what are some things that cause infertility?

Answers:
Male Causes:
Low sperm counts, abnormal sperm morphology (shape), and low sperm motility are usually asymptomatic conditions to most males. Most cases of low sperm counts are "idiopathic" or unexplained. Some cases are associated with a swollen varicose vein in the scrotum, called a varicocele.
Some simple abnormalities may be improved by reducing stress, reducing heat to the genitals (eg. avoidance of tight clothing, saunas or hot tubs) , or by changing harmful lifestyle habits (avoiding tobacco, alcohol, or drugs such as marijuana). Short term illnesses, significant stressful periods, and some medications may temporarily affect sperm counts.

We investigate the following causes of male infertility:

Exposure to hazardous toxins, chemicals, or radiation
Infections such as mumps, or venereal diseases
Testicular injury (sports or work injury)
Childhood illness (failure of a testicle to descend properly)
Blockage of one of the ducts allowing flow of sperm from the testicle
Injury, infection or prior vasectomy
Genetic absence of these ducts (cystic fibrosis)
Immune reaction against sperm (antisperm antibodies)
Testicular failure and other hormonal problems
Chronic medical illness (thyroid disease, diabetes, and hypertension)
Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
Varicocele

Female Causes:
Female infertility may be broken into several categories:

Ovulatory problems
Cervical factors
Pelvic and tubal factors, and
Uterine factors
Oftentimes, a combination of these problems exists.
Ovulation is a complex event in which hormonal signals and physical events are linked in a delicate balance. Women ovulate most effectively in their late teens and early twenties. By age 35-38, most women may experience a decline in the ability to ovulate effectively.

Ovulation can be seriously affected by:

Abnormalities of the thyroid gland
Overproduction of prolactin (a hormone leading to breast milk production)
Excessive male hormone (androgens)
Physical stress, psychological stress and extreme lifestyle changes
Cervical infertility involves inability of the sperm to pass through the mouth of the uterus due to damage of the cervix.

Causes include the following:

Inadequate or inhospitable cervical mucous
Cervical narrowing or "stenosis"
Infections of the cervix with common sexually transmitted diseases (chlamydia, gonorrhea, or trichomonas, as well as mycoplasma hominis and ureaplasma urealyticum)
Immune attack of sperm or "sperm allergy"
Pelvic causes include any disruption of the normal pelvic anatomy:

Scar tissue or "adhesions"
Endometriosis
Blocked, scarred, or distorted fallopian tubes
Benign tumors (fibroids) of the uterus
Uterine causes include:

Thin or abnormal uterine lining
Anatomic problems (polyps, uterine fibroids, abnormal shape of the uterus, septum or "dividing wall" within the uterus)
Unexplained Infertility

Approximately 10% of infertile women suffer from unexplained infertility. This simply means that the commonly performed tests to diagnose the cause of infertilty are all normal and do not define the reason for infertility. However, we perform a more thorough search for a cause, since many subtle abnormalities may be discovered to explain the infertility. Usually such problems are due to:
Difficulty in picking up the egg by fallopian tube
Failure of implantation of the embryo into the uterus
Failure of the sperm to fertilize the egg when in contact with each other

Other Answers:
Some things that can cause infertility are, fallopian tubes that are blocked, a history of endometriosis, if your partner has a low sperm count or sometimes not ovulating. Anovulation can be caused by hormonal imbalances, being overweight or underweight, or having other illnesses like cancer.

Tight pants.. Your testicles try to move away because they get hot, but the pants keep em it... bye bye lil' soldiers.. KILL EMOS About 35 percent of all cases of infertility arise from problems in the man's system. About 35 percent arise from abnormalities in the woman's system. About 20 percent of the time, the man and woman both have fertility problems.In 10 percent of cases, no cause can be found. Age often increases the risk of infertility.

