What is infertility?

Infertility means a couple isn’t able to become pregnant after 1 year of having regular, unprotected sex. Infertility can affect both women and men. A woman is considered infertile if she has tried for 1 year to get pregnant and hasn’t used birth control. A man is considered infertile if he has too few sperm or his sperm are too unhealthy to combine with a woman’s egg. Many couples don’t have trouble becoming pregnant. Unfortunately, there are factors that can make it difficult for some.

Symptoms of infertility

The main symptom of infertility is not being able to get pregnant. There may be no other symptoms. Sometimes women can have problems relating to their period such as pain or abnormal bleeding. Some men can have problems with erectile disfunction. However, most couples will have no other symptoms other than not getting pregnant.

Infertility treatment

Infertility treatment is based on the cause of your infertility. For women, treatment may include medicine or surgery. The most common medicines used to treat female infertility stimulate the ovaries. This helps the ovaries produce more eggs and increases the chances of getting pregnant. Surgery can be done if there are blockages or problems with the fallopian tubes. It also is used to remove areas of endometriosis, fibroids, polyps, or scarring, which all can affect fertility.

Men can be treated with medicine and surgery. If they have erectile dysfunction or problems ejaculating, medicine may be prescribed. If they have varicoceles in the testicles or issues with blockages in the tubes that carry sperm, those can be repaired with surgery.

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)

ART uses technologies to help a couple get pregnant. It may help people who have gone through various infertility treatments but still can’t get pregnant. Some options include:

• Intrauterine insemination (IUI). This procedure inserts healthy sperm into the woman’s uterus around the time of ovulation. It uses a long, narrow tube to insert the sperm. It can be done in the doctor’s office.
• In vitro fertilization (IVF). This is more expensive and complex than IUI. It requires stimulating the ovaries with hormones and removing eggs from the woman. The eggs are fertilized with sperm in a laboratory. Once an embryo develops, it is placed into the woman’s uterus. While they can be successful, there is no guarantee that IUI or IVF will result in a pregnancy.
• Third party-assisted ART. This is when another person helps a couple get pregnant. They can help by donating sperm, donating eggs, or donating embryos. They may also serve as a surrogate or gestational carrier. This means another person actually carries the baby for you.