Symptoms for women can include:

• Abnormal, irregular or painful periods
• No periods
• Skin changes, including more acne
• Changes in sex drive and desire
• Dark hair growth on the lips, chest and chin
• Loss of hair or thinning hair
• Unexplained weight gain
• Hot flashes
• Painful intercourse or inability to have intercourse
• Milky breast discharge

Symptoms for men can include:

• Pain, lump or swelling in the testicles
• Problems with erections and ejaculations
• Small, firm testicles
• Changes in hair growth
• Changes in sexual desire

Yes. Age is the single most important factor that influences a fertility.At age 30, a woman’s chance of conceiving each month is about 20 percent. At 40, it’s about 5 percent.

The quality of a man’s sperm decreases with age starting at age 40. Declining fertility, however, occurs much more slowly in men than in women.

• Take multivitamins. A daily intake of multivitamins can help provide selenium, zinc and folic acid - special nutrients that are important for favourable sperm production and function. A multivitamin usually contains antioxidant vitamins such as C and E, which may help prevent sperm damage.
• Lower stress. Researchers are studying the correlation between stress and sperm production. Stress may also harm sexual function.
• Get regular exercise. It is well known that physical activity is good for overall health; moderate physical activity is good for reproductive health as well.
• Weight management. High-quality sperm is produced when a healthy weight is maintained.

In infertile couples where women have blocked or absent fallopian tubes, or where men have low sperm counts, in vitro fertilization (IVF) offers a chance at parenthood to couples who until recently would have had no hope of having a "biologically related" child.

In IVF, eggs are surgically removed from the ovary and mixed with sperm outside the body in a Petri dish ("in vitro" is Latin for "in glass"). After about 40 hours, the eggs are examined to see if they have become fertilized by the sperm and are dividing into cells. These fertilized eggs (embryos) are then placed in the woman's uterus, thus bypassing the fallopian tubes.

The most common treatments for infertility are intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF). The fertility specialist will evaluate each couple individually and discuss a personalized treatment plan with each couple based on their specific circumstances. In some cases, reassurance may be all that’s needed.

True. A woman is most fertile around one to two days before ovulation (when the egg is released from the ovary). Ovulation occurs on different days for different women. It can vary month to month for many women, and some women can have longer or shorter cycles. Ovulation typically happens for most women 11 to 21 days into a menstrual cycle.

Acupuncture works best when combined with IVF treatments and can significantly increase your chance of conception

Acupuncture has been shown to:

• Improve blood flow to the uterus, which helps the lining grow strong and healthy enough to support an embryo.
• educe and prevent cramping, a common occurrence after an IVF embryo transfer. Cramping is very disruptive to conception, as it can prevent the embryo from implanting in the uterine wall.
• Stimulate egg production, which is helpful for women who can’t (or don’t want to) use fertility medication to help them get pregnant.
• Regulate and stabilize hormone levels, which in turn stabilizes a woman’s reproductive system to increase chances of pregnancy success.
• Reduce the chance of miscarriage after an embryo is implanted in the uterus.
• Reduce stress and promote deep relaxation, which are critical when trying to get pregnant, especially while undergoing traditional fertility treatment such as IVF.