Menstruation Disorders
Antenatal care
Endometriosis
Recurrent miscarriage
Contact Us

Infertility

If you and your partner are struggling to have a baby, you’re not alone. Millions of people around the world face the same challenge. Infertility is the medical term for when you can’t get pregnant despite having frequent, unprotected sex for at least a year for most couples.
Infertility may happen because of a health issue with either you or your partner, or a mix of factors that prevent pregnancy. But many safe and effective treatments can boost your chances of getting pregnant.

Request an appointment

During fertilization, the sperm and egg unite in one of the fallopian tubes to form a zygote. Then the zygote travels down the fallopian tube, where it becomes a morula. Once it reaches the uterus, the morula becomes a blastocyst. The blastocyst then burrows into the uterine wall — a process called implantation.

The male reproductive system makes, stores and moves sperm. The testicles produce sperm. Fluid from the seminal vesicles and prostate gland combines with sperm to make semen. The penis ejaculates semen during sexual intercourse.

The ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix and vagina (vaginal canal) make up the female reproductive system.

Fertilization and implantation
Male reproductive system
Female reproductive system

Fertility medicine encompasses various medical interventions and treatments aimed at assisting individuals and couples in achieving pregnancy.
These treatments address a wide range of fertility conditions, which can be caused by various factors.​

  • Cause: Hormonal imbalance, often involving high levels of androgens.
  • Symptoms: Irregular menstrual cycles, excessive hair growth, acne, weight gain, and ovarian cysts.
  • Treatments: Lifestyle modifications (diet and exercise), oral contraceptives, fertility medications (clomiphene citrate, letrozole), and assisted reproductive technologies (ART) like in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
  • Cause: Presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus.
  • Symptoms: Pelvic pain, painful periods, heavy bleeding, and infertility.
  • Treatments: Pain medication, hormonal therapies (birth control pills, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists), laparoscopic surgery to remove endometrial tissue, and ART.
  • Cause: Hormonal imbalances, such as irregular or absent ovulation.
  • Symptoms: Irregular menstrual cycles or lack of menstruation.
  • Treatments: Fertility medications (clomiphene citrate, letrozole) to induce ovulation, lifestyle changes, and ART if other treatments fail.
  • Cause: Reduced number or quality of eggs in the ovaries, often related to aging.
  • Symptoms: Irregular menstrual cycles, difficulty conceiving.
  • Treatments: Fertility medications (gonadotropins) to stimulate egg production, IVF with donor eggs, or other ART options.
  •  
  • Cause: Abnormal sperm production, function, or delivery.
  • Symptoms: Usually no apparent symptoms, but infertility may be present.
  • Treatments: Assisted reproductive techniques such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), in vitro fertilisation (IVF) with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), surgical interventions, and lifestyle changes.
  •  
  • Cause: Blocked or damaged fallopian tubes, often due to pelvic inflammatory disease or endometriosis.
  • Symptoms: Often no apparent symptoms, but infertility may be present.
  • Treatments: Surgical interventions to repair or unblock the fallopian tubes, ART (IVF) if the tubes cannot be repaired.
  •  
  • Cause: Abnormalities of the uterus, such as uterine fibroids, polyps, or structural abnormalities.
  • Symptoms: Menstrual irregularities, recurrent miscarriages.
  • Treatments: Surgical interventions to remove or correct uterine abnormalities, hysteroscopy, or ART.
  •  
  • Cause: The cause of infertility remains unknown despite thorough evaluation.
  • Symptoms: No apparent symptoms, but inability to conceive.
  • Treatments: Fertility medications, ART (IVF, ICSI), and other techniques to improve chances of conception.
  •  

Diagnosis and Treatment

Fertility for women relies on the ovaries releasing healthy eggs. The reproductive tract must let an egg pass into the fallopian tubes and join with sperm. Then the fertilized egg must travel to the uterus and attach to the lining. Tests for female infertility try to find problems with any of those steps.

Tests for women

Hysterosonography

During hysterosonography (his-tur-o-suh-NOG-ruh-fee), you have a thin, flexible tube called a catheter placed in the uterus. Salt water, also called saline, is injected through the flexible tube into the hollow part of the uterus. An ultrasound probe transmits images of the inside of the uterus to a nearby monitor.

Hysteroscopy

During hysteroscopy (his-tur-OS-kuh-pee), a thin, lighted instrument provides a view of the inside of the uterus. This instrument also is called a hysteroscope.

Contact Us

Netcare Park Lane Hospital,
14 Cnr Junction Avenue & Park Lane,
Parktown, 2193

Telephone: +27 11 484 9300
Telephone: +27 11 480 4187
Cell: +27 69 697 1142

Our Links