Doctors called coffee abuse a risk factor for infertility

Sex is more important than physical health

This year, 1250 women and 605 men aged 18-45 took part in the survey. In the concept of “women’s health” respondents of the fair sex put, firstly, the absence of women’s diseases (such as thrush, fibroids, endometriosis, etc.). In second place is the possibility of conceiving and bearing a child; and third, physical and mental health. Physical beauty and youth in this gradation took an honorable last place.

Men, speaking about their health, agree with women in the first two points (in the first place they have the absence of male diseases: impotence, prostatitis, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.), but in the third place they put the opportunity to experience attraction and receive pleasure from sex (only then comes physical and mental health). “Male power is very important for a man,” says VTsIOM representative Kirill Rodin.

In general, women are traditionally more attentive to their health than men. However, the level of concern for various aspects of their health showed other priorities of the respondents. Most of all, the respondents monitor the safety of their sexual life in terms of protection against infections and prevention of unwanted pregnancies. Reproductive health is the least of the respondents’ concerns: only 60% of women and 51% of men follow it (scored from 7 to 10). More than others, they are concerned about the age group of 25-34 years.

“Every fifth woman monitors her reproductive health by only 1-4 points out of 10. And a little more than half of Russian women are sure that they do not have problems that could prevent them from getting pregnant naturally in the future. It turns out that almost half of the respondents are not sufficiently aware of their health status. Given that diseases of the reproductive system are often asymptomatic, an annual visit to the gynecologist could help to detect and prevent them at an early stage. Therefore, Women’s Health Week is a time to remind Russian women of the importance of taking care of their reproductive health,” says Elena Parkhonina, an endocrinologist and expert in gynecological endocrinology.

27% of respondents admitted that they already have health limitations that may not allow them to have children in the future. 58% have no such restrictions (at least they think so).

If we talk about the level of awareness about assisted reproductive technologies (ART), then it is quite high. Almost all respondents have heard about IVF, surrogacy, and egg freezing. At the same time, 71% of respondents fully admit the situation that he personally will someday have to use ART. Of those who reject such a prospect, they name the following reasons: there is already a child; expensive and difficult; harm to health; unnatural; don’t want children; on moral grounds. 53% of men are ready to become sperm donors, and 33% – rather or definitely not.

How many cups of coffee causes infertility

Associate Professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Russian Medical Academy of Continuing Professional Education Yulia Koloda talks about the myths about reproductive health among the population that she encounters in clinical practice. “There are a huge number of myths,” says Yulia Koloda. – It is widely believed that if a woman led a healthy lifestyle, she does not have chronic diseases, then she will be able to conceive and bear a child easily. At the same time, there are a huge number of diseases with a secretive course. For example, chlamydia is asymptomatic, but at the same time it leads to impaired patency of the fallopian tubes. In general, in Russia, sexually transmitted infections are one of the main causes of infertility.”

If we talk about a healthy lifestyle, then it can sometimes cause significant harm to reproductive health. So, if you overdo it with sports, menstruation may disappear. Excess body weight reduces the chances of pregnancy by half, but with a lack of weight, they also decrease! More than 5 cups of coffee per day is a risk factor for infertility, and more than 3 cups is a risk factor for recurrent miscarriage. Baths and saunas can also weaken reproductive abilities, overheating is especially harmful for men – lovers of saunas or baths worsen spermogram readings.

A handsome young sexy man can be infertile, the expert continues. In addition, many of us underestimate the influence of age. “At 30, the chances of conception are half as much as at 20, and at 35 they are already very small. And every year after 35 years, they are rapidly declining. From the age of 40, even using your own eggs, the chances of getting pregnant are only 1-2%. You can try to get pregnant with the help of donor eggs – for example, in India, a case of pregnancy at the age of 75 is described – but the question is how to endure pregnancy at that age and not die before childbirth from a heart attack or stroke, ”continues Yulia Alekseevna.

