Secondary infertility: when the second child does not arrive
When a child does not come without the help of fertility treatments, after having already carried a pregnancy to term, it is referred to as secondary infertility.
When you already have a child you think that having another one is not a problem and that it will arrive on schedule.
That’s not always the case.
Secondary infertility can be as frequent as primary .
Very often women who are looking for a second child without success are told to “settle” for the child they have, thanking the fact that they have at least one. This certainly doesn’t help the couple but rather, if possible, it increases their frustration with feelings of guilt towards women who can’t even have a baby.
These couples, these women and men, have the same rights to want a second child as those who have not yet had a baby.
And there’s no shame in expressing your wishes for motherhood and fatherhood.
The causes of secondary infertility
Age is the leading cause of secondary infertility. The quality of a woman’s egg cells begins to decline after about age 35, whether or not she has had children.
Obviously getting older isn’t the only reason for secondary infertility. Sometimes there are problems from a previous pregnancy, such as adhesions and scarring, or other conditions, such as endometriosis, uterine fibroids, diabetes, or thyroid disease. It may also happen that the woman has changed partners and the new partner has a low sperm count. For this reason, one of the first checks to do is the spermiogram of the new partner, if the woman had already had children previously.
How to proceed
Most doctors usually have patients go through the same process as for primary infertility (checking sperm count, assessing ovulation, checking tubal patency, etc.).
If no obvious cause is found, assisted fertilization is recommended based on the age of the woman if she is no longer very young. Otherwise you follow the path of simpler treatments made of monitored cycles and stimulation with clomiphene (clomid).
Obviously none of these techniques, not even in vitro fertilization, guarantee success. If these techniques should fail, heterologous fertilization remains with the donation of gametes.
Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.
Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.