An infertility specialist is a doctor who specialises in reproductive endocrinology and infertility treatment. This field of medicinal sciences mainly deals with the hormonal issues related to infertility and reproduction both in men and women. An infertility specialist can help people who are having difficulty in conceiving or who are undergoing miscarriage. Fertility consultants may use surgical methods, different medications, or implement different procedures like in vitro fertilisation to treat conditions related to fertility. They use several methods like freezing of eggs or storing of sperms in sperm banks to help their patients have children even if they have received cancer treatments, have crossed their ideal age of conceiving a child, or even are facing issues conceiving.
Some infertility consultants also perform procedures like vasectomy or tubal ligation in order to prevent further pregnancies. Few of the infertility-related concerns that can be treated by fertility consultants include hormonal disorders, ovulation problems, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), abnormal sperm production, endometriosis , blocked fallopian tubes, weight or age-related infertility, fibroids, azoospermia, and fertility issues related to certain genetic conditions.
In order to obtain the designation of a fertility consultant, a person has to complete a five and a half-year course of MBBS and a three-year course of MD or a diploma course in reproductive sciences. Typically, an infertility consultant follows an education trajectory similar to that of an obstetrician–gynaecologist.
