Infertility

Infertility

• What is infertility?
• Is infertility a common problem?
• Is infertility just a woman's problem?
• What causes infertility in men?
• What increases a man's risk of infertility?
• What causes infertility in women?
• What things increase a woman's risk of infertility?
• How does age affect a woman's ability to have children?
• How long should women try to get pregnant before calling their doctors?
• How will doctors find out if a woman and her partner have fertility problems?
• How do doctors treat infertility?
• What medicines are used to treat infertility in women?
• What is assisted reproductive technology (ART)?
• How often is assisted reproductive technology (ART) successful?
• What are the different types of assisted reproductive technology (ART)?

What is infertility?

Most experts define infertility as not being able to get pregnant after at least one year of trying. Women who are able to get pregnant but then have repeat miscarriages are also said to be infertile.

Pregnancy is the result of a complex chain of events. In order to get pregnant:

• A woman must release an egg from one of her ovaries (ovulation).
• The egg must go through a fallopian tube toward the uterus (womb).
• A man's sperm must join with (fertilize) the egg along the way.
• The fertilized egg must attach to the inside of the uterus (implantation).

Infertility can result from problems that interfere with any of these steps.

Is infertility a common problem?

About 12 percent of women (7.3 million) in the United States aged 15-44 had difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a baby to term in 2002, according to the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Is infertility just a woman's problem?

No, infertility is not always a woman's problem. In only about one-third of cases is infertility due to the woman (female factors). In another one third of cases, infertility is due to the man (male factors). The remaining cases are caused by a mixture of male and female factors or by unknown factors.