4 Explanations for Unexplained Infertility
Infertility can be a heart-wrenching journey for so many people. While some infertility has a clear cause like PCOS or low sperm count, some people get told they have “unexplained infertility”. I personally do not subscribe to this term because so many things could be the underlying explanation that your doctor may be overlooking.
In this post, we are going to cover the four most common explanations for unexplained infertility that I have found with my clients. If you are waiting for that elusive stork to stop by, consider these unconventional culprits and holistic strategies to challenge this diagnosis.
Hormonal Birth Control - The Silent Saboteur
You would think birth control is your best friend, right? It is actually quite a troublemaker when it comes to your long term fertility. Hormonal birth control uses synthetic estrogen and progesterone to suppress your body’s natural ovulatory cycle. If you are looking to not be pregnant, that sounds great! After years of taking it, your body eventually stops making its own estrogen and progesterone or may start making them at inappropriate times leaving your natural hormonal cycle a total trainwreck.
Flash forward to ten years on birth control and you are finally ready to make a baby! But coming off of these high impact drugs leaves your body unsure what a natural cycle looks like. As it tries to ovulate for the first time, it may lead to multiple periods per month or for some - no periods for many months. Some or all of the ovulation cycles and periods following long term use are not actually producing viable eggs to fertilize - if any at all.
It can take years to get your body back to a normal, happy cycle after long term birth control use. Many providers do not consider this in their practice or even ask their patients about birth control use before labeling them with unexplained infertility. Following long term use, a detox process and time will help reset your cycle.
The Inflammatory Intruders
Inflammation might be the key to why the stork has not made a stop at your place yet. Inflammation can be caused by sensitivity to foods you eat, chemicals you use or even lifestyle choices and diagnoses you know about. When the body finds something it does not like, it releases pro-inflammatory molecules like cytokines and prostaglandins which suppress menstruation.
Inflammation is also a key player in disorders like PCOS and Endometriosis, which are common culprits of infertility. Often your testing for things like PCOS and Endometriosis come back negative even though the early stages of the process have already taken effect. Chronic inflammation can also create a hostile environment in the uterus making it difficult to implant a fertilized egg.
If you have a disorder like Lupus, Psoriasis or Lyme that you know causes inflammation, it is key to do what you can to reduce the inflammation. A great place to start is with a food sensitivity test or home environmental testing. If you are continually taking in things that your body is sensitive to, inflammatory molecules will constantly be wreaking havoc on your body. Removing the things you are sensitive to is pertinent to reducing inflammation!
Not-So-Friendly Hormones
High Androgen sounds like a sci-fi movie villain, but it really just means that your ovaries are overproducing testosterone. While a low level of testosterone is part of a healthy hormone cycle, having too much of it creates unhealthy follicles and can put an end to ovulation. This is most commonly diagnosed as PCOS.
But what if the tests are all negative?
If your provider did not do a test that was a multiple step process throughout your entire cycle, then it is possible the high testosterone level was hiding somewhere in the cycle. It is also possible that your levels were “within normal limits”, but higher than normal for your body. The normal limits of any hormone test is based on a large population and is also a range. If your base level is usually much lower than normal, then a small amount of testosterone could be throwing you off.
The key here is balancing your hormones through natural means like herbs, supplements, lifestyle changes or holistic providers.
The Fertility Frenemy
Chronic stress can seriously sabotage your baby-making plans. When you are chronically stressed, your body begins releasing cortisol on a consistent cycle. This raised cortisol level will put an end to ovulation because your body is not meant to make a baby while it is in a perceived state of danger.
While you may not think that the stressors of your daily life are dangerous, your body cannot tell the difference between a lion and a high-stress home or work environment. When cortisol is released, it turns on functions like dilating your eyes to see more danger and turns off unnecessary functions like reproduction.
If you would rate your daily stress level over a 4 or if the stress keeps you up at night, finding a way to mitigate this problem and restore balance to your life is crucial. No babies will be made in a body actively in fight-or-flight mode.
Unexplained infertility might be a head-scratcher, but it is certainly not unexplained. It just takes more time, focus and history to get to the bottom of what is going on. Hormonal birth control, inflammation, androgen levels and chronic stress are all culprits worth digging into if you are struggling to get pregnant. There are many holistic providers like me who can and will help you navigate this process and make sustainable changes. Remember that you are not alone in this journey or this diagnosis. You’ve got this!
