Question: if they can't have babies what would you do so they can?

Simon Langley-Evans answered on 11 Nov 2013:

Jem

Good question that has lots of different answers to it. Lots of couples can’t have babies. Sometimes this is because the woman has problems producing eggs that can be fertilised and sometimes the man isn’t making enough healthy sperm. Sometimes this is due to diet. In women, being either very underweight or being obese is the problem and by getting to a healthy level of body fat is enough to become fertile. In men, being very overweight can also be a problem, but having a diet rich in minerals like zinc and selenium might help.

If dietary change doesn’t work the couple might go through what is called assisted reproduction or IVF. This involves collecting eggs from the woman and mixing with sperm from the man in a dish containing a fluid that helps the process of fertilisation. In some cases the sperm may even be injected straight into the egg. If embryos are formed then they can be put back into the woman and hopefully they implant and she becomes pregnant. This treatment only works for about 1 in 3 embryos so doctors generally put 2 or 3 embryos back into the woman. For this reason couples who have IVF are more likely to have twins or triplets.