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Understanding Anovulation

Anovulation is the complete lack of ovulation; it is a condition in which a woman does not release an egg for fertilisation each month during her menstrual cycle. It is a fertility problem which is believed to affect 6% to 15% of women of childbearing age.

Usually, the ovaries release an egg or ovule every menstrual cycle. The released egg travels through the Fallopian tubes where it is usually fertillised and the woman become pregnant. Anovulation often occurs in women who have undergone menopause and who have no eggs left in their ovaries. Menopause usually occurs in women who are around 45 to 55 years old, but some women experience it much earlier.

Causes of anovulation:

Anovulation is often the result of hormonal imbalances in the body. These imbalances affect ovulation and the menstrual cycle, leading to infertility.

Menopause aside, anovulation can be caused by many factors such as breastfeeding, eating disorders, excessive exercise, stress and drug use. Therefore, minimising these factors can help to prevent anovulation.

Anovulation can be caused by underlying fertility problems or other conditions, such as:

Symptoms of Anovulation

Women with anovulation may continue to have periods. It is therefore difficult to identify symptoms of anovulation, although certain symptoms may appear in anovulatory women, such as:

  • Irregular basal body temperature (BBT) pattern
  • Heavy bleeding during periods
  • Lack of menstruation (amenorrhea)
  • Irregular menstruation (oligomenorrhea)
  • Decreased symptoms of PMS
  • No PMS symptoms

Diagnosing and treating anovulation

Your doctor may ask you to record your basal body temperature and you may be asked to take certain blood tests to measure the levels of certain hormones in your blood such as the luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and thyroid-stimulating hormone. Other fertility tests may include a pelvic examination and ultrasound or a laparoscopy.

Anovulation can sometimes be treated by medication, such as clomiphine or gonadotropin therapy to induce ovulation or surgically by removing parts of the ovaries, which is thought to balance fertility hormones.

If there are no eggs left in the woman's ovaries, there are unfortunately no treatments available that will restore fertility, unless a diagnostic error has been made. Unfortunately, if you are suffering from anovulation because of menopause, using DuoFertility will probably not be able to help you get pregnant.

 

Read more about irregular menstrual cycles

Read more about polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

Find out how DuoFertility can help you