Anovulation

If you are having difficulties becoming pregnant, it may be due to a complication with your egg production. In order to conceive, it is important to have a number of healthy and mature eggs that are ready for fertilization. After trying to conceive for a long time, many women discover that they are actually anovulatory. Anovulation can cause longterm fertility issues and should be treated by a healthcare professional, especially if you are trying to conceive.

What is Anovulation?
Women who do not release an egg from their ovaries every month are suffering from anovulation. Typically, in order to facilitate pregnancy, your ovaries release a matured egg into your fallopian tubes every month . Here, the egg can be fertilized, hopefully resulting in a pregnancy. Women who are anovulatory do not release an egg every month, and instead, release an egg erratically or not at all. This can make pregnancy difficult and result in infertilty.

Symptoms of Anovulation
It can be difficult to realize when you are not ovulating correctly, especially if you are not monitoring your cycles. Some signs of anovulation may include:

• erratic basal body temperature
• excessive bleeding during your periods
• oligomenorrhea
• amenorrhea
• reduction or absence of PMS symptoms

Causes of Anovulation
Anovulation is generally the result of hormonal imbalances in the body. If, for some reason, you have too much or too little of a certain hormone, your brain may not trigger your ovaries to ovulate. A variety of factors can contribute to imbalanced hormone levels in your body:

• breastfeeding
• weight gain or loss
• too much exercise
• anorexia or bulimia
• stress
• frequent travel

Sometimes, underlying medical conditions can cause anovulation to occur. If you cannot find a reason for your anovulation, you should speak with your health care provider in order to have a physical exam. Medical conditions associated with anovulation include:

• polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
• thyroid problems
• pituitary problems

Treatment for Anovulation
If you wish to become pregnant, you will probably have to undergo treatment for your anovulation. Certain treatments may be more effective for you, depending upon the cause of your ovulation problems.

• Eating a proper diet
• Reduction of exercise
• Stress management
• Medications to induce ovulation, such as clomiphene and gonadotropin therapy
• Ovarian wedge resection, in which parts of the ovaries are removed in order to balance hormone levels