It is important that men and women know that marriage at appropriate time has influence on reproduction. The best time for reproduction in women is between the ages of 20 and 35 years. Earlier than 20 years, pregnancy may be fraught with some medical complications. Later than 35 years, pregnancy is also fraught with a lot of medical complications, in addition to higher risks of congenital abnormalities in the children.
Aside these, the older a woman gets (especially after 35 years), the more difficult it is for her to achieve pregnancy, even when there is no obvious problem with either the man or the woman. This is due to ageing of the eggs. Women interested in bearing children, therefore, need to bear this in mind as they pursue their career and life ambitions.
For men, ageing may not necessarily have similar effects on them as it does to women, but it no doubt has its own effects. It has been noted that the quality of sperm reduces with ageing. In addition, medical or surgical problems like hypertension, diabetes, prostate enlargement etc may set in with ageing.
The treatment for these ailments may have significant impact on achieving erection or the quality of the sperm produced. So, when men and women think career, they should also think reproduction.
Couple living miles apart, due to work, may not be friendly to achieving pregnancy. Couples need to find a balance between work and having children.
With recommendation of minimum of three days of sexual activities in a week to ensure adequate sexual exposure for a year before diagnosing infertility, it is doubtful that couples not living together can achieve this.
Women who are overweight / obese or underweight are at risk of ovulation disorder. Both extremes of weight have been known to contribute to infertility. When eggs are not available for fertilization, pregnancy will be impossible. Eating healthy diet, engaging in regular exercise and avoidance of sedentary lifestyle can help in maintaining healthy weight.
Cigarette smoking has been shown to have negative effects on general health and fertility in particular. It has effects on both men and women. It contributes significantly to miscarriages too.
Alcohol has been noted to have effects on both male and female fertility. Reduction or abstaining from alcohol may help improve the ability of a couple to achieve pregnancy.
Unprotected sexual intercourse is the source of sexually transmitted infections (STI) such as Chlamydia and gonorrhoea which may damage the reproductive tract if not promptly and appropriately treated.
Complete abstinence from sexual intercourse before marriage is desirable as this prevents a woman from getting STI. However, if this is not possible, regular and consistent use of condom is important to prevent transmission of infection from one partner to another.
Whenever a woman discovers symptoms of sexually transmitted infection such as abnormal vaginal discharge, lower abdominal pain, itching around the vulva area, associated with fever etc, she should present at an appropriate health facility where her condition can be appropriately diagnosed and treated.
Failure to do this may lead to the infection damaging vital structures along the reproductive tract and resulting in infertility later in life.
It is better to use contraception to avoid pregnancy than attempting to voluntarily terminate pregnancy when it has already formed. Due to the fact that many voluntarily terminated pregnancies are done by quacks, some women sustain irreversible damage to the uterus or other parts of the reproductive tract during the process.
Sometimes, such damage is so enormous that the uterus may have to be removed in order to save the woman’s life. If this happens, it means the woman’s reproductive career has ended.
For those not so severe, infection of the reproductive tract may set in due to the contaminated instruments used for the procedure and this infection may damage the reproductive tract, thereby rendering it useless for the purpose of reproduction.
