While many couples experience challenges with conceiving, there are a variety of infertility treatments available that can potentially resolve this situation. The first step, however, is admitting there may be an issue and seeking the assistance of a fertility specialist.

It has been found that 1 in 8 couples experience difficulty with becoming pregnant and/or carrying a baby to term. While 11.9% of women have received infertility services over the course of their lives, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis of the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth discovered that 7.5% of all sexually-active men under 45 had visited a fertility doctor for assistance.

There are a variety of medical factors that can contribute to infertility. It has been found that these can be attributed to the female partner, the male partner, as well as a combination of issues with both partners. In some instances, however, the reasons for being infertile remain unexplained.

While age may not be the root cause, women’s fertility does decline from the time they are 30. This decline becomes more sharp when a woman is 35. By the time women are 40, however, only 2 in 5 are usually able to conceive and carry a baby to term.

There are 6.7 million women between the ages of 15 to 44 that experience some level of impaired fecundity. Even though women are their most fertile between 20 and 24, many women at this age may be attending college, graduate school, or embarking on a career and are not yet prepared to have a family.

It is important to note that even when both members of a couple between the ages of 29 to 33 have normal functioning reproductive systems, they only have a 20% to 25% chance of conceiving. Given this situation, seeking assistance from a fertility expert should increase their chances of conceiving.

When medical assistance is sought, women are often able to conceive, carry to term, and give birth. Drug therapy and/or surgical procedures are used to treat approximately 85% to 90% of all infertility cases.

Some couples may be concerned about the costs of infertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization, or IVF. It’s important to note that there are current laws in place which require insurance companies in some states to provide policies that cover a percentage of fertility treatments. This applies to the following 15 states:

• Arkansas
• California
• Connecticut
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Montana
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Rhode Island
• Texas
• West Virginia

When a couple is experiencing infertility and wants to have their first or another child, it is important to seek the services of a physician that specializes in reproductive medicine. Once they have visited an endocrinologist or another fertility specialist, they may discover there are no significant underlying causes and they just need to know when they are most fertile.

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Infertility is a problem for many women around the world. For women who reach the age of 40 years old, only two out of every five will be able to conceive on their own. Younger women also have issues conceiving. The best ages for women to get pregnant, biologically, is between 20 and 24. Women who are between 29 and 33 can have a chance of becoming pregnant during any given month of between 20 and 25%. When women go to any of the fertility centers around the country, the in vitro fertilization (IVF) steps are often the same. For example the following is a pretty standard IVF timeline that you will go through when you are undergoing the IVF treatment process:

• The IVF timeline begins on the fist day of a woman’s menstrual cycle. While the process does involve some artificial manipulation of their ovaries, most infertility treatments work with your body. This makes it possible to use fewer hormones and chemicals. When you are undergoing IVF treatments you will be given both daily injections of Lupron and oral contraceptives to better regulate the levels of your hormones. The Lupron is given for about two weeks and the contraceptives are given for between two and four weeks.
• The next step of the IVF timeline is the stimulation of the ovaries. Once they are prepared by the Lupron and the contraceptives, different hormones are administered by your fertility expert. What hormone or hormones are used is determined by your specific needs. This is the stage where your ovaries are coaxed into releasing eggs. This step can be hard on your body and you may experience a variety of side effects. These can include some emotional changes. This step takes anywhere between eight and we days so you will not have too much time during this phase. The fertility clinic will closely monitor you during this process to make sure things are going the way they should. At the very end of this step, a dose of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) will be administered. This gets the ovary to release the eggs.
• Once the eggs are released, they need to be retrieved. Your fertility clinic will expect you to be back within 36 hours of receiving the HCG shot. You will have to be given general anesthesia for the retrieval procedure. The physician will use an ultrasound to retrieve your eggs. They will be able to tell you the number they are able to get during your procedure.
• After they have been retrieved, the eggs need to be fertilized. You do have several options. If you are in a relationship with a male partner, he can provide a sample in advance. Otherwise, a sample can be provided by a donor. Either way, this needs to be done within two days of the retrieval process. This is not an instant thing. A few days after they are fertilized, the eggs will be tested. Between one and two days after the tests are run, you will find out what the status is.
• If there are viable embryos in your groups of fertilized eggs, they need to be transferred back to your uterus. This is a much less invasive procedure than the one where your eggs were removed. Most IVF clinics will give you a sedative to help you relax but after everything else you have been through during the IVF timeline, this may seem pretty simple. In days past, a number of embryos would be transferred but today, most IVF doctors only transfer one. You can have any other viable embryos frozen.
• The last step in the IVF timeline is only hard psychologically. It can be very stressful to wait for the pregnancy test after the embryo transfer. The embryo does not immediately attach itself to the wall of your uterus. It can take up to a week for that to happen. Your body will not produce pregnancy hormones until this happens so you just have to wait. Most of the time, fertility clinics will check first at nine days and then again at 12 days.

