Most couples who have unprotected sex at least twice per week are able to become pregnant within one year. If pregnancy does not occur after one year, the man and woman are diagnosed as having an infertility problem.
Infertility can result from problems in the man, the woman or both partners. In some couples, no cause of infertility can be found. In other couples, more than one cause exists.
Normal aging reduces a woman’s ability to become pregnant. As a woman grows older, ovulation—the process of forming and releasing an egg—becomes slower and less effective.
Aging begins to reduce fertility as early as age 30. Pregnancy rates are very low after age 44. This is true even when fertility medications are used.
ymptoms
The primary symptom of infertility is difficulty getting pregnant. Various causes of infertility may result in additional symptoms.
Any of the following problems may cause infertility:
- Infrequent ovulation. When your periods do not come every month, you have infrequent ovulation.
Common causes of infrequent ovulation include:
- Body stresses such as:
- Eating disorders
- Unusually ambitious exercise training
- Rapid weight loss
- Low body weight
- Obesity
