A Member of the University of Maryland Medical System | In Partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Get answers to your female Fertility and Infertility questions.
Dr. McClamrock’s Bio | Q&A Archive
Inability to conceive; Unable to get pregnant
Infertility means you cannot make a baby (conceive).
Infertility is grouped into two categories:
A wide range of physical and emotional factors can cause infertility. Infertility may be due to problems in the woman, man, or both.
FEMALE INFERTILITY:
Female infertility may occur when:
Female infertility may be caused by:
MALE INFERTILITