A book for midwives

How women become pregnantInfertility has many causes. Some cannot be prevented. Butmany causes of infertility are preventable.• Sexually transmitted infections can leave scarsinside a man’s or woman’s reproductive partsthat prevent pregnancy.• Illnesses such as diabetes, tuberculosis,malaria, and mumps can cause infertility.• Dangerous chemicals frompesticides, cleaning products, orfactories can get into the air, water,or food. These chemicals can make itdifficult for a woman to get pregnant,or can harm the growing baby.Even washing clothes that have dangerouschemicals on them can harm fertility.• Smoking, chewing tobacco, drinking a lot of alcohol or using drugs can allharm fertility.There are other causes of infertility that are not preventable. To learn more, lookat a general health book like Where Women Have No Doctor.MenopauseWhen women grow older, they stop bleeding each month (menopause). They alsostop producing eggs and lose the ability to become pregnant.This may happen suddenly, or slowly over 1 or 2 years. Formost women, menopause happens when they are between45 and 55 years old.During menopause, many women have some of these signs:• changes in monthly bleeding before it stops completely• suddenly feeling very hot and sweaty (hot flashes)• vagina becomes smaller and more dry• sudden changes in feelingsMany women are relieved when they do not have to worryabout pregnancy anymore. As elders, women can share thewisdom of their years of life experience.Men make sperm through most of their lives, even whenthey are very old.A Book for Midwives (2009)31