{"id":5516,"date":"2021-10-28T13:17:41","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T13:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/givelegacy.com\/?post_type=glossary&#038;p=5516"},"modified":"2023-05-05T11:41:48","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T11:41:48","slug":"secondary-infertility","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/fertility-glossary\/secondary-infertility\/","title":{"rendered":"Secondary infertility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Secondary infertility refers to the inability to get pregnant after previously giving birth to one or more children. This condition shares many similarities with primary infertility, including possible causes: impaired sperm production, ovulation disorders, endometriosis, and uterine conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is secondary infertility?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Secondary infertility is defined as the inability to get pregnant after previously giving birth to a baby or babies. Much like primary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/infertility\/\">infertility<\/a>, secondary infertility can be caused by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/ovulation\/\">ovulation<\/a> disorders, endometriosis, uterine conditions, as well as common <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/sperm\/\">sperm<\/a> disorders including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/azoospermia\/\">azoospermia<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/asthenozoospermia\/asthenospermia\/\">asthenospermia<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Secondary infertility is typically diagnosed after six months to a year of failing to conceive through unprotected sex. Many fertility specialists recommend that couples over the age of 35 visit a doctor after six months of failing to achieve pregnancy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Secondary infertility in males and females<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Secondary infertility can be traced back to either male or female partners, and is caused by a number of different factors. In males, impaired sperm production, reduced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/motility\/\">motility<\/a>, or conditions such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/retrograde-ejaculation\/\">retrograde ejaculation<\/a> can all lead to secondary infertility. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/semen-analysis-sa\/\">semen analysis (SA) <\/a>can be done to examine sperm <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/morphology\/\">morphology<\/a>, motility, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/sperm-concentration\/\">concentration<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In females, secondary infertility can be caused by structural problems in the uterus, fallopian tubes, or cervix. In addition, endometriosis and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/chromosome\/\">chromosomal<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/gene\/\">genetic<\/a> disorders can also lead to secondary infertility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In all sexes, age can be a contributing factor in secondary infertility. Age affects both sperm and egg quality, and many people wait one or more years after their first child to try for another. It\u2019s possible that age-related fertility decline could cause issues conceiving a second or third child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Symptoms of secondary infertility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The main symptom of secondary infertility is the inability to get pregnant after having unprotected sex for 6\u201312 months, after having already given birth at least once before.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Treatment of secondary infertility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Couples diagnosed with secondary infertility can turn to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/assisted-reproductive-technology-art\/\">assisted reproductive technology (ART) <\/a>procedures to conceive. Procedures such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/in-vitro-fertilization-ivf\/\">in vitro fertilization (IVF)<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/Intracytoplasmic-sperm-injection-icsi\/\">intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)<\/a> can be very effective in treating common infertility disorders and helping remedy secondary infertility. The first step is diagnosing the root cause of infertility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"glossary","glossary-cat":[],"class_list":["post-5516","glossary","type-glossary","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/5516"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/glossary"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/glossary"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/5516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17211,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/5516\/revisions\/17211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"glossary-cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fglossary-cat&post=5516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}