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目前越来越多的女性选择晚育，而生育能力随着年龄增长而下降，因此推迟怀孕也就意味着许多夫妇将会面临不育。每年都有数百万夫妇与不孕症斗争。很多健康状况会阻碍受孕，但美国妇产科医师学会发表的一项新研究显示，某些情况下缺铁可能增加女性不孕风险。

排卵是指每月从女性卵巢释放一个卵子。当精子使卵子受精时便产生受孕。精子可以在女性生殖道内存活数日，而排卵后卵子仅能存活24小时。

该研究发现，摄铁的女性可将排卵障碍的风险降低50%，摄铁高的女性竟然可将此风险降低70%。

 Lenox Hill 医院的Dr. Jennifer Wu说：“我们发现某种铁蛋白参与了卵子的运输和释放， 因此我们认为铁与排卵或释放健康卵子相关。”他还指出目前还需要做进一步研究，特别是那些已患不孕症的女性。医生需要准确测定患者需要补充多少铁，并有效检测她们接受的正确总量。

“你可从多种维生素中获得铁或直接补充铁剂，” Dr. Wu说道，“你也可以从饮食中摄取铁，如红肉、深绿色的叶子菜如菠菜，如果你是素食者，豆腐也是不错的选择。”

Dr. Wu说，五分之一的育龄女性存在铁缺乏，因此正确的做法是每年拜访医生作贫血的血液检测，防止不孕。

http://www1.whdh.com/features/articles/healthcast/BO35281/

Iron and infertility

Every year, millions of couples battle infertility. A number of health conditions can make conception a challenge. But now, new research has discovered that, in some instances, lack of iron may increase a woman's risk of infertility.

Many women are choosing to have children later in life. And because fertility declines with age, delaying pregnancy also means that many couples will experience infertility.

Now, new research finds iron may be associated with the risk of ovulatory infertility.

"The study found that women who took iron decreased their risk of ovulatory dysfunction by 50 percent," Dr. Jennifer Wu of Lenox Hill Hospital said. "Women, who had high iron intake, actually decreased their risk by 70 percent."

Ovulation is the release of an egg from a woman's ovary every month. Conception occurs when a sperm fertilizes the egg. While sperm can survive for several days inside a woman's reproductive tract, an egg can only survive for up to 24 hours after ovulation.

"We found that there are certain iron proteins that are involved with transport and egg release and things like that," Dr. Wu said. "So, that's how we think that iron is related to ovulation or release of a healthy egg."

Dr. Wu cautions that further studies need to be done, especially in the subset of women who are battling infertility. Doctors need to determine exactly how much iron supplementation a patient would need and how to effectively test that they're receiving the correct amount.

"You can get iron in a multi-vitamin or in a supplement," Dr. Wu said. "You can also get iron from your diet, and that would be things like red meat, dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, also tofu if you're vegetarian."

Dr. Wu says that one in five women of reproductive age are iron deficient. That's why it's a good idea to have blood work done at your annual doctor visit to test for anemia.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has published this research.

http://www1.whdh.com/features/articles/healthcast/BO35281/

编辑：蓝色幻想