Infertility in women

Can be due to ovulatory dysfunction, tubal or other anatomic disorders, endometriosis, or unknown causes.

Workup requires evaluation of reproductive anatomy and physiology; even in the absence of diagnosis, a couple is considered to be subfertile after 2 years of regular unprotected sexual intercourse without pregnancy.

Timing and type of treatment are diagnosis-dependent, but may include medical therapy, surgical therapy, or IVF.

Prognosis is dependent on patient age, infertility diagnosis, and treatment plan.

The diminished ability of a couple to conceive a child. This may result from a definable cause (e.g., ovulatory, tubal, or sperm problem), or may be unexplained failure to conceive over a 2-year period. The American Society of Reproductive Medicine recommends that couples should be evaluated after 1 year of inability to conceive unless they have a clear reason for being sterile (i.e., ovarian failure), in which case earlier intervention is indicated. Couples in which the woman is older than age 35 years should consider evaluation after 6 months of failure to conceive.[1]Practice Committee of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. Definitions of infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss: a committee opinion. Fertil Steril. 2013 Jan;99(1):63. http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(12)02242-X/fulltext http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23095139?tool=bestpractice.com