Fertility Talk

Most people will have a strong desire to conceive a child at some point during their lifetime. Understanding what defines normal fertility is crucial to helping a person, or couple, know when it is time to seek help. All of the steps during ovulation and fertilization need to happen correctly in order to get pregnant. Sometimes the issues that cause infertility in couples are present at birth, and sometimes they develop later in life. Infertility causes can affect one or both partners.

• 1 in 8 couples struggles with infertility
• 1 in 10 women have received infertility services in their lifetime
• 1 in 4 pregnancies ends in miscarriage
• 1 in 160 deliveries result in stillbirth

Infertility is defined as not being able to conceive after having unprotected intercourse for one year. More than 12% of women have received infertility services in their lifetime. Couples from 29 to 33 year-olds with a normal functioning reproductive system have only a 20-25% chance of conceiving in any given month. The understanding of the causes of infertility has made enormous progress during the past 20 years. In general, about one-third of cases, there is an issue with the male. In about one-third of cases, there is an issue with the female. In the remaining cases, there are issues with both the male and female or no cause can be identified.