About infertility Infertility is the inability of a couple to get pregnant despite having regular unprotected sex. A couple is regarded as infertile if, after regular sexual intercourse, they have not conceived in two years. It is estimated that one in seven UK couples has difficulty conceiving (HFEA, 2006). Identifiable causes of infertility include: ovulatory disorders in 27% of couples; tuba...

The clinical definition of male infertility is the presence of abnormal semen parameters in the male partner of a couple who have been unable to conceive after 1 year of unprotected intercourse (Dohle 2010). The World Health Organization defines male factor infertility as the presence of one or more abnormalities in the semen analysis, or the presence of inadequate sexual or ejaculatory functio...

STUDY QUESTION Is age of menarche (AOM) associated with subfecundity and/or infertility in adulthood? STUDY ANSWER A late onset of menarche was associated with a slightly increased risk of subfecundity and infertility. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Abnormal age at onset of menarche is a risk factor for several diseases later in life, but the effect on infertility is unknown. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE AN...

The use of acupuncture to improve the outcome of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) has become widespread over the past five years. Three of four randomised controlled trials (RCT) published since 2002 have shown that acupuncture significantly increases pregnancy rates. Although the research has a number of methodological limitations, it does strongly endorse the use of acupuncture during IVF. Protoc...

BACKGROUND Global, regional, and national estimates of prevalence of and tends in infertility are needed to target prevention and treatment efforts. By applying a consistent algorithm to demographic and reproductive surveys available from developed and developing countries, we estimate infertility prevalence and trends, 1990 to 2010, by country and region. METHODS AND FINDINGS We accessed and...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to identify the prognostic factors that influence the outcome of ovarian stimulation with intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles in couples with different infertility etiology. MATERIALS AND METHODS This retrospective study was performed in data of 1348 IUI cycles with ovarian stimulation by clomiphene citrate (CC) and/or gonadotropins in 632 women w...

Several epidemiological studies have demonstrated the relationship between the existence of fibroids and the occurrence of infertility; indeed fibroids have been reported in 25-30% of infertile women and are responsible for them alone to 2 to 3% of infertility cases when no other cause was found. The objective of this study was to investigate the probable association between the presence of a f...

Women and men diagnosed with infertility experience a variety of infertility-related stressors, including changes to their family and social networks, strain on their sexual relationship, and difficulties and unexpected challenges in their relationship. Infertility stress is linked with depression and psychological distress, and can lead to premature dropout from medical treatments and unresolv...

BACKGROUND Infertility affects an estimated 15% of couples globally, amounting to 48.5 million couples. Males are found to be solely responsible for 20-30% of infertility cases and contribute to 50% of cases overall. However, this number does not accurately represent all regions of the world. Indeed, on a global level, there is a lack of accurate statistics on rates of male infertility. Our rep...

BACKGROUND Endometrial cavity fluid (ECF) is a fluid accumulation within the endometrial cavity. The significance of ECF remains unclear during the program of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET). The aim of the present study was to investigate the associated factors to ECF, visualized through ultrasound at the day of oocyte retrieval, and the relevant impact on the outcome of IVF-ET...