One of the first infertility questions women will ask is what are the symptoms of infertility? The obvious first symptom is the inability to conceive a baby. Most of the time, this is realized after a long period of trying. After many tests and exams the diagnosis of “infertility” is made. Here are a few symptoms to be looking for.

Abnormal Basal Body Temperature
Either basal body temperatures that are too low or too high is indicative of infertility. High temperatures in the first half of the cycle could be caused from low estrogen or hyper-active thyroid. Low temperature in the first half could mean too high of estrogen. Low temperature in the 2nd half could mean low progesterone. In both cases of low temperatures hypo-active thyroid could be to blame.

Absence of Fertile Quality Cervical Fluid
Fertile quality cervical fluid is very important around ovulation. It helps the sperm to reach the egg. Hormone imbalances are normally to blame for this – usually low estrogen.

Absence of Menstrual Bleeding
This along with a negative pregnancy test is a symptom of infertility. If you go for months with little to no bleeding then something isn’t right. This is a result of anovulation (not ovulating), LUFS or PCOS. You can also spot this if your temperature doesn’t shift upwards – (upward shift indicates ovulation has occurred).

Luteal Phase Defect
A good luteal phase (the time from ovulation to menstruation) should be more than 10 days. If it's less, this is a defect. In order for a pregnancy to take hold the fertilized egg needs around 10 days to burrow into the uterine lining and to start to build the placenta. A luteal phase defect is normally caused from low progesterone and can easily be remedied.

Pain
Pain in the pelvic area is a sign of infertility. This could be caused from endometriosis, fibroid tumors, infection or PCOS.

Symptoms of Infertility for Men
Men are harder to diagnose for infertility because other than impotence, there are no symptoms. A man normally discovers he’s infertile when a semen analysis is done.

For more infertility questions click here.