Fertility Panel, Serum

 Mostly a couple can conceive within a year of unprotected sex. However, if you don’t then it is advisable to check for the various factors to determine the cause of fertility trouble. Both male and female partners can be equally responsible for the inability to conceive a child. Lifestyle related factors especially obesity and diabetes play great role in ability to conceive.Fertility rates has decreased 4.97 during the 1975-80 period to 2.3 for the current period of 2015-20. 

While there is no one single tests that will confirm the fertility, Doctors use a variety of ways to identify any problems that might help cause fertility trouble. If you have any of the following, your doctor will advise you to get this panel test to be done:

• the inability to become pregnant
• an inability to maintain a pregnancy
• an inability to carry a pregnancy to a live birth.

The inability to have children affects couples and causes emotional and psychological distress in both men and women. Various causes of infertility can be hormonal, related to age, exercise, obesity or infectious disease; it can be immunological, psychological, result from surgery or blockage, or genetic.There are two kinds of infertility - primary and secondary:

• Primary infertility: this is when couple has never conceived or had child.
• Secondary infertility: this refers to couple who have conceived before and have trouble later.

Primary infertility is more common than later.

Female infertility can be caused by a number of factors:

Damage to fallopian tubes: Damage to the fallopian tubes (tube that carry the eggs from the ovaries to the uterus) can prevent contact between the egg and sperm.

Disturb menstrual cycle/hormonal causes: many hormones are responsible for synchronised action leading to regular ovulation and periods. Any disturbance in this balance can be due to following causes:

• Polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS): it interferes with ovulation
• Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea:Excessive physical or emotional stress
• Diminished ovarian reserve or premature ovarian aging
• Premature ovarian insufficiency: Female ovaries stop working before she is 40 years of age.

Uterine or cervical causes: structural abnormality of uterus or any other reproductive part

Factors that affect the fertility of both sexes include the following:

• Environmental/occupational factors
• Toxic effects related to tobacco, marijuana, or other drugs
• Excessive exercise
• Inadequate diet associated with extreme weight loss or gain
• Advanced age 

Following hormonal tests are generally performed, along with thyroid tests:

• Estradiol:regulation of the menstrual female reproductive cycles
• Progesterone:regulation of the menstrual female reproductive cycles
• Follicle Stimulating Hormone: Growth And Maturation Of Ovarian Follicles (Eggs)
• Luteinizing Hormone: Along With FSH Responsible For Ovulation
• Prolactin: milk hormone also regulated egg formation
• Thyroid Stimulating Hormone: in addition to regulating thyroid hormones, it also regulates ovarian cycle.

Interpretation:

Management of infertility ranges from counseling and advice to medications and surgery. Counseling of both partners is an important aspect in the management of infertility with medical and psychological support to the couple. Counseling is provided for the healthy life style measures or whatever cause is detected can be treated accordingly such as STI or PCOS. When initial treatments don't work, couple may decide for assisted reproduction technology which includes IUI (Intrauterine insemination) or IVF (In vitro fertilization) or surrogacy.