All about fertility pills & ovulation

What are fertility pills?
These are drugs used for treating infertility in women with ovulation difficulties. They help the pituitary gland, which is the master gland in the brain, to improve the stimulation causing the development of the eggs in the ovaries.

Included are drugs such as clomiphene citrate (clomid) and letrozole. Letrozole is cleared faster from the body than clomid.

When are they used?
They are not used on people who are already ovulating. Women who need fertility pills are those with anovular (irregular) cycles causing abnormality in their periods and infertility. Women should thus get a go-ahead from their care provider before they start using the drugs.

What is the effect of fertility pills on ovulation?
60 to 80 per cent of all women treated with the pills will ovulate normally. However, only 50 per cent of those ovulating will become pregnant. This is because there may be other additional factors causing infertility. Four or six cycles may be necessary before conception. Before then, adequate treatment has not been achieved.

What causes lack of ovulation with fertility pills?

These can be as a result of one of the following:

• Dosage being too low
• Resistance to fertility pills such that the body is not responding as expected.

Those who do not achieve ovulation cannot be pregnant. They should be investigated further to establish other causes of infertility.

Do fertility pills have side effects?
Side effects occur in 10 to 20 per cent of women. They get hot flushes, nausea, bloating sensation and headaches. Serious side effects like internal bleeding or twisted cysts are rare though they occur. Increased use for more than 12 cycles may predispose one to ovarian cancer.

How are multiple pregnancies associated with fertility drug?
Twin pregnancy may be as high as 10 per cent or even triplets and quadruplets as one uses fertility pills. These multiple pregnancies result from multiple ovulations, which may cause greater risk of intra-abdominal bleeding during ovulation. Multiple pregnancies cause more pregnancy complications.

How do I use the fertility pills properly?
Pills are used for five days in each cycle (normally from day three to day seven of the menstrual cycle).

Am I guaranteed to get a baby when I take fertility pills?
Fertility cannot be guaranteed 100 per cent in most cases. Other than taking the pills, frequent intercourse (every other day) should take place the week before until the week after ovulation, (usually from day nine to day 18 of your cycle).

Patience is also a necessary accompaniment to proper intake of fertility pills. Several cycles may be needed before ovulation. Do not increase your dosage of the fertility pills without consulting your doctor. You must be properly diagnosed. Again, not all infertile cases require pills. There must be clear indicating that it is the only solution.

Note
To start using fertility pills, schedule an appointment with your doctor to establish the drug schedules and the correct dosage.

Accurate monitoring of effectiveness and proper care to ensure possible pregnancy must be ensured.

If a lesser dose does not result in ovulation. dosage is increased in subsequent cycles. If pregnancy does not happen after four to six cycles additional test for infertility should be carried out.

Fertility pills should never be used unless proper indication is given by a professional gynaecologist. No congenital birth defects occur as a result of conceiving after taking fertility pills.

END: PG 23 / 10