Facts, Diagnosis, and Risk Factors

As defined by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), infertility is a disease characterized the inability to achieve a successful pregnancy based on a patient’s medical, sexual, and reproductive history, age, physical findings, diagnostic testing, or any combination of those factors. Learn about infertility facts, diagnosis and risk factors below.

Let’s start with the facts about infertility.

It’s all about the more you know. If you find yourself a bit reluctant in taking that big step in seeing a reproductive specialist to get tested, it may help to learn more about the diagnostic process before you do. There are also many risk factors that can play a role in fertility for both men and women. Find out if you are at risk and how you can protect your fertility.

As defined by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), infertility is a disease characterized by the inability to achieve a successful pregnancy based on a patient’s medical, sexual, and reproductive history, age, physical findings, diagnostic testing, or any combination of those factors. The need for medical intervention, including, but not limited to, the use of donor gametes or donor embryos in order to achieve a successful pregnancy either as an individual or with a partner. In patients having regular, unprotected intercourse and without any known cause for either partner suggestive of impaired reproductive ability, evaluation should be initiated at 12 months when the female partner is under 35 years of age and at six months when the female partner is 35 years of age or older.

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Infertility Diagnosis

Staring down at negative pregnancy tests month after month can be soul crushing. Or knowing from the start that building your family will be an uphill battle, you need to make sure you sure you have enough information to make the choices right for you. If you are trying to get pregnant and it’s not happening as quickly as you had hoped, you may want to talk to your doctor. Let us walk you through some of the basic information about some of the red flags that may indicate a possible fertility issue as well as some tips on how to prepare for your first appointment with a fertility specialist.

Risk Factors

There are many different risk factors that can play a huge part when it comes to your fertility. Whether you are protecting your future fertility or trying to conceive now, it is helpful to know of the many potential risk factors in your life. There may be a number of external factors, lifestyle choices and environmental causes that can attribute to an infertility diagnosis. By identifying them and addressing them early on, it could hedge your chances in attaining a successful and healthier pregnancy.

Many of the risk factors for both male and female happen to be the same while other risk factors are gender specific. Find out which ones may impact you and your partner and how to optimize your fertility and over all general health.