Obviously, any difficulty in getting pregnant is something that either of a couple may be responsible for, but when we talk about female infertility, there could be several factors that are responsible for infertility in women.
The causes of female infertility could be hormonal, there could be problems with the uterus or the ovaries or there could be lifestyle related factors for this:
Lack of Ovulation: For ovulation to occur, a lot of bodily processes and hormone levels have to function properly. If however there are hormonal imbalances, ovulation will not occur, leading to infertility and the reasons are many:
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause for the ovaries not being able to produce normal follicles for eggs to mature. Because the eggs produced are immature, fertilization and therefore conception cannot take place.
PCOS may manifest itself not only in symptoms such as the inability to get pregnant, but may also have other symptoms such as lack of monthly periods and excessive growth of hair.
Problems with the hypothalamus: Sometimes ovarian failure is caused by malfunctioning of part of the brain which sends the wrong signals to the pituitary gland and which impacts egg maturation.
Premature menopause or primary ovarian insufficiency is also another cause for lack of ovulation. Early menopause is when the ovaries stop working before a woman reaches the age of 40.
Physical problems with the uterus: Sometimes malformation of the uterus or congenital defects present in the uterus may prevent a woman from getting pregnant or may result in repeated miscarriages.
Fibroids and Polyps: These abnormalities in the uterus could also be responsible for a woman being unable to get pregnant.
Fallopian tubes could be blocked due to a number of disorders or diseases such as endometriosis, ectopic pregnancy or pelvic inflammatory disease which could result in the inability to get pregnant.
Abnormality of cervical mucus: Cervical mucus has to be of the consistency and composition that is hospitable to sperm or a pregnancy cannot result.
Lifestyle related issues: Many women wait until age 35 to have children, after which point, the number and quality of eggs in the ovaries is seen to deteriorate. Ability to conceive reduces and chances of miscarriage increase after this age.
Smoking and excess use of alcohol are seem to negatively impact fertility. Being underweight or overweight also lowers fertility. Many sexually transmitted diseases can cause infertility as well.
