Infertility: Fast Facts
Reviewed By:
David Lubetkin, M.D., FACOG
Here are some fast facts on infertility according to the
National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC):
- Approximately 6.1 million couples in the United States, or 10
percent of all couples of childbearing age, have difficulty
conceiving.
- When no fertility problems are present, the average couple
between ages 29 and 33 has about a 20 to 25 percent chance of
becoming pregnant during any given menstrual cycle.
- About one-third of infertility cases can be attributed to
males, another third to females and the remaining third to both
members of a couple. About 10 to 20 percent of infertility cases go
unexplained, although these couples often later succeed in becoming
pregnant.
- Ovulation abnormalities and sperm deficiencies are the most
common causes of infertility. Together, they are responsible for
two-thirds of infertility problems.
- About 15 percent of female infertility cases are the result of
fallopian tube disease while irregular ovulation accounts for about
25 percent.
- About 60 to 70 percent of women who have a laparoscopy as part
of their infertility assessment are found to have endometriosis, a
painful condition in which endometrial cells -- usually only found
lining the uterus -- grow in other locations.
- A 29-year-old woman has a 20 percent per month changer of
getting pregnant -- compared to 7 percent for a woman at age
39.
- In 85 to 90 percent of all cases, infertility is treated with
either medication or surgery. Just 5 to 10 percent of infertility
treatments involve in vitro fertilization or other kinds of
assisted reproductive technologies, in which a laboratory is used
to try to help a couple become pregnant.
- There are about 600 reproductive endocrinologists (fertility
specialists) in the United States, compared to 28,000 ob/gyns
(obstetricians-gynecologists).
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