Infertility is when a woman can't get pregnant after a year or keeps having miscarriages. Read about infertility, its causes, and treatments.
*Health information sourced from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. co-pay.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.
Infertility means not being able to become pregnant after a year of trying. If a woman can get pregnant but keeps having miscarriages or stillbirths, that's also called infertility.
Infertility is fairly common. After one year of having unprotected sex, about 15% of couples are unable to get pregnant. About a third of the time, infertility can be traced to the woman. In another third of cases, it is because of the man. The rest of the time, it is because of both partners or no cause can be found.
There are treatments that are specifically for men or for women. Some involve both partners. Drugs, assisted reproductive technology, and surgery are common treatments. Happily, many couples treated for infertility go on to have babies.
NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
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