This article is about the medical condition in humans. For the soil, see Soil fertility.
Medical condition
Infertility
Specialty
Urology, gynecology
Causes
Common in females: annouvulation, blocked fallopian tube, hormonal imbalance Common in males: low sperm count, abnormal sperm morphology
Frequency
113 million (2015)[1]
Infertility is the inability of an animal or plant to reproduce by natural means. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy adult, except notably among certain eusocial species (mostly haplodiploid insects). It is the normal state of a human child or other young offspring, because they have not undergone puberty, which is the body's start of reproductive capacity.
In humans, infertility is the inability to become pregnant after one year of unprotected and regular sexual intercourse involving a male and female partner.[2] There are many causes of infertility, including some that medical intervention can treat.[3] Estimates from 1997 suggest that worldwide about five percent of all heterosexual couples have an unresolved problem with infertility. Many more couples, however, experience involuntary childlessness for at least one year: estimates range from 12% to 28%.[4]
The main cause of infertility in humans is age, and an advanced maternal age can raise the probability of suffering a spontaneous abortion during pregnancy.
Male infertility is responsible for 20–30% of infertility cases, while 20–35% are due to female infertility, and 25–40% are due to combined problems in both parts.[2][5] In 10–20% of cases, no cause is found.[5] The most common cause of female infertility is age, which generally manifests in sparse or absent menstrual periods.[6] Male infertility is most commonly due to deficiencies in the semen, and semen quality is used as a surrogate measure of male fecundity.[7]
Women who are fertile experience a period of fertility before and during ovulation, and are infertile for the rest of the menstrual cycle. Fertility awareness methods are used to discern when these changes occur by tracking changes in cervical mucus or basal body temperature.
^Vos T, Allen C, Arora M, Barber RM, Bhutta ZA, Brown A, et al. (GBD 2015 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators) (October 2016). "Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015". Lancet. 388 (10053): 1545–1602. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31678-6. PMC 5055577. PMID 27733282.
^ abChowdhury SH, Cozma AI, Chowdhury JH. Infertility. Essentials for the Canadian Medical Licensing Exam: Review and Prep for MCCQE Part I. 2nd edition. Wolters Kluwer. Hong Kong. 2017.
^Makar RS, Toth TL (June 2002). "The evaluation of infertility". American Journal of Clinical Pathology. 117 (Suppl): S95-103. doi:10.1309/w8lj-k377-dhra-cp0b. PMID 14569805.
^Himmel W, Ittner E, Kochen MM, Michelmann HW, Hinney B, Reuter M, et al. (February 1997). "Management of involuntary childlessness". The British Journal of General Practice. 47 (415): 111–118. PMC 1312893. PMID 9101672.
^ ab"ART fact sheet (July 2014)". European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
^"Causes of infertility". National Health Service. 23 October 2017. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016. Page last reviewed 15 July 2014
^Cite error: The named reference who2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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