Infertility is defined as the inability to get pregnant after one year of unprotected sex. It affects approximately 6% of married women ages 15-44 in the U.S. Both male and female factors can contribute to infertility, with male-related issues causing infertility in 18% of cases. While infertility was historically seen as a women's issue, it is now understood that both men and women play equal roles. Over the last century, the rates of infertility have risen dramatically due to lifestyle and environmental factors. Today, treatment options for infertility have improved greatly compared to just 40 years ago due to medical advances in areas such as IVF.

1. Infertility
For Couples Learning the Battle Against Infertility.
Coping with the Deadly Diagnoses of Infertility

2. What is Infertility?
• Infertility is defined as, “the inability to get pregnant after one year of
unprotected sex.”
• In the U.S., infertility occurs in around 6% of married women ages 15-44.
• Out of those 14-44 year olds, 12% of them have difficulty getting pregnant
or carrying a pregnancy to term.

3. Who’s affected by infertility?
• It is a common misconception that only women are infertile.
• 7.5% of married men experienced infertility in their lifetime and saw
specialists.
• Out of those men, 18% were diagnosed with male-related infertility, either sperm or
semen problems.
• Men and women play equal roles in infertility.

4. History of Infertility
• History has shown more increasingly that infertility is on the rise.
• 19th and 20th centuries showed dramatic changes in the epidemiological shift of
infertility.
• First “Tube baby” was born in 1981, via IVF.
• During the 1880s, infertility saw a record low. Seen then as a “mechanical problem,”
researchers pinned the blame on the women. The number of infertile men and
women in rose dramatically till reaching a peak in the 1930s.
• Since then, scientists have made miraculous discoveries on why men and women are
infertile.

5. Epidemiology of Infertility
• In the world today, 1 in every 4 couples have been affected by this.
• 1 million American couples suffer from infertility.
• During the 1970s, before the medical advancements today, those planning on
having kids later in your 20s or 30s can become increasingly difficult to
become pregnant.
• Infertility affects more women than men in the U.S.

6. Causes of Infertility
• In men, Varicoceles, a condition in which the veins on a man’s testes are large and cause
them to overheat. This leads to decreased sperm count and likely infertility.
• Diabetes, cystic fibrosis, trauma, infection, testicular failure, or treatment with chemotherapy
and/or radiation are also factors in the causation of infertility among men.
• Unhealthy habits can also drastically affect your fertility, such as heavy alcohol use, testosterone
supplementation, smoking, steroid use, and drug use
• In women, ovarian function is the primary reason for infertility. This includes any damage or
function of your ovaries in a wrong way.
• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), and premature ovarian insufficiency
(POI) are also contributing factors to infertility among women.

7. Treatment options
• Aside from living a healthier lifestyle, research has shown these methods contribute to being
treated for infertility:
• Medicine. Clomid and Serophene are known estrogen-blocking drugs, which cause the hypothalamus and
pituitary glands to release hormones for increased reproduction possiblity.
• Surgery. If your fallopian tubes are blocked, or have fibroids, endometriosis, or PCOS, surgery is the best
option for treating infertility.
• Intrauterine insemination (IUI). This method takes prepared sperm and it is inserted into a women’s uterus,
causing the women to become pregnant.
• Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). This treatment includes both eggs and sperm to be handled
outside the body in a type of in vitro fertilization method (IVF).

8. Being Hopeful
• You’re not alone: There are millions of people suffering form infertility, and the crushing
weight of the prospect of never being able to have children is haunting, however, there is
hope.
• Don’t me ashamed: It isn’t your fault. By sharing your story and reinforcing the hopefullness
in and around you can be a positive light for your future.
• Treatment. There has been a massive medical advancement in just the past 40 years with
infertility, and the methods used today are miraculous.

9. References
• "Infertility FAQs." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
16 Feb. 2017. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.
• "Global Prevalence of Infertility, Infecundity and Childlessness." WHO. World Health Organization,
n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2017.
• "History of Infertility." History of Infertility | Arizona Center for Fertility Studies. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb.
2017.