By Sara Laharnar
Around 20-30% of infertility cases are diagnosed as “unexplained”.
Unexplained infertility gives women and couples the perception that there is no reason for their infertility.
However, unexplained infertility is not as common as it’s thrown around.
Majority of the time, it is “unfound” infertility – meaning not enough has been done to find the cause.
So many women come to me frustrated and confused with this diagnosis, believing they’ve had “all the tests done and everything is fine”. As I start to unravel what tests have been conducted, I find it’s typically routine bloodwork and maybe an ultrasound and sperm test. This is not a thorough enough investigation to give anyone an unexplained infertility diagnosis.
As I start to ask questions regarding a woman’s menstrual cycle, I often hear, “I have painful periods, I can be crippled on the floor in pain on the first day”, or “my periods are very light and only last 3 days”, and “no I don’t notice any mid-cycle fertile mucus”.
Your menstrual health is pivotal to your fertility and these sorts of symptoms are massive clues into your fertility and tell us what warrants further investigation.
The body also gives us clues in the form of other medical conditions such as thyroid and autoimmune issues, candida, dermatitis, anxiety, depression and bacterial infections.
If the body is not functioning optimally, making a baby is not going to be at the top of your body’s priorities.
If you have been referred to an IVF specialist, often they use your first cycle as diagnostic.
It is not until you have failed rounds of IVF that further investigations tend to be completed.
