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.