RECOGNIZING INFERTILITY

INFERTILTY - Most experts define infertility as a couple, who has had unprotected sex for a year and cannot concieve naturally.

• Infertility, which affects as many as 1 in 6 couples, is defined as the inability of a couple to conceive a child after one year of unprotected sex and is usually diagnosed through medical interviews and physical examinations of both partners.
• 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.
• 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.
• About six percent of males between the ages of fifteen and fifty struggle with infertility.
• According to the world health organization, the fecundability of a normal couple under the age of 35 is 25%.
• Fecundability- Is the probability of achieving a pregnancy within 1 menstrual cycle.
• After trying to conceive for 3 months, 57% of couples are able to conceive, After trying to conceive for 6 months, 72% of couples are able to conceive, and after 1 year 85 % of couples are able to conceive .
• Upon referral to a reproductive specialist, the couple must undergo a series of tests to isolate the cause of the infertility.
• 40 percent of infertility is due to a female component while 40 percent is due to a male component, and 20 percent of infertile couples have unexplainable infertility.