Ovaries not only produce eggs; they also produce the female reproductive hormones.
The most important of these are estrogen and progesterone. These hormones are produced by granulosa cells
lining the inside of the follicles in which the eggs will mature.
The function of these cells and the
production of the female hormones is dependent on the biological health of the egg inside any given follicle.
Normal quality eggs equates to normal hormonal levels and vice versa.
The egg quality is the most important factor determining the female fertility potential.
At birth, a newborn girl has approximately two million eggs within her ovaries. By the time she starts
ovulating, she has about 400,000 eggs remaining. From that point on, the ovaries lose approximately 30
eggs a day.
During her reproductive years, a woman will ovulate only approximately 400 eggs. When there is only a
small portion of the eggs remaining, the highest quality eggs have already been lost. This is why
conceptions stop before menopause starts.
One of the causes of female infertility is ovarian dysfunction which always refers to the quality of the remaining eggs within the ovaries. In other
words, one really cannot have perfect egg quality and at the same time "inadequate" hormonal production.
Treatments of female infertility due to ovarian dysfunction should be aimed at increasing the likelihood of producing as many healthy
eggs as possible rather than "subsidizing" the hormonal production.
At Nova IVF, for many years, we have been using Reproductive Hormone Assay and ultrasonic ovarian assessment to guide us in selecting the most successful
treatment protocol for ovarian dysfunction.
Please contact us if you would like any additional information regarding female infertility due to ovarian dysfunction or any other areas of
infertility.
