What Is Infertility?

What is infertility?

Infertility is defined as the inability to become pregnant after one year of unprotected intercourse. Approximately 50-60% of women will become pregnant within the first six months of trying, and 80-85% will become pregnant in the first year.

Most doctors recommend that you seek a medical evaluation if you have been trying unsuccessfully to become pregnant for one year if you are under the age of 30 and six months if you are over the age of 30.

About half of the couples that seek infertility assistance will go on to become pregnant. In some cases the infertility problem can be found in the women, sometimes in the man, and other times it can be found in each partner. Some of the most common problems that cause infertility are ovulation factors, tubal factors, and male factors.

Ovarian Factors

Women who get their periods sporadically may have ovulation problems. To determine if you are ovulating regularly, your doctor may advise you to use an ovulation predictor kit. You can use these kits at home, to help determine if you are ovulating. If your doctor determines that you are not ovulating, he may recommend a fertility drug, such as Clomid, to induce ovulation. Clomid is taken in pill form for five consecutive days to induce ovulation. About 40-60% of Clomid users become pregnant within six months of use. There is a 10% chance of multiple births with the use of Clomid.