- According to the National Women's Health Information Center, a woman is considered infertile if she has been trying to become pregnant for 1 year without success. Women who are 35 or older are considered infertile after 6 months of trying to get pregnant. Women who can become pregnant but are unable to carry the pregnancy to term are also considered infertile.
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Medication may be used to stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs each month. Human menopausal gonadotropin affects the ovaries directly and stimulates ovulation in women with pituitary gland problems. Clomiphene citrate affects the pituitary gland by causing the release of hormones that stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs. The pituitary gland, found at the base of the brain, is part of the system that controls reproduction. Other drugs can regulate ovulation if women don't naturally ovulate every month, or can reduce the amount of male hormones in the body.
Fertility drugs may cause multiple eggs to be released in one month, putting women who use these drugs at higher risk of having twins, triplets or higher-order multiples. - During intrauterine insemination (IUI), also called artificial insemination, sperm is placed in a woman's uterus with a catheter. Sperm is obtained from a woman's partner or from a donor. Before being placed in the uterus, the sperm is "washed," a process that involves separating the sperm from other parts of the semen, the fluid that contains the sperm. IUI may be used if there is mild male infertility, mild endometriosis, cervical factor infertility or unexplained fertility. In some cases, fertility medication may be taken prior to undergoing IUI.
- Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is a term applied to several procedures that mix sperm with eggs outside of a woman's body. Before in vitro fertilization (IVF), a woman is given a medication that allows her to produce multiple eggs. The eggs are removed and combined with sperm in a laboratory, where fertilization occurs. Several healthy embryos are implanted in the uterus three to five days after IVF. IVF may be used if a man isn't producing enough sperm to allow conception or if a woman has blocked fallopian tubes. Fallopian tubes carry the eggs from the ovaries to the uterus. Tubal embryo transfer and zygote intrafallopian transfer are procedures that also fertilize eggs in a laboratory. After fertilization using these procedures, the embryo is placed in the fallopian tube rather than the uterus. During gamete intrafallopian transfer, sperm and eggs are combined in a laboratory, but are placed in the woman's fallopian tube for fertilization.
- If a man produces too few sperm, it is unlikely that pregnancy will ever occur without assistance. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection increases the chances of pregnancy by injecting one sperm into an egg, rather than the large number of sperm used in other procedures. After fertilization, the embryo is placed in the woman's fallopian tube or uterus.
- Structural problems in the male or female reproductive tract may also affect fertility. In males, a varicocele, or collection of varicose veins, can form in the testicles and interfere with the ability of the testicles to produce viable sperm. During surgery, the affected veins are tied off and normal circulation is restored to the testicles. Blocked fallopian tubes in women can be cleared using laparoscopic surgery. During this minimally invasive procedure, several tiny incisions are placed in the abdomen. Surgical instruments and a lighted probe with an attached camera are placed into the openings, allowing the doctor to view the fallopian tube on a monitor.
