Discussion Week 4: Infertility
Discussion Week 4: Infertility
Infertility is a serious concern that affects 1 in 4 couples of
reproductive age, with increasing incidence correlated with
increased age (Crawford & Steiner, 2015; Lobo, 2017). Commonly
infertility is considered to be a diagnosis for couples who have not
achieved pregnancy after 1 year of regular, unprotected
intercourse when the woman is less than 35 years of age or after 6
months when the woman is older than 35 years of age. Fecundity
is the term used to describe the chance of achieving pregnancy
and subsequent live birth within one menstrual cycle. Fecundity
averages 20% in couples who are not experiencing reproductive
problems (American Society of Reproductive Medicine [ASRM],
2012).
Probable causes of infertility include the trend toward delaying
pregnancy until later in life, a time when fertility decreases
naturally and the prevalence of diseases such as endometriosis
and ovulatory dysfunction increases. Questions exist regarding
whether there has been an increase in male infertility or whether
male infertility is more readily identified because of improvements
in diagnosis.
For the couple experiencing infertility, diagnosis and treatment
strategies require considerable physical, emotional, and financial
investment over an extended period of time. Feelings connected
with infertility are many and complex, often interfering with
quality of life. It is common for infertile couples to experience
anxiety from the need to undergo many tests and examinations

Published by
Dissertations
View all posts