In Russia, by the way, there are no age restrictions for participation in ART programs at the expense of the state (in many countries such programs have been introduced). Recently, the Federation Council proposed to limit the age of IVF at the expense of compulsory medical insurance for women over 45 years old, but so far this proposal is being discussed. “It is certainly possible to get pregnant after 50, but it is extremely difficult. Isolated cases of pregnancy at 43, 46 years old are described. Women over 40 can only rely on donor oocytes, they no longer have their own. The latest patient in my practice was 53 years old. But for her it was the third child, and the number of such women is increasing. It is hardly expedient and rational to spend money on IVF for women of this age from compulsory health insurance funds. The frequency of live births at 42–43 years is 1–2%. It is better to take care of this problem in advance. The trend of recent years is the assessment of ovarian reserve. This allows you to understand the supply of eggs and helps you make the right reproductive choice, ”says the doctor.

Another common myth concerns the fact that if a woman already has one child, she will definitely become pregnant again (but secondary infertility is an established fact). But many men are sure that if pregnancy does not occur, the woman is to blame. Although according to statistics, the contribution of both to infertility is 40% each, and another 10% is due to combined guilt. 10% of infertility is of unknown origin, examination is needed.

The causes of infertility are varied. In addition to medical, there are others. Sometimes pregnancy does not occur because a man and a woman … rarely see each other (this happens all the time in megacities). For such couples, doctors recommend planning the time of conception – today there are special ovulation tests that will help in this matter.

There are couples who generally live in different cities or even countries. The solution for them is intrauterine insemination, the demand for this procedure has recently increased dramatically. As well as freezing sperm or eggs. “Such trends are observed all over the world. For example, in the UK, the demand for egg freezing is growing at a rate of 280% per year. They can be stored for a long time – in case the woman’s ovarian reserve is exhausted with age or due to diseases. Last year, a British couple gave birth to a baby using eggs that had been stored for thirty years. In addition, the preservation of reproductive material is an insurance against loneliness. For a man, cryopreservation of spermatozoa is insurance against the deterioration of sperm with age. Since autumn, we have seen a surge in demand for such procedures, then there was a slight decline, but now the number of such programs is increasing again. It should be borne in mind that a lot of legal issues must be observed here: the couple decides the fate of the frozen material together, ”says Yulia Koloda.

Another popular reason for infertility is that some couples have a complete lack of understanding of anatomy. That is, how conception occurs, they do not imagine, as if this subject passed them by at school. Doctors say that they have to literally tell the basics of the conception procedure using posters or pictures.

And finally, there are psychological causes of infertility. Studies have shown that the stress level of infertility is comparable to that of cancer. “Often they put pressure on a woman, they say, the clock is ticking, it’s time to give birth. And she is not ready internally, or even does not want children at all. In my practice, there was a patient whose temperature rose to 38 after each embryo transfer procedure. Her mother-in-law put pressure on her, her husband threatened to leave her – but she did not want a child, so psychosomatics worked. 30% of couples become pregnant after unsuccessful IVF attempts – for many, this is just “let go of the situation,” says Yulia Koloda.

…Unfortunately, the prevalence of infertility continues to rise. For 10 years, the number of infertile women in the country has increased by a third, and men – doubled. In Moscow, the growth rate is even higher: in 10 years, female infertility has increased by 50%. The age of pregnancy planning is also growing: now it is 25–30 years. Many rely on ART, but the pregnancy rate with their help is 30-34%.

At the same time, access to reproductive technologies in the world is still low: according to Elena Parkhonina, in 20 years there have been 20 million more women in the world who do not have access to reproductive technologies and family planning; in general, they are not available to every tenth woman in the world. Infertility is a risk factor for endometrial, breast, and ovarian cancer. Doctors remind that modern medicine is preventive, and safe contraception and prevention of sexually transmitted infections are extremely important for women’s health. “Today, safe and reliable contraception remains the main way to preserve the reproductive potential of a woman. From the point of view of effectiveness, oral contraceptives show themselves best. Recently, innovative molecules and drugs have been developed that allow both preventing the development and treating gynecological diseases,” says Yulia Koloda.

And reminds women not to forget about regular preventive screenings, which will avoid many problems.