Ovulation induction helps women who don’t ovulate or have poor ovulation
Approximately 30% to 40% of cases of infertility are due to problems with ovulation. Women who have irregular menstrual cycles generally do not ovulate. Ovulation induction is a fertility treatment that can help women achieve pregnancy in certain situations.
A normal menstrual cycle length is anywhere from 26 days to 35 days long. If you are having bleeding more often than every 26 days or farther apart than every 35 days, you might not be ovulating regularly. While it is common – and even potentially normal – for women who ovulate regularly to occasionally skip a cycle, if this happens all the time, it may well indicate a problem.
Hormonal tests that may identify the cause of ovulatory dysfunction
Some basic hormonal tests can be performed to determine if ovulation is occurring, as well as to determine the cause of a problem with ovulation.
- Ovarian reserve testing (AMH and FSH)
- Thyroid tests (TSH)
- Prolactin level
- Androgen (male hormone) levels
When women do not ovulate regularly, we prescribe a procedure called ovulation induction. This fertility treatment involves the administration of medications designed to either correct or override the problem that is causing ovulation to not occur regularly.
Ovulation is controlled by your brain. If the signal from your brain to your ovaries is not being sent correctly, the first-line treatment that we use to cause ovulation is a pill – either Clomid or Femara – which can improve this signal and initiate ovulation.
If pills are not successful at causing ovulation induction, then injectable medications, called gonadotropins, are tried next. These shots consist of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), the hormone that the brain produces normally to make egg development occur from the ovary. So, if Clomid or Femara fail to get the pituitary gland to send the proper signal to the ovaries, we can override this process by giving you FSH, which will act directly on the ovaries to cause follicular development and ovulation to occur.
Ovulation induction medications can also help women who do ovulate
Women who have regular menstrual cycles can also benefit from ovulation induction medications. Although these women are already ovulating, they frequently will benefit from super ovulation, meaning that they will ovulate more than one egg. With these medications, it is possible to cause two to four eggs to ovulate, improving the chance for pregnancy – but also raising the risk of a multiple pregnancy.
For many women, ovulation induction is the key to overcoming infertility and achieving pregnancy. Contact us to find out if this front-line infertility treatment may be right for you.