Female infertility: How to perform a self-check

Infertility in Women: How to Conduct a Self-Examination

Infertility can cause significant physical and psychological trauma for women, not only intensifying family conflicts but also increasing social issues. Experts from the Xi'an Infertility Hospital believe that there are many details in daily life that, if noticed carefully, can help identify problems through self-examination. Below is a guide on how women can conduct a self-examination for infertility:

Self-Check 1

Menstrual Disorders: Menstruation coming earlier or later than usual; excessive or insufficient menstrual flow; significantly prolonged menstrual periods.

Reason: Menstrual disorders are often related to endocrine dysregulation, luteal phase defects, and uterine lining inflammation.

Self-Check 2

Amenorrhea: No menstruation by the age of 18; after menstruation begins, continuous cessation of menstruation for more than 6 months.

Reason: Amenorrhea can easily occur due to uterine, ovarian, pituitary, or hypothalamic infertility.

Self-Check 3

Dysmenorrhea: Sudden severe abdominal pain during menstruation for those who previously had no history of dysmenorrhea.

Reason: Conditions such as endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, uterine fibroids, underdeveloped uterus, or abnormal uterine position may cause menstrual cramps.

Self-Check 4

Premenstrual Symptoms: Symptoms such as "breast tenderness," "headache," "swelling," "fever," and "acne" appearing before or after each menstruation.

Reason: These symptoms are caused by endocrine dysregulation leading to luteal phase defect, which can also result in infertility.

Self-Check 5

Abnormal Vaginal Discharge: Increased discharge, yellowish color, unpleasant odor, resembling tofu residue or watery, accompanied by itching or pain in the vulva.

Reason: Often associated with various gynecological inflammations such as vaginitis, cervical inflammation (cervical erosion), endometritis, adnexal inflammation, pelvic inflammatory disease, and various sexually transmitted diseases.

Self-Check 6

Abdominal Pain: Chronic lower abdominal pain, dull pain on both sides, or lumbar-sacral pain.

Reason: Pelvic inflammatory disease, cervical inflammation, oophoritis, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and ovarian tumors may present with abdominal pain symptoms.

Self-Check 7

Breast Galactorrhea: Spontaneous or挤压-induced milk secretion from the breasts during non-lactation periods.

Reason: This condition is associated with hypothalamic dysfunction, pituitary tumors, prolactinomas, primary hypothyroidism, chronic renal failure, and medications such as contraceptives and antihypertensive drugs like reserpine. Galactorrhea often accompanies amenorrhea, leading to infertility.