Can Fertility Treatments Help Balance Hormones?
Fertility treatments are a go-to solution for women and couples who can’t conceive naturally. A variety of factors influence natural conception, including underlying health issues, age, whether a woman has low ovarian reserve, and even a man’s sperm quality. When a couple struggles to get pregnant consistently after several months, seeing a fertility specialist can help pinpoint the issue and develop a treatment strategy to help achieve a “big fat positive” test result. Artificial reproductive technology (ART) refers to a variety of fertility treatments, although most people associate the term with in vitro fertilization (IVF). Known as one of the most successful fertility methods, the process relies on specific medications to help balance hormones. Understanding what certain medications do can help women and couples have peace of mind throughout the IVF cycle.
Hormones for men and women
Most people associate IVF with a woman-specific procedure, given that most of the focus, steps, and medications are targeted towards women. However, in heterosexual couples, a fertility specialist will also test men since male-factor infertility is a real situation that can impact conception. When detected, a man may be diagnosed with low testosterone and given hormones to help lower estrogen. Doing so helps to improve testosterone levels and ultimately improve sperm production.
Regulating menstrual cycles
One of the first steps a woman may undergo in an IVF cycle is to have the menstrual cycle regulated. Because this specific fertility treatment requires precision timing, even a patient who doesn’t suffer from an irregular cycle may still be given birth control to calibrate timing. Doing so can allow a specialist to effectively track ovarian activity, schedule egg harvesting, and determine the right window for embryo transfer. For most women, birth control is prescribed for 1-2 months before beginning an IVF cycle. Since hormonal birth control creates a predictable menstrual cycle, fertility specialists can accurately determine the ovulation window, which controls the timing of all other aspects of the process.
Better ovarian production
In natural conception, a woman will, at most, release 1-2 eggs during ovulation. Since IVF relies on ovarian stimulation, the goal is to boost egg production and release multiple ova simultaneously. Usually, most fertility treatments will only transfer 1-2 eggs to the uterus during a single cycle to minimize the risk of complications to the woman and fetuses. Eggs that aren’t transferred are often frozen for future IVF cycles.
Improving endometrial receptivity
Ovarian stimulation isn’t the last stage at which a woman might be prescribed hormone therapy. For some people, the issue isn’t that embryos can’t be created but rather that after the transfer stage, implantation fails to occur. Often, the concern centers around endometrial receptivity. Certain hormones naturally found in a woman’s body that also influence the menstrual cycle may not be in balance. When this issue occurs, the endometrial lining isn’t thick enough and can’t support implantation or a pregnancy to term. Hormone supplementation can help to correct this problem.
IVF and hormone balances
IVF is often viewed as a straightforward fertility treatment. However, the process relies on not just a specific timeline, but a delicate balance of hormones to achieve a successful pregnancy. Ovulation stimulation is the step that most people associate with hormones, yet multiple stages can be influenced by IVF medications. Hormone levels may be adjusted depending on the individual’s response or side effects and require consistent monitoring to calibrate properly.
