Infertility and sterility are two completely different terms as well as their related causes and treatments even if they are often used as synonyms. Sterility refers to the impossibility of achieving the pregnancy while infertility is defined as the inability to carry the pregnancy to term or that the baby cannot survive the first few hours. There is a sterility issue when after one year of unprotected sex, the pregnancy is not achieved. If the woman is over 35, this time period is reduced to six months since the chances of getting pregnant at this stage are about 10% every month.
Nowadays, most problems of infertility and sterility have a solution thanks to assisted reproduction
Approximately 16% of couples suffer from infertility and sterility problems. In 40% of cases, the causes are due to the male (sperm problems, sperm duct obstruction…), another 40% depends on the female (ovulation problems or low ovarian reserve are signs of sterility in addition to issues with Fallopian tubes which are related to infertility) and 20% to unknown causes (stress, lifestyle …).
There are two types of infertility and sterility such as primary and secondary infertility and sterility. If you suffer from primary sterility, no pregnancy can be achieved, while in the secondary type the problem appears after a healthy pregnancy. In the case of infertility, the primary type is related to the fact that no pregnancy can be carried to term, and secondary infertility occurs when after a normal pregnancy, one or more miscarriages occur. In any case, in order to certainly understand the main cause of this condition, it is necessary to perform a series of diagnostic tests which allow finding out the causes of the disorder through several examinations in order to provide a personalized diagnosis.
