see a reproductive endocrinologist?
There are a few cases in which you would want to see a reproductive endocrinologist. First, there’s the case of fertility preservation, like egg or embryo freezing. Women or couples may want to undergo fertility preservation to give themselves a better chance of conceiving later, or because they are about to undergo a procedure, like cancer treatment, that could impact their fertility. While this may or may not be done in the context of an infertility diagnosis, it’s still a fertility procedure that requires a reproductive endocrinologist.