How Hormones Affect Your Fertility
Have you ever heard of hormonal balance? Most likely, you did. While in college, I heard from some of my friends how their hormonal imbalance was affecting their studies. Was it the truth or just something far-fetched? I honestly don’t know, as I’ve never experienced my hormones having any impact on my studying.
However, there are several studies on how hormones affect your educational process. It might be worth checking out. Maybe the hormone imbalance is causing you to find the best essay writing service via an essay service promo code rather than doing the working assignment on your own.
But the problems with hormones go far beyond being unable to focus on your studies. Especially if you’re female. And it’s not me being sexist or misogynistic. After all, it’s women who can often run into problems with infertility because of hormonal imbalance. And the faster you notice the symptoms of the imbalance, the better. Overall, typical symptoms of hormonal imbalance in women include:
- Irregular periods or absence of them;
- Gaining weight without any obvious reason;
- Unexplained constipation;
- Unexplained diarrhea;
- Severe mood swings.
These are the main reasons you should visit a doctor or get a hormonal imbalance test. Yes, such a thing exists. But what is a hormonal imbalance, after all? And how does it affect your fertility?
While figuring out what it is is quite easy, based solely on the name, how it affects your fertility is a more difficult question. But don’t you worry, I’ve got you covered.
What Is Hormonal Imbalance?
We use over fifty different hormone types to regulate various systems and functions of our body. Hormones control everything from temperature to growth. And it comes as no surprise that hormones also regulate our reproductive system. In other words, the number of reproductive cells or whether you have them at all, pretty much depends on the hormones.
So, we figured out why hormones are important. Now, let’s check out what hormonal imbalance is. It’s the improper quantity of hormones in our body. When our body experiences a limited number or an excessive amount of particular hormones, we are facing a thing known as hormonal imbalance. It can affect everything, from your mental state to your physical state.
The hormonal imbalance that affects the reproductive system can lead to you having difficulties either with conception or with pregnancy. Mind that it’s not solely on you. Men also experience hormonal imbalance, and they can equally be the reason behind the issues with conception. But we are talking about women today.
Main Hormones That Affect Fertility
The imbalance of several particular hormones can cause infertility or problems with conception and pregnancy. The most important of them is the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).
You maintain the menstrual cycle regularly thanks to this hormone. Hence, it’s the hormone responsible for healthy ova production. If you are experiencing problems with menstruation frequency or libido, it’s better to check if your level of FSH is okay.
Yet, irregular menstruation and problems with libido can be a sign of another hormone’s imbalance. Luteinizing hormone, or LH, is another important hormone when it comes to fertility. Actually, both LH and FSH are produced by the same gland in your body. This hormone is responsible for the release of the ovum that is ready for fertilization. I guess you can figure out that an imbalance of it makes the prospect of pregnancy far less likely.
The anti-müllerian hormone is responsible for maintaining immature ova that can become one's ready to be fertilized. The decline of this hormone generally comes with age. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t worry about it. Around 5% of women are affected with AMH decline even at a young age.
Imagine finally getting pregnant and waiting for your baby, just to end up having a miscarriage. That is scary, sad, and painful. And what was the reason? In most cases, if it’s not defective embryos, it’s the decreasing level of progesterone, the hormone responsible for preparing the ovum for fertilization and preventing uterine muscles from rejecting the egg.
When to Test for Hormonal Imbalance?
Should you get tested for hormonal imbalance after reading this article? I’m not that sure. After all, everything depends on why you are here.
You’ve been experiencing certain problems, started googling, and ended up here? Then, yes, you should test for hormonal imbalance. If you’re reading this because you were simply browsing through the web and this article caught your eye, there are a few things that you should know.
There’s no reason to check whether you have a hormonal imbalance, just in case. However, if your menstrual cycles are irregular, you should consider, aside from everything else, getting tested for hormonal imbalance. Yes, you may be busy with other things, but if you’re planning to have babies at a certain point in life, it’s better to make sure that everything is alright with hormones.
Another good reason to get tested for hormonal imbalance is when you and your partner are trying to conceive a baby between six months to a year with no results. Mind that in a case like that, you should get tested both. We are talking mainly about women here, but a hormonal imbalance in men also affects your chances of getting pregnant.
Closing Thoughts
So, now you know what hormonal imbalance is and how it may affect your fertility. You also know the decreasing level of hormones causes the imbalance. Finally, you’ve learned when to get tested for hormonal imbalance.
Have I forgotten anything? Yeah, how to treat it? You might think. But I haven’t forgotten about that aspect. I skipped it deliberately, as the treatment of hormonal imbalance pretty much depends on the particular hormone that you have problems with.
So, if you notice signs of hormonal imbalance, get tested, and your doctor will tell you what to do with it.
Author’s Bio
Janna Smith is an English major pursuing an MA degree. She’s keen on writing and believes in the power of lifelong learning and clear communication. Janna realizes every student should be able to get academic support and guidance. That’s why, besides blog posting, Janna creates the best research paper writing service reviews for academic writing websites at NoCramming.