Is Infertility more than just eggs and sperm? here’s what you may not know by Dr Vivek Kakkad, Fertility Specialist at Birla Fertility & IVF, Ahmedabad

When we think of infertility, we often imagine something purely biological like an egg, a sperm, or the meeting point where life begins. But the truth is, fertility is rarely that simple.

Often we see couples with perfectly healthy eggs and sperm who still struggle to conceive. That’s because infertility doesn’t exist in a vacuum, it lives in the body, yes, but also in the mind, in daily habits, and in the environment, we live in.

Stress and the Weight of the Mind
One of the biggest factors we overlook is stress. High stress can disrupt hormone signals, delay ovulation, and reduce sperm production. But the emotional strain doesn’t just stop there. When couples undergo months, or years, of failed attempts, the pressure mounts. Intimacy suffers, decision-making becomes harder, and even the best medical plans can fall short if the emotional support isn’t in place.

Lifestyle, Nutrition, and Hidden Toxins
Fertility can be deeply affected by things such as weight, diet, and sleep. Being underweight or overweight, for example, can interfere with hormone levels that control ovulation or sperm health. Add to that exposure to everyday chemicals like pesticides, plastics, even cosmetics, and you begin to see how modern life complicates biology.

What Medicine Might Miss
Sometimes, it’s not what we see on a scan or a test result, but what we can’t. Mild chronic inflammation, minor uterine infections, autoimmune reactions – these don’t always show up easily but can impact implantation or early development. Even subtle issues like endometrial thickness or uterine microbiome imbalances are now being studied for their role in failed cycles.

It’s Not Always “Unexplained”
“Unexplained infertility” often just means “not yet understood.” It reminds us that we’re still learning, and that treatment must go beyond just medication or procedures. Real fertility care means listening to the whole person, not just the test results. Because at the end of the day, this journey isn’t just about eggs and sperm, it’s about everything that makes you human.