Location:
Call: 040 4488 5333
[email protected]

21 May, 2018

Know more about infertility evaluation

If you and your partner have been having difficulties getting pregnant after trying for a long time, and if you have any other health conditions, you may be advised to go for infertility evaluation. In most cases, your doctor may ask you to seek evaluation if:

  • You’ve been having regular, unprotected intercourse for over one year (or six months if the female partner is over 35) and still not pregnant.
  • The woman has had irregular or painful periods, a history of abdominal or pelvic surgery or miscarriage.
  • The man has a history of low sperm count, poor motility, or abnormal morphology (irregular shape of the sperm cells).

When your doctor suggests you and your partner go for infertility evaluation, here’s what you can expect:

WHAT TO EXPECT

Around 40 percent of infertile couples have more than one cause of infertility, or may have unexplained infertility. A complete evaluation involves several visits by both partners, to one or more infertility experts. Before testing, the fertility doctor will need to know the complete medical history of both you and your partner. The doctor will ask questions related to previous surgeries, chronic illnesses, and hospitalizations, and will inquire about any previous testing or treatment you’ve had for fertility-related disorders.

Apart from these, you and your partner may be asked to provide a detailed account of your reproductive history, which may include information about previous pregnancies, miscarriages, elective abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). It is important to be completely honest with your doctor, even if you are uncomfortable with the questions. This will help your doctor get to the root of the problem quickly.

INFERTILITY TESTING FOR MEN

The male evaluation for infertility may involve:

  • A thorough physical exam, including an examination of the external genitals and rectal area to identify structural abnormalities.
  • Blood tests to rule out certain diseases and STDs, and to determine the level of testosterone and other hormones in the blood.
  • Urine tests to rule out problems such as diabetes and kidney infection.
  • Semen analysis to check sperm count, motility, and morphology, as well as other factors.
  • A small biopsy of the testicles, in case a semen analysis shows that no sperm is present.

The male partner may be asked to go for a Doppler ultrasound or venography (an X-ray of the testicular veins) if the doctor suspects that a man has varicocele.

INFERTILITY TESTING FOR WOMEN

The tests for women may be more complicated and invasive, and may take three to four cycles to complete. Some of the tests include:

  • A full physical, including a pelvic exam, screening for STDs (such as chlamydia), blood tests, and urine tests.
  • An ovulation evaluation, which involves one to two months of charting, with an ovulation-detection kit.
  • A series of blood tests at varying points in the menstrual cycle to evaluate hormones.
  • Pelvic ultrasounds to monitor follicle growth and the release of healthy eggs.
  • A hysterosalpingogram to show the shape of the uterus and determine whether the tubes are open.
  • An endometrial biopsy to investigate hormonal imbalances that can cause irregular cycles, repeated miscarriages, or irregular uterine bleeding.

In certain cases, a doctor will perform a laparoscopy to either confirm or rule out the presence of endometriosis, a disorder in which the endometrial tissue is found outside the uterine cavity. Sometimes, the postcoital test (PCT) is also sometimes done to test the quality of a woman’s cervical mucus and to see how well a man’s sperm interacts with it.

To understand the process of infertility evaluation better, talk to our experts at KIMS Cuddles for guidance and support.

 

*Information shared here is for general purpose Please take doctors’ advice before taking any decision.

SIMILAR ARTICLES

blog featured image

29 July, 2026

Irregular Periods: When to Investigate

Period irregularity is something many women experience at some point, and most learn to live with it, at least for a while. A late period during a stressful month, a lighter cycle after illness, a missed period after a long flight. These variations are common and usually self-correcting. The problem is that irregular periods are also how the body signals conditions that genuinely need attention, and because the irregularity can feel familiar, it is easy to keep waiting for things to normalise when they never will without proper evaluation.Knowing where the line sits between normal variation and something worth investigating is genuinely useful.What counts as irregularA normal menstrual cycle runs anywhere from 24 to 38 days, measured from the first day of one period to the first day of the next. Variation of up to eight days between the shortest and longest cycle is considered normal. Lengths ranging between 8 and 20 days of variation are considered moderately irregular, and variation of 21 days or more is considered very irregular.Changes outside the cycle length are also irregular. Periods that are either much heavier or lighter than normal, periods that are much longer or shorter than normal, periods between periods, and periods that are absent altogether, in a woman not pregnant, breastfeeding, or in menopause,
Read More
blog featured image

29 July, 2026

Fertility Decline: What Women Should Know

Conversations about fertility tend to happen too late. Women often begin thinking seriously about their reproductive timeline only when they are ready to conceive. At this point, some of the most important biological facts have already been playing out for years without their awareness. The decline in female fertility with age is one of the most consistently misunderstood aspects of reproductive health, and the gap between what women know and what the biology actually shows is significant.This is not about creating anxiety. It is about giving women accurate information early enough to make genuinely informed decisions.The Fundamental BiologyA woman is born with all the eggs she is going to have in her lifetime. Her eggs age with her, decreasing in quality and quantity. Age is the single most important factor affecting a woman's fertility.Females are born with a finite number of oocytes. The number of oocytes peaks in the womb at around 20 weeks of gestation and subsequently declines steadily until approximately age 32, after which the number decreases at a greater rate until age 37, beyond which oocyte numbers drop even more rapidly.This is not something that can be slowed by fitness, diet, or general good health. Even though women today are healthier and taking better care of themselves than ever before, improved
Read More
blog featured image

29 July, 2026

PMOS: Causes Beyond Hormones

Most patients understand Polycystic Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, or PMOS, as a hormonal condition. Irregular periods, elevated androgens, and ovarian cysts on an ultrasound. The hormonal picture is real, but it is only part of the story. Decades of research have made it increasingly clear that PMOS is far more complex than a hormonal imbalance in isolation. It involves the metabolic system, the immune system, the gut, and genetics, all interacting in ways that produce a condition that looks different in every woman who has it.Understanding the fuller picture of what causes PMOS matters because it changes how the condition is managed and why lifestyle interventions work as well as they do.What PMOS Actually InvolvesPolycystic Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome is a complex endocrine and metabolic disorder, typically characterised by hirsutism, hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction, menstrual disorders, and infertility. The name itself reflects what the condition truly is. The metabolic component is not secondary to the ovarian and hormonal picture. It is central to it. Treating the hormonal symptoms without addressing the underlying metabolic drivers is one reason PMOS management often produces only partial results.Insulin Resistance Sits at the CentrePMOS insulin resistance, where cells throughout the body fail to respond normally to insulin, is considered the primary pathological basis for the reproductive dysfunction seen in PMOS.
Read More
Loading booking..