Articles: Infertility

You have tried and tried, but still no baby. What's going on? Why us? Did you know that over 7 million couples in any given year face the same things you do in becoming pregnant? That's right, you may feel alone suffering through this, but infertility statistics show otherwise. This data may or may not give you some comfort in moving forward, but hopefully the numbers will help put it all into perspective for you.

You will first be happy to know that about 90% of those that really look for assistance with this problem, actually uncover the cause of their infertility and find a treatment. Of those couples, about 60% will become pregnant with drug or surgical approaches. Not perfect, but still a very positive outcome.

Believe it or not, records show that about 7.3 million women between 15 and 45 currently have some form of infertility problem. This inability to conceive children is sometimes called fecundity and accounts for over 12% of all child-bearing females. Of course, infertility can result from either partner. In general, about 50% of the time the problem lies with the female, 40% with the male, and 10% or so goes unexplained. Obviously, it becomes evident that a significant number of infertility cases exist at any given time.

On the positive side, it is worthwhile to note that about 85% of couples trying to become pregnant, will normally conceive within 1 year. On top of that, about half of those remaining will achieve pregnancy within a 3-year period. So your chances of having a child are quite good, as long as the timing is correct relative to the ovulation cycle. The point here is that in a good many cases, there is no medical problem at all, but a timing issue. Try tracking your basal temperature or use an ovulation kit to determine ovulation.

If you are an older woman, it is true that it can become more difficult to conceive. The correlation between age and fertility is well known, usually due to lower egg production, unviable eggs or other health issues. Infertility increase dramatically with age in women: age 15-29 shows 11% infertile, 30-34 at 17%, 35-39 at 23% and 40-44 at 27% infertility.

Notwithstanding the age issue, many women will have to receive some form of consultation or treatment to become pregnant. Usually the problem is not discovered until you try to have a child. There are some cases of pregnancy with infertility issues, even when not previously diagnosed, but that is unusual. So it is fairly common to seek some type of advice on pregnancy once it becomes obvious there is difficulty having a child. And this occurs in all age groups: 15-29 years old about 3%, 30-34 about 17% and 35-39 about 15%. So do not feel you are alone in this, as seeking help is quite common.

The types of consultation and treatments vary widely for those having difficulty, but 6-8% of these women seek advice and 12% actually find infertility services of one sort or another. Over 5% undergo general testing for fertility issues, 4% or so go on ovulations drugs as an initial program and only 1% actually receive some form of insemination. Once pregnant, about 6% of women 15-44 will obtain ongoing medical help due to diagnosed potential miscarriage concerns.

Although infertility problems can happen with any age group, and increases significantly with the age of women, there are several alternative approaches, both natural and medical, available today that may prove successful. One of the most common, for example, in vitro fertilization (IVF), has demonstrated an effective rate of 38% live births in women around 30. Live births were around 22% in women about 40 years old, but drop to 10% for those 43 plus. An enhancement to the process includes the use of a younger woman's egg, which has shown success in 40 year olds to as high as 45%.

The point is that the statistics are generally in your favor. Remember that about 9 in 10 couples will get pregnant within 1 year. For those that don't, about 90% will find the cause of their inability to conceive and find a successful treatment. And depending on the issues and therapy, about two thirds will become pregnant and enjoy the birth of their first child.

Joan William has written extensively on infertility. For more great advice on all aspects of infertility and specifics on infertility statistics, visit http://www.infertilityvictory.com, a thorough resource for those trying to get pregnant.