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.
What causes infertility in women?
Problems with ovulation account for most cases of infertility
in women. Without ovulation, there are no eggs to be fertilized.
Some signs that a woman is not ovulating normally include irregular
or absent menstrual periods.
Less common causes of fertility problems in women include:
blocked fallopian tubes due to pelvic inflammatory disease,
endometriosis, or surgery for an ectopic pregnancy physical
problems with the uterus uterine fibroids.
What things increase a woman's risk
of infertility?
Many things can affect a woman's ability to have a baby. These
include:
- age
- stress
- poor diet
- athletic training
- being overweight or underweight
- tobacco smoking
- alcohol
- sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
- health problems that cause hormonal changes
How does age affect a woman's ability
to have children?
More and more women are waiting until their 30s and 40s to have
children. Actually, about 20 percent of women in the United
States now have their first child after age 35. So age is an
increasingly common cause of fertility problems. About one third
of couples in which the woman is over 35 have fertility problems.
Aging decreases a woman's chances of having a baby in the
following ways:
- The ability of a woman's ovaries to release eggs ready
for fertilization declines with age.
- The health of a woman's eggs declines with age.
- As a woman ages she is more likely to have health problems
that can interfere with fertility.
- As a women ages, her risk of having a miscarriage increases.
How long should women try to get pregnant
before calling their doctors?
Most healthy women under the age of 30 shouldn't worry about
infertility unless they've been trying to get pregnant for at
least a year. At this point, women should talk to their doctors
about a fertility evaluation. Men should also talk to their
doctors if this much time has passed.
In some cases, women should talk to their doctors sooner. Women
in their 30s who've been trying to get pregnant for six months
should speak to their doctors as soon as possible. A woman's
chances of having a baby decrease rapidly every year after the
age of 30. So getting a complete and timely fertility evaluation
is especially important.
Some health issues also increase the risk of fertility problems.
So women with the following issues should speak to their doctors
as soon as possible:
- irregular periods or no menstrual periods
- very painful periods
- endometriosis
- pelvic inflammatory disease
- more than one miscarriage
No matter how old you are, it's always a good idea to talk
to a doctor before you start trying to get pregnant. Doctors
can help you prepare your body for a healthy baby. They can
also answer questions on fertility and give tips on conceiving.
