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Infertility, Incidence of

Infertility can be considered to be a social as well as an individual problem. In order to ascertain the incidence rates of infertility, one must first be diagnosed as infertile. After discussing competing medical definitions for infertility, this article presents infertility rates in the United States and globally, then discusses causes and effects of infertility.

Definition and Diagnosis

The medical industry generally diagnoses infertility for a heterosexual couple if neither spouse is surgically sterile, they had correctly timed sexual intercourse, had not used contraception, and had not become pregnant during the past 12 months or longer, although some physicians, especially specialists, will even treat couples after six months of trying to become pregnant. Some believe that the availability of for-profit fertility treatments has created an unrealistic time ...

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