Women and Their Egg Quality

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The theory of reproductive science is quite interesting and it is important at least to have an idea of it. As we are all aware that females posses eggs (in the ovaries) that are fertilized after sexual intercourse, this belief may seem facile to some people, but it is otherwise.

For a woman to get pregnant, she must have competent eggs (many eggs of a good quality) that are joined with the sperms for fertilization. The egg’s quality will determine whether cell division occurs or not.

In case the eggs produced are weak and have a poor quality, a woman will face infertility challenges and she may not conceive naturally.

However, this is not the end of infertile women, especially those who produce insufficient eggs or poor quality eggs and perhaps, there are various treatments to eradicate infertility in women

The theory behind a woman’s eggs

Each month, a woman releases an egg from the ovary that may be fertilized in case of sexual intercourse or may not and that is when menstrual bleeding is experienced.

Girls or women in their teens, twenties and mid thirties have good quality eggs and they have more number of eggs. With age, the number and the quality of eggs reduces and conception is hard at this point.

Egg quality refers to the ability of the egg to develop into an embryo once fertilized. The egg usually has chromosomes, which unite with the sperms to form a zygote and further develop into an embryo. Cell division is a must for a baby to develop.

Cases where the egg is weak and has fewer chromosomes, fertilization may fail to occur and in other cases, if at all it occurs, the egg may die out

The eggs also consist of Mitochondria, which are tiny cell organelles that provide the necessary energy to the egg to join with the sperm and also develop. In case of inadequacy of Mitochondria, there will be infertility problems

Facts you should know about the eggs

Not all eggs are capable of being fertilized, that is why it is important to have more eggs to increase the chances of pregnancy

The number and quality of eggs is reduced by

  • Chemotherapy

  • Radiation therapy

  • Endometriosis

  • Smoking

  • Age

  • Genetic factors

How the Egg quality is tested

It may be difficult to single out the cause of infertility in women, but with the advanced technology, a gynecologist may perform some tests to know whether there are issues with your eggs in the ovarian reserve. The test include;

  1. Day 3 FSH Test

Increased FSH levels will indicate poor quality egg production

2. Clomid Challenge Test (CCCT)

It is conducted to measure the Ovarian Reserve. This particular blood test is conducted when the woman’s FSH level is 10-15 mlU/ml.

Hope for Women (Treatments)

Fertility drugs i.e Clomiphene, Gonadotropin, and bromocroptine are used to boost quality egg development in the ovaries. If the body responds to treatment, natural conception can be assured

In Vitro Fertilization

This procedure will require eggs to be harvested from the woman and viable ones are prepared for fertilization in the laboratory

Donor eggs

It may appear hard, but this can be an option due to failure of other treatments