The IVF process can be challenging and difficult but when it is successful, most people think it was all worth it.

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Infertility is a common, yet under discussed problem that many women deal with. Women who are ready to start a family, yet are unable to conceive often experience feelings of regret, anger and guilt. They may blame the infertility completely on themselves. They may regret that they did not attempt to start a family earlier on. They may feel angry that their partner does not seem to care as much. Infertility can leave a woman with a lot of emotions and questions. Fortunately in today?s world, there are options to increase levels of infertility and raise the chances of conceiving a child.

Today?s generation includes women who are more focused on their careers. Women are waiting longer to get married and start their families. The older a woman gets, the less chance she has of conception. A couple aged 29 to 33 with a normal functioning reproductive system has only a 20 to 25% chance of conceiving in any given month. This percentage decreases as the couple gets even older. Fertility starts to decline for women from about the age of 30, dropping down more steeply from the age of 35. Fortunately, there are options available for women who choose to wait longer in life to begin their families.

There are many infertility treatments available for all types of in conception problems. Men who are dealing with low sperm counts may be able to increase their testosterone intake, thus increasing their sperm counts. Women may be able to also take medications to increase times of ovulation. Simply monitoring the ovulating times of the woman can be helpful in increasing conception. All of these services can be completed at a professional center for reproductive medicine.

Fertility centers are a great resource for learning of fertility treatment options. They can complete a series of tests, testing things like sperm counts, hormone levels and other medical conditions that can contribute to difficulty in conception. Some treatment options may be as simple as increasing hormones with oral medications. Others might include actual insemination through surgical procedures. IVF is one of the surgical procedures. The sperm or may be placed into the egg, completely outside of the body, allowing it to be manipulated. The sperm may also be inserted into the women, controlling the speed and ensuring that it makes it to the egg. The type of procedure will depend on where the problem of conception lies.

IVF treatment and other fertility center treatments are actually common among couples. Approximately 44% of women with infertility have sought medical assistance. Of those who seek medical intervention, approximately 65% give birth. Some of these couples may be worried about IVF cost. IVF cost can vary, depending on the type of procedure needed and the amount of attempts it takes to be successful. The IVF cost may also be affected by the age of the couple that is trying to conceive.

IVF cost is generally not covered by insurance companies, because it is considered to be an optional procedure. However, more and more states are pushing for it to be covered under some types of insurance. Approximately 15 states have currently ruled to include IVF treatment and other fertility treatments to be covered under insurance. When the insurance company pays a portion of the infertility treatments, more couples have IVF treatment as an option to their conception difficulties.

More and more women are waiting to start families. Women are more focused on their careers than ever, and are getting married and starting families later. This can actually decrease the chances of conception. However, infertility treatments like IVF, hormone treatments and artificial insemination can improve the chances of conception. Working with a fertility clinic is the best way to explore these options. In many states, the insurance company is required to pay a portion of the IVF treatment costs.

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