Female Infertility

Couples are considered infertile if they are unable to conceive during one year of unprotected intercourse.

About 40 percent of fertility problems for couples are due to a medical condition in the woman.

Causes of Female Infertility

Some reasons why women may have fertility problems include:

• Ovulatory disorders.
• Age.
• Tubal abnormalities.
• Uterine abnormalities.
• Endometriosis.
• Other medical issues.

Diagnosing Female Infertility

Your doctor:

• Will take a complete medical history and do a physical exam.
• Will take blood to check the hormones being released and look for any abnormalities.
• May order several imaging tests to look at the uterus, fallopian tubes, and the number of follicles that are developing.

Treating Female Infertility

Treatments for infertility and helping you conceive depend largely on the reason for infertility.

You may receive medications to:

• Assist with ovulation.
• Stimulate follicle development to help create more than one mature egg each month.

The most successful method for many women is in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Male infertility is a contributing factor for nearly half of infertile couples. Learn more about Male infertility.