Fertility

Infertility in Women

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Signs and Symptoms

A woman's age is probably the most significant factor related to her ability to conceive. While many women today are waiting until later in life to attempt pregnancy, the ovary's ability to produce normal, healthy eggs declines with age, increasing the risk of chromosomal abnormalities and unsuccessful implantation.

The likelihood for successful pregnancy generally begins to decrease in women in their early 30s or possibly in their late 20s. A recent European study found that fertility begins to wane as early as age 27. While this decline is initially quite minimal, it begins to accelerate at about age 38 and fall even more rapidly at age 42 and beyond. Many doctors recommend that women over 35 have a fertility evaluation after attempting pregnancy for six months. Couples under age 35 should consider evaluation if conception does not occur after trying for a year. A woman using donor insemination should ask her physician about an infertility evaluation after six months.

Other conditions that can interfere with a woman's ability to conceive and carry a child to term include:

• Endometriosis or uterine fibroids, although many women with these conditions conceive healthy children without trouble.
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
• Pituitary tumors
• Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated May 8, 2007