Infertility (11)

Question 1

Couples who have been trying to conceive a baby for more than a year and who have not been successful may have to accept that one or both of them is _____.

Answer 1

infertile

Question 2

What is some of the reasons for infertility?

Answer 2

There are many reasons for infertility and many solutions for the different problems. Apart from the reasons given below a man or woman’s lifestyle may also affect his or her fertility such as stress, diet, age, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, medicines etc.

Question 3

What are possible causes of male infertility?

Answer 3

In most infertile men, the problem is in the testis, the glands that produce sperm and testosterone. Damage to the testis can be as a result of mumps, radiation or chemotherapy, trauma or surgery.

Question 4

Testicular damage can lead to: (2)

Answer 4

• a low sperm count, i.e. not enough sperm are produced. • poor sperm quality, e.g. sperm do not move well or are abnormally shaped.

Question 5

Sometimes the sperm ducts can be blocked due to an ____. This will prevent sperm exiting during an ejaculation.

Answer 5

infection

Question 6

What are some of the treatments for male infertility? (2)

Answer 6

• If sperm counts are too low due to incorrect levels of male hormones then LH and FSH hormone injections are given. This treatment is usually successful; however, it may take a year or longer to bring back fertility. This treatment is expensive.
• Surgical intervention can be attempted to clear blocked sperm ducts.

Question 7

What are possible causes of female infertility? (3)

Answer 7

In females there might be:
• problems with ovulation when viable eggs are not made.
• blocked oviducts that prevent egg and sperm from meeting. • problems with the uterus, e.g. fibroids (lumps that develop from the myometrium), which can prevent the implantation of blastocyst.

Question 8

How can female sterility be treated? (3)

Answer 8

• Fertility drugs remain the primary treatment for women with ovulation disorders; some are taken orally and some are injected. In general, these medications work by causing the release of hormones that either trigger or regulate ovulation.
• Surgical treatments, e.g. unblocking fallopian tubes, removing fibroids and clearing up endometriosis.
• Assisted conception. This includes several techniques such as: −artificial insemination
−in vitro fertilisation (IVF)

Question 9

What is endometriosis?

Answer 9

endometriosis = a disease in which tissue that normally grows inside the uterus grows outside the uterus

Question 10

What is artificial insemination?

Answer 10

If a man is unable to produce viable sperm, a solution is to use sperm from a sperm donor. The sperm donor may be anonymous, from a sperm bank, or a close male relative. Semen from the donor is inserted into the woman’s vagina at the time she is ovulating.

Question 11

What is in vitro fertilisation (IVF)?

Answer 11

If a woman is unable to produce viable eggs a solution is to use eggs from an egg donor. The egg donor may be anonymous or a close female relative. Eggs are removed from the egg donor and fertilised by sperm from the woman’s partner, outside the body. This is known as in vitro fertilisation (IVF). The fertilised eggs are then placed in the uterus of the woman and left to implant in the endometrium.

Question 12

Other assisted conception techniques include: __________ (GIFT) and _________ (ICSI). Assisted conception fertility treatments are very expensive and many people simply cannot afford them.

Answer 12

gamete intra-fallopian transfer

intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection

Question 13

What is a surrogate?

Answer 13

A surrogate is a woman who carries a baby on behalf of future parents who are medically unable to do so.

Question 14

The process is done either by ____ _____ from the man (commissioning father) or _____ of an embryo from the woman (commissioning mother) formed by the IVF technique. This means that the embryo and resulting baby will not be genetically related to the surrogate mother at all.

Answer 14

artificial insemination

implantation

Question 15

Surrogacy is 100% ___ in South Africa and is governed by a complex set of guidelines to protect the rights and well-being of all parties involved (the surrogate mother, the commissioning parent(s) and the unborn baby/babies.

Answer 15

legal

Question 16

What is foetal alcohol syndrome?

Answer 16

Foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a pattern of birth defects, learning and behavioural problems affecting children whose mothers consumed alcohol during pregnancy. FAS is the most common preventable cause of mental retardation.

Question 17

South Africa has the highest reported incidence in the world of babies being born with FAS every year. It is estimated that currently there are __ _____ South Africans with FAS.

During pregnancy the alcohol freely crosses the _____ and causes damage to the developing embryo or foetus. Alcohol use by the father cannot cause FAS.

Answer 17

2 million

placenta

Question 18

What are some features of FAS? Classic physical features of FAS in new born babies include: (4)

Answer 18

• short stature
• low birth weight
• poor weight gain
• microcephaly

Question 19

Other features become evident as the child gets older. Such abnormalities include: (6)

Answer 19

• poor attention span
• poor motor skills
• slow language development
• hyperactivity disorder • learning disabilities or mental retardation, e.g. memory problems, poor judgment, difficulties with abstract reasoning skills
• poor social skills.

Question 20

There is no treatment for the effects on the mental processes. These children will remain mentally and ___ _____ all their lives. Much education needs to be done to get the essential message across to the public.

Answer 20

socially defective