Infertility issues can be caused by sperm unable to swim through cervical mucus to the uterus.
RCC specialists help diagnose cervical mucus and male infertility issues and can utilize IUI and/or IVF to bypass the cervical mucus to achieve a pregnancy.
Overview
Cervical factor infertility, or male infertility, results when sperm cannot “swim through” the cervical mucus or when antisperm antibodies are present. Antisperm antibodies result when the body mistakenly identifies sperm as harmful pathogens, resulting in an immune reaction to destroy the sperm. Rarely, the male can produce antisperm antibodies to his own sperm, usually because of previous testicular trauma or vasectomy. Products, such as Clomid, can interfere with estrogen production and lead to poor consistency and thickening of the cervical mucus.
Causes of Cervical Mucus Issues
The condition of cervical mucus, effects of medications, quality of sperm, and presence of antisperm antibodies can all negatively impact the sperm’s ability to swim to the uterus.
Treatment Options
IUI
IUI is a first line treatment for cervical factor infertility. Using IUI, specially washed and concentrated sperm, are placed directly into the uterus, avoiding the cervical mucus.
IVF
If the patient does not become pregnant after 3-6 cycles of IUI, the next step is often IVF. This depends upon the cause(s) of infertility among many other factors. It is very important that a trained fertility doctor or specially trained OB/GYN manage IUI cycles to prevent the possible occurrence of multiple births. If more eggs develop than can be safely ovulated, the IUI cycle can sometimes be converted to an IVF cycle. This is another reason why IUI cycles should only be administered by an infertility specialist at an infertility clinic offering IVF. Using IVF, the appropriate number of embryos are transferred to the uterus. Excess embryos can be frozen for future use or donated to another patient through our embryo donation program.
