Infertility is defined as the inability for a couple to become pregnant after a year of regular, unprotected intercourse. The male partner, the female partner, or both may have a fertility problem. In women younger than 35 years old an evaluation and possible treatment is needed after six months of unprotected intercourse.

A person who is infertile has a reduced ability to have a child. It usually doesn’t mean a person is sterile — that is, physically unable ever to have a child.

For many couples, infertility is a crisis. Fertility problems often come with feelings of guilt or inadequacy. But a diagnosis of infertility is not necessarily a verdict of sterility. Up to 15% of all couples are infertile, but only 1% to 2% are sterile. Half of couples who seek help can eventually bear a child, either on their own or with medical assistance.

Men and women are equally likely to have a fertility problem. In about one in five infertile couples, both partners have contributing problems, and in about 15% of couples, no cause is found after all tests have been done, called “unexplained infertility.”

Menopause is the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle and fertility and is a normal condition that all women experience as they age. It occurs when the ovaries no longer produce estrogen and progesterone, two necessary hormones for a woman’s reproductive cycle to function.

Though it naturally occurs with age, menopause may also come on suddenly as a result of a surgical procedure, treatment of a disease, or illness. In these cases it is referred to as induced menopause.

When menopause occurs naturally, it tends to take place anywhere between the ages of 40 and 58, with an average age of 51. But for some women it can occur as early as the late 30s, or as late as your 60s. When menopause occurs before 35, it is considered premature menopause, but just as menarche is genetically predetermined, so is menopause.

For many women who enter menopause, their menstrual cycle becomes irregular and then stops, and they don’t have any other symptoms. But, for others, the decreasing levels of estrogen associated with menopause may cause more distressing symptoms that include:

• Mood swings
• Decreased sex drive
• Hot flashes
• Sweating
• Racing heart (palpitations)
• Headaches
• Vaginal dryness and soreness
• Trouble sleeping
• Bone thinning (osteoporosis)

These symptoms can last from a few months to up to 10 years

There are many new and changing options available to women today who want to practice birth control. Providers are current on all the new prescriptions including the contraceptive patch, vaginal ring, continuous and non-continuous oral contraceptives, as well as IUDs and permanent sterilization.

Your provider will consult with you to determine which method will be best for you based on your health history, age, smoking history, desire for fertility, lifestyle, and other factors. We can also provide you with information on safe sex methods.

Urinary incontinence, or loss of bladder control, is a frustrating problem for more than 13 million Americans. Never knowing when and where you might have an accident can impact everything from work to exercise to your social calendar. Urinary incontinence affects people of either gender but is twice as common in women. Research suggests that half of older women may have some form of incontinence.

Colposcopy (kol-POS-kuh-pee) is a procedure to closely examine your cervix, vagina and vulva for signs of disease. During colposcopy, your doctor uses a special instrument called a colposcope.

Your doctor may recommend colposcopy if your Pap test has shown abnormal results. If your doctor finds an unusual area of cells during colposcopy, a sample of tissue can be collected for laboratory testing (biopsy).

Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure – If your doctor has told you that you need to have a LEEP procedure, it’s because your annual Pap smear indicated the presence of abnormal cervical cells, or cervical dysplasia. The LEEP procedure is one of several procedures your doctor has available to help diagnose and treat abnormal cervical cells.

LEEP uses a thin wire loop electrode which is attached to an electrosurgical generator. The generator transmits a painless electrical current that quickly cuts away the affected cervical tissue in the immediate area of the loop wire. This causes the abnormal cells to rapidly heat and burst, and separates the tissue as the loop wire moves through the cervix.

This technique allows your physician to send the excised tissue to the lab for further evaluation which insures that the lesion was completely removed, as well as allowing for a more accurate assessment of the abnormal area.

Cryotherapy (or Cervical Cryosurgery) is a gynecological treatment that freezes a section of the cervix. Cryotherapy of the cervix is most often done to destroy abnormal cervical cells that show changes that may lead to cancer. These changes are called precancerous cells. Your gynecologist will probably use the term cervical dysplasia.

Cryotherapy is done only after a colposcopy confirms the presence of abnormal cervical cells. It is performed in your doctor’s office while you are awake.