The compatibility of a couple for conception plays an important role in the development of pregnancy and bearing a child. Experts identify the following factors as signs of incompatibility:
- Lack of conception throughout the year with a regular sex life of the spouses;
- Spontaneous abortion, miscarriage;
- Fetal freezing in utero;
- Stillbirth.
Classification of spousal incompatibility
There are several types of partner incompatibilities. The main ones are genetic incompatibility and immunological incompatibility.
Genetic incompatibility is due to the occurrence of Rh-conflict. The Rh factor is a system of proteins on human erythrocytes that appear at 7 weeks of embryonic development and are inherited from their parents. At the same time, 15% of the population is characterized by the absence of the Rh factor.
On the way to conceiving a child, difficulties can arise if a woman has a negative Rh factor, and her husband's blood is Rh-positive. Rh-conflict occurs if the child inherits the blood of the father. In this case, in response to the ingestion of the Rh factor, Rh antibodies are synthesized in the mother's body, which, interacting with the child's body, contribute to the development of hemolytic disease of the fetus, in severe cases leading to death. The most favorable in this case is the first pregnancy. In subsequent pregnancies, the number of Rh antibodies increases, which worsens the prognosis.
Immunological incompatibility is due to the fact that the immune system of a woman's body perceives male germ cells as foreign agents, producing antibodies to them and preventing them from entering the uterus. Clinically, the pathology is manifested by miscarriages, the inability to conceive. An increased amount of antibodies can also manifest itself as severe toxicosis. The reasons for this condition are considered to be inflammatory processes of the genital organs, hormonal imbalance, a variety of sexual partners in a woman.
Tests to determine compatibility
Analyzes to determine the compatibility of spouses are carried out after a complete examination of a man and a woman and the exclusion of anomalies of development and inflammatory processes in the genitals, which negatively affect conception. One of the obligatory studies recommended if an immunological incompatibility is suspected is a postcoital test, which will show what is the reaction of a woman's body to a man's sperm.
During the diagnosis, the activity and viability of sperm, the physical properties and acidity of the cervical fluid are subject to examination. At the same time, weakly positive and negative results indicate an existing problem, which may be due to both the immunity of the secretion and the low quality of male germ cells.
A repeated negative test is the reason for additional examinations to identify immune disorders. In this case, the amount of antisperm antibodies in the body of the spouses (ASA) is determined. The examination must be carried out in both partners, since the man also has antibodies, but in small quantities. A negative result and the absence of ASA in the blood is the reason for the study of the level of antisperm antibodies in cervical mucus and semen.
The definition of ACA is recommended by WHO as a mandatory examination of men in the presence of infertility. The great diagnostic value of this method is due to the fact that the formation of antisperm antibodies negatively affects various parts of the sperm. This is manifested by a decrease in their ability to penetrate cervical mucus and fertilize an egg. As a result, even the presence of active and morphologically unchanged spermatozoa cannot lead to the development of the desired result.
Due to the fact that antisperm antibodies are also present in the blood of men with confirmed fertility, the MAR test is of great importance, which characterizes the percentage of spermatozoa coated with antisperm antibodies to the total number of germ cells. The obtained positive result can be regarded as a possible cause of immunological infertility.
Services for "incompatible" couples
The clinic K + 31 provides a wide range of diagnostic and treatment services aimed at combating various types of both male and female infertility. Equipping with modern equipment contributes to reliable diagnosis of complex pathology, conducting accurate research. Highly qualified specialists have extensive experience in the use of both conservative methods of treating infertility and the use of in vitro fertilization.
