What would make a woman infertile?

Injuries don't normally stop the menstrual cycle, unless the ovaries are lost. That would be an awfully drastic injury. What you need is something that makes the woman incapable of conceiving, which is not the same thing.

Very nasty abuse could do it, by injuring the internal organs. That would definitely qualify as a hostile action.

Infections will often do it, by scarring and blocking the fallopian tubes, so that the ova can no longer descend to the uterus. That would not qualify as a hostile action, mind you, but it would also be less traumatic, therefore less interesting and less likely to turn the subplot into something more. But that is your call, of course.

Infections, maybe she was forced to eat something toxic that ate away at her insides.

Polycystic Ovaries. Caused without external factors, just happens. I speak from personal experience, PM me if you want to know more like the woman's possible reactions to it (but there's a ton of info on the internet). In a low-tech world it would probably be undetected.

Chemotherapy or radiation can result in infertility. Now, I know you did not want it related to an illness, but you could use this. Like she was just exposed to radiation from a town plant as a youth - before the town became aware of a radiation leak?

ETA: Link

http://www.med.nyu.edu/patientcare/library/article.html?ChunkIID=11867#causes

Click on that link, click on CAUSES link - scroll down. It lists several things (occupational - like exposure to chemicals in work place) and ingestion of medications (Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen,
Pain medications, Hormones, Antibiotics, Antidepressants).

There are a lot of things to pick from on that link.

Good luck and hope this helps!

Christine

What about starvation? If her weight drops low enough, her menstrual cycle will stop. Not exactly an injury, but could be a hostile action. Say if she was locked up and starved? Then, take her out, feed her up, give her system time to adjust and things should straigten out.

Since this is fantasy and you want the resulting infertility to be from a hostile action, would it be possible to have someone your character trusts (but is later exposed as an enemy) to administer a potion designed to inhibit fertility? Perhaps mixed into a daily morning drink or concealed within a candy that is your character's favourite treat; something and someone your character would never suspect.

Back in the day (you mentioned low tech) infections, childhood diseases and birth defects (ovaries not fully formed) were all big causes.

There aren't many things, none that I can think of actually, that could cause infertility in a woman/girl/caused by a hostile action, that would not also kill her. Unless she was poisoned with something in that world that is known to cause such a thing.

Any injury bad enough to destroy a womb/ovaries, would most likely kill her, due to the bleeding. This would include rape.

What if low tech was not in the past? Maybe there was high tech at one time? What if certain female babies were selected (for whatever reason) to have a chip implanted while in hospital after birth to stop procreation of certain levels of your races? I mean population control type deal. And she still has hers? Or hers was removed when the planet went low tech, but the damage was done to her reproduction and she still cannot conceive?

You could also have forced sterilization have been a part of her reality for whatever you need in your story. Way back, institutionalized people (not sure if it was mentally handicapped people or others as well, but I know mentally handicapped were) in the US were forcefully sterilized when they reached (I think 15/16) until it was banned. This would be hostile action, without injury you have to explain in depth to thwart your reader disbelief on a possible injury.

Just more thoughts....hope something here works. You have a lot of input.

Good luck!

Christine

Chemotherapy can do it, too. Has she been ill in the past? I see tons of possibilities here, since you're inventing your own reality. Just keep it internally consistent, is all.

Try to google 'causes of infertility women' or similar. Tons of lists on what can do it...

willfulone said:

What if low tech was not in the past? Maybe there was high tech at one time? What if certain female babies were selected (for whatever reason) to have a chip implanted while in hospital after birth to stop procreation of certain levels of your races? I mean population control type deal. And she still has hers? Or hers was removed when the planet went low tech, but the damage was done to her reproduction and she still cannot conceive?

Click to expand...

Anything that alters hormone levels sufficiently/screws them up can also do the trick. (This one is mine.)

willfulone said:

You could also have forced sterilization have been a part of her reality for whatever you need in your story. Way back, institutionalized people (not sure if it was mentally handicapped people or others as well, but I know mentally handicapped were) in the US were forcefully sterilized when they reached (I think 15/16) until it was banned. This would be hostile action, without injury you have to explain in depth to thwart your reader disbelief on a possible injury.

Click to expand...

Forced sterilization also took place in Canada. The Inuit women from the Yukon and North West Territories were sterilized without their knowledge or consent whenever they had to go to the hospital in Edmonton, Alberta for other surgical procedures up until about 1970. It was a matter of governmental policy.

In other words, this is common enough for it to be completely believable.

I'd just thought of that when I read your post. The government of Vietnam sterilizes Montagnard women without their consent. They use a drug that is made by a company here in North Carolina, which is illegal to use in the US.

You know, I know it happens, but I'm still really pissed off when I hear of more cases of it happening.

Judg said:

Infections will often do it, by scarring and blocking the fallopian tubes, so that the ova can no longer descend to the uterus. That would not qualify as a hostile action, mind you, but it would also be less traumatic, therefore less interesting and less likely to turn the subplot into something more. But that is your call, of course.

Click to expand...

What kind of infections would do that? Does anyone have an example? Omigod I think I just got an idea...

/runs off to Google

A blow to the head could do it. If the hypothalamus was damaged, then the flow of luteinizing hormone could stop, and that controls ovulation.

That's my guess, anyway. I'm not a doctor, mind.

Smoking can make a woman infertile--it happened to a friend of mine--though generally it happens over time: she ends up infertile in her early to mid-30s. But smoking could certainly exist in a low-tech world, and perhaps the infertility could hit earlier if you need it to--the earlier she starts smoking, the earlier the infertility could hit. Here's a link giving a basic overview of the problem: http://www.advancedfertility.com/smoking.htm

Because the basic cause is poisoning from cigarette smoke, she could theoretically also become infertile from being around others who smoke. So that could start very early, in childhood, and then if she herself becomes a smoker, voila.

Anorexia / Bulimia during adolescence can contribute to this.

It wouldn't have to be starvation or anorexia per se, a lot of extremely athletic girls and young women have their body fat index drop low enough to become temporarily infertile.

Sassee, sorry, that information isn't stowed away in my trivia trove.

Hmm, 'low-tech world'.

Lead was proven to cause infertility in some female pottery workers.

efreysson, if your setting is another world (made up), then yes, poison would absolutely work. After all, you're creating the poison, you can give the poison whatever attributes you want.

efreysson said:

So, a brutal but survivable beating might can make a woman infertile? She's an assassin, and so in danger of such things. I could use this. Simple and nasty.

Click to expand...

No. Any type of injury bad enough to ruin her ovaries or womb, the internal bleeding from it would most likely kill her. If the bleeding didn't, then, the inevitable infection from the burst/torn/ripped/crushed organs, in her already weakened condition, most likely would finish her off.

Poison is a good option, as already mentioned.

Are there magic users/healers in your world? If so, she could be attacked/beaten and not brought to one of them in time to save her damaged organ, thus rendered infertile.