MILLIONS OF WOMEN IN THE USA TODAY ARE CLASSIFIED AS INFERTILE

About 12 percent of women (7.3 million) in the United States aged 15-44 had difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a baby to term in 2002, according to the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most experts define infertility as not being able to get pregnant after at least one year of trying. Women who are able to get pregnant, but then have repeat miscarriages, are also said to be infertile. Pregnancy is the result of a complex chain of events. In order to get pregnant: The first step is that a woman must release an egg from one of her ovaries followed by several more precise events after fertilization.

Infertility in men is most often caused by: problems making sperm; producing too few sperm or none at all; problems with the sperm's ability to reach the egg and fertilize it; abnormal sperm shape or structure preventing it from moving correctly. Sometimes a man is born with the problems that affect his sperm. Other times problems start later in life due to illness or injury. Many things can affect a woman's ability to have a baby. These include: age; stress; poor diet; athletic training; being overweight or underweight; tobacco smoking, alcohol; etc.

Infertility can be treated with medicine, surgery, artificial insemination or assisted reproductive technology. Many times these treatments are combined. About two-thirds of couples who are treated for infertility are able to have a baby. In most cases infertility is treated with drugs or surgery.  According to the 2002 CDC report the average percentage of ART cycles that led to a healthy baby were as follows: 37.3% in women under the age of 35; 30.2% in women aged 35-37; 20.2% in women aged 37-40; 11.0% in women aged 41-42. ART can be very expensive and time-consuming, but the resulting happiness with a couple can be invaluable to their lifelong relationship.