Many young women tend to believe that they are fertile and will have no problem conceiving a child when they’re ready to become mothers. However, infertility is more common than you may think. One in eight married couples has difficulty becoming pregnant. And once the woman does become pregnant, she may have trouble carrying the baby to full term. In fact, nearly 7 million women under the age of 44 have difficulty carrying a baby to term.
Finding the root cause can be difficult. In about one-third of cases, infertility is attributed to the woman and in about one-third, it’s attributed to the man. The remaining cases are caused by problems in both partners or are unexplained.
Age is one of the most common factors. Women who plan to become mothers should plan early on. The most fertile years for women are between the ages of 20 and 24. After that, fertility declines every year. Between the ages of 29 and 33, a couple with a normal functioning reproductive system has a small chance of conceiving – between 20 and 25%. By age 40, only 40% of women will be able to conceive.
Fortunately, there are infertility treatments that can help. Nearly 12% of women have received infertility services to help make their dream of having a baby come true. Surgical procedures and drugs have greatly helped those who are infertile. In fact, as many as 90% of cases are treated with these types of infertility procedures.
Many couples also opt for artificial insemination. In this procedure, the man’s sperm (or sperm from another man, if the husband is deemed infertile) is placed into the woman’s uterus or cervix in hopes of achieving pregnancy. The artificial insemination process is often done around the time the woman is ovulating in order to increase the chances of success.
Infertility can be pricey. If you do choose to pursue, be aware of the costs. One cycle of IVF can cost $10,000 or more – and it may not even be successful the first time around. Success rates vary depending on the woman’s age.
Category: Center for reproductive medicine
Many couples dream of starting a family, but what some may not realize is that, for many women, getting pregnant isn?t easy. Nowadays, more and more women are either waiting until later in life to start families, or they?re discovering that they have fertility problems. Both make it difficult to conceive, which is why there are many doctors and specialists coming out of the woodwork with expertise in many different infertility specialities.
Infertility is a common occurrence, and affects about 7.4 million women in the United States. in fact, an estimated one in eight couples have difficulty conceiving or carrying a pregnancy to term. Sometimes infertility can be blamed on genetics, while sometimes difficulty in conceiving can be blamed on the age of the woman. After all, the most fertile age for women to conceive is between 20 and 24 years of age. In fact, a woman?s fertility begins to decline rapidly after 30 years of age, so the women who choose to wait until later in life to start a family will likely face more difficulty than a woman in her early twenties.
Fortunately, there are options for women who want to conceive. Fertility treatments exist, and an estimated 44% of women who experience trouble conceiving seek out medical assistance of some sort. The success rate of those who do seek some sort of fertility treatment is about 65%. Common medical assistance include drug therapy or surgical procedures like artificial insemination or ivf treatments. For those fortunate enough to live in one of the 15 states that have laws requiring insurance policies to help cover some sort of internality treatment, medical assistance can be relatively affordable.
Infertility can be a devastating discovery for many couples, especially those who have worked hard to build a successful life and waited later in life to start a family, only to discover that having a baby may not be possible. But while it may seem like a large chunk of the female population has some sort of infertility problem, there are options available to help them and their partners start that family they?ve been dreaming of. Many infertility specialities, whether drug therapy or surgical procedures, help make what once was an impossibility, possible.