JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Roughly 48 million couples struggle with infertility, according to Cleveland Clinic.
For National Infertility Awareness Week, a local couple shared with News4JAX their struggle to overcome infertility, and an expert offers advice for those who are having trouble conceiving.
Michael and Ashley Tato knew their lives were about to change forever when they learned they were having a baby.
“It feels like we’re more whole… not that just us two wasn’t great but we have this little piece of the two of us that is just absolutely perfect in our eyes,” the Tatos said.
Their daughter, Lucianne, is now 4 months old, but her arrival was a long time coming.
Ashley was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2009. It’s a condition that makes it difficult to conceive.
For years, she tried to conceive naturally but could not get pregnant. She began to consider life without a child, and Michael admitted he began to doubt too.
“I would say it crossed my mind but like I never really thought that it was never going to happen,” Michael said.
His faith proved justified after the Tatos visited Brown Fertility and started invitro fertilization treatment with Dr. Samuel Brown, the clinic’s medical director.
“Infertility is really common. In general, it’s one out of eight couples -- that’s 15% of us,” Brown said. “But if the couple or the woman is 40, then 50% of those couples will have infertility.”
The Cleveland Clinic says there are many common causes of infertility in both men and women.
Some include:
- Age
- Chronic conditions and diseases
- Obesity
- Sexually Transmitted Infections
- Substance Abuse
Brown explained that it all starts with taking a closer look at those factors and figuring out what works for each couple.
“When couples come in, it’s not in your face IVF,” Brown said. “Let’s do testing first. Let’s see what’s going on. Is it a sperm problem, an egg problem, a tube problem, what’s going on? Is she ovulating properly? And the majority of the time it’s something simple, and they don’t have to do many aggressive treatments or expensive treatments.”
Brown said couples typically see him after they have been struggling to conceive for one to two years, but there’s no exact timeframe.
If you’re curious about your reproductive health, you can also get tested ahead of time.