Women's Health Services

Infertility -- the inability to achieve pregnancy after a year of trying -- affects about one of every five couples. But 60% of couples who have trouble conceiving will eventually become pregnant, with or without treatment. The goal of treatment is to reduce the time it takes to conceive.

The diagnosis and treatment of infertility requires a thorough assessment of both partners. There are numerous causes of infertility, and often a specific cause cannot be identified.

Common obstacles include:

• Sperm problems, such as absence of sperm, reduced sperm count, reduced sperm movement, and increases in abnormal sperm.
• Problems with ovulation (especially lack of ovulation, or egg production).
• Problems with the fallopian tubes, especially their structure and function, so that the egg cannot travel easily from the ovary to the uterus.
• Problems with the cervix, such as cervical mucus that is inhospitable to sperm.

Treatment depends on the problem, but often involves drugs that enhance ovulation, surgery to correct varicoceles (a common abnormality in sperm-producing structures), and artificial insemination, by which sperm is collected and injected into the woman. If a man has no sperm, donor sperm can be considered for artificial insemination. The technique of in vitro fertilization takes this procedure a step further, by collecting the egg from the woman and placing it in a laboratory dish along with sperm, where it is fertilized and then implanted into the uterus.

While sperm donation and in vitro fertilization have been around for quite a while, other, ever-more-sophisticated infertility treatments are being developed. New procedures, like egg donation, give more women a chance at conceiving a child.

Women’s Health Services
at the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati

The Health Alliance continues to be a leader in women’s health issues using a multidisciplinary approach to the specific care of women.

Through the collaborative efforts of each of our hospitals throughout the Health Alliance, patients and their families receive the most comprehensive and highest quality women’s care available. Our continued commitment to provide the best possible patient care includes clinical research studies, programs of disease prevention, women’s health information services, commitment to community services and outreach activities, programs of research training, and continuing education for health care professionals.

Our vision is simple: "Our women’s services will care for and empower women who are healthy and ill, considering each woman’s physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs."

For more information on the wide variety of women’s services available, please call our toll free number, 1-888-640-CARE.