What are the misconceptions about infertility?

In recent years, as the incidence of infertility gradually increases, the concern about infertility is also growing, and many patients do not understand infertility and there are some misunderstandings, mainly in the following aspects. (1) Believe in advertisements and go to some irregular hospitals for unregulated treatment. With the increase of the infertility population, there are more and more infertility advertisements on the Internet, TV and newspapers nowadays. Some advertisements advertise that “experts treat infertility and get 100% pregnant”, “pay after pregnancy”, “refund if you can’t get pregnant”, “strive to solve infertility in 100 days”, and “give birth to a baby”. Many patients listened to some false advertisements and went to consult for irregular treatment, which affected and aggravated their condition. We remind infertility patients that they must go to the reproductive medicine center of a regular hospital for scientific examination and standardized treatment. (2) Only the female partner is examined and treated, while the male partner is not examined or treated. Some men accompany their wives to the clinic and are reluctant to have their own examinations. They think, “I’m usually in good health, I’m fine, I don’t need to be examined”, “I have no problems with intercourse, I can definitely have a baby, just check my wife”. Pregnancy is a matter for two people, not one person, and the male partner’s factor is as important as the female partner. Some men who are reluctant to be examined are persuaded to undergo tests that reveal problems such as “little, weak, deformed sperm” or even “azoospermia”, and in such cases, it is not possible to carry out tests and treatment only for the female partner. Therefore, it is important to note that good health does not mean good sperm, which are two different things. When infertility patients visit the clinic, both men and women should be examined at the same time in order to clarify the cause and treat the disease. (3) Emphasis on treatment, not on examination. Some infertility patients are reluctant to undergo checkups when they visit the clinic, often saying, “I am in good health, it’s fine, just prescribe me some medicine to help me get pregnant. For example, some patients with “dead sperm” and “azoospermia” can hardly solve their fertility problems through medication, and must undergo a comprehensive examination to clarify the cause before targeted treatment. (4) It is believed that repeated tubal lavage can treat fallopian tube failure. Uterine tubal lavage is only a method to check whether the fallopian tubes are open or not, and cannot play a role in the treatment of the fallopian tubes. Repeatedly and blindly carrying out tubal lavage will increase the chances of the fallopian tubes being infected upstream and aggravate the condition. (5) The disease is urgent. Many infertility sufferers are eager to have a baby and are prone to listen to some advertisements and “seek medical help in a hurry”. Infertility is not a single disease, there are many factors that affect it, so you must go to a regular reproductive medicine center for examination and treatment, and the treatment of infertility varies from person to person. Many patients lack patience and give up halfway when their treatment starts to improve, and go to other hospitals for examination and treatment. Therefore, it is important to communicate well with the doctor during the treatment period, to have full trust in the doctor, to be confident and to see the doctor clearly. Do not be impatient to seek medical help, which will cost you money and delay your condition. (6) Thinking that normal ovulation and normal pregnancy can be achieved by regular menstruation. The regularity of menstruation does not necessarily mean that you can ovulate normally, but whether you can ovulate normally can only be known after ultrasound monitoring of the follicles. (7) Azoospermia is definitely infertile. There are two types of azoospermia: obstructive azoospermia and non-obstructive azoospermia. Obstructive azoospermia is relatively simple. If the site of obstruction is clearly identified, the obstruction can be solved through microsurgery to seek fertility, and second-generation IVF treatment can also be done through epididymal or testicular aspiration to extract sperm for fertility. Non-obstructive azoospermia can be solved by microscopic sperm retrieval from the testes or by using sperm from human sperm banks. (8) Believing in folk remedies and experimental prescriptions. Many patients simply believe in folk remedies and prescriptions without scientific examination and treatment, delaying the condition. (9) Resistance to assisted reproductive technology, believing that assisted reproductive technology conception is not as healthy as natural pregnancy. Some patients with serious conditions, such as “tubal obstruction”, “severe oligospermia, weak and deformed sperm”, “obstructive azoospermia”, etc., will be recommended by doctors to perform “IVF (IVF-ET or ICST-ET) for pregnancy. Many patients will resist these assisted reproduction techniques, believing that the children born in this way are not as healthy as those conceived naturally, and some even believe that they are not their own children, and these perceptions are incorrect. There is no difference between IVF-ET and ICSI births and natural pregnancies. 8 million IVF children have been born worldwide, and this percentage will continue to increase. (10) You can always get pregnant with IVF. IVF does not have a 100% success rate, with only a 50%-60% success rate each time. Although IVF technology is improving, there are still some factors that affect pregnancy for unknown reasons and the advanced age of the woman, so it is important to be fully prepared and not to suffer in case of failure.