Infertility can be caused by poor sexual or lifestyle habits that are easily remedied. For example, the couple may be using a sexual lubricant that interferes with the survival of the man's sperm. Or, they may not be having sex often enough. Other easily treated illnesses or lifestyle habits that may contribute to infertility are:

-Heavy use of alcohol, tobacco or drugs.
-Starvation diets or anorexia in the woman.
-Tight underwear or pants in the man, which raises the crotch temperature and reduces sperm count.
-Stress. In a woman, this may cause her periods to be irregular. In a man, stress may reduce his sperm count.

Most of these problems can be resolved with medical treatment or lifestyle changes, such as wearing boxer shorts, avoiding a sexual lubricant, or trying some simple stress reduction methods such as physical exercise or relaxation techniques.

Changing the timing of sex and the couple's sexual techniques may also increase the chance of pregnancy. Sometimes the semen from the man fails to reach the woman's cervix. Placing a pillow under the woman's hips after intercourse may help prevent spillage of semen.

Infertility in a woman may stem from many causes, such as hormonal deficiencies, problems in the reproductive organs, and some illnesses. Complications from surgery and certain medications may also impair fertility.

The most likely causes for female infertility are:

-Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) - PID is the most common cause of infertility worldwide. It's an infection of the pelvis or one or more of the reproductive organs, including the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, the cervix or the uterus. Sometimes PID spreads to the appendix or to the entire pelvic area.

PID usually stems from the same bacteria that cause sexually transmitted diseases, such as gonorrhea or chlamydia. Chlamydia, in fact, causes 75 percent of fallopian tube infections.

PID may also develop from bacteria that reach the reproductive organs through abortion, hysterectomy, childbirth, sexual intercourse, use of an intrauterine (IUD) contraceptive device or a ruptured appendix.

Not only does PID cause infertility, but it may also lead to ectopic pregnancy and blood poisoning, a potentially fatal complication.

-Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO) - This condition affects 5 million American women and is another major cause of infertility. In PCO, the ovaries produce high amounts of male hormones, especially testosterone. LH levels also remain abnormally high while FSH levels are abnormally low; thus, the follicles do not produce eggs. Instead they form fluid-filled cysts that eventually cover the ovaries.
Recent research indicates that PCO is caused by the failure of muscle, fat and liver cells to accept glucose (the cellular fuel made from the food that humans eat). As a result, the pancreas begins churning out large amounts of insulin, a hormone that usually ushers glucose from the blood to the body's cells. This extra insulin plays havoc with the ovaries, as well as other parts of a woman's body.

The most common cause for male infertility is a problem with the sperm - either low sperm count or sperm with poor quality. Sperm with poor quality cannot move rapidly enough or in the right direction, or may be abnormally shaped. Some conditions that may contribute to sperm problems include:

-Under-developed testes-usually arising after a mumps infection, a hernia surgery, an injury or birth defect.
-Swollen veins in the scrotum
-Undescended testes-a problem often present from birth in which the testes remain in the body cavity. Normally they descend into the scrotum before birth.
-Exposure to metals such as leads, or chemicals such as pesticides.
-Infections, such as gonorrhea or tuberculosis, that block the ducts through which the sperm travel.

Other common causes of male infertility are:

-Autoimmunity, in which antibodies or cells of the man's immune system attack sperm cells, mistaking them for toxic invaders. The antibodies attach themselves to the sperm and may cause them to stick together, or may stop them from penetrating the cervical mucous or the egg.

Check out this link for more information:
http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/infertility/INF_causes.html
Source(s):
cute_blondie_angel
mother of 2

PCOS,TIGHT CLOTHES,IRREGULAR PERIODS, AND FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN THE LORD A SIN IN YOUR LIFE OR NOT LIVING YOUR LIFE THE WAY GOD WANTS YOU TO. If you have been to the Dr. and have been checked out, and you are not Infertile. then caffine and stess,sugar, douching.... a lot of things can hurt your fertility

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what are some things that cause infertility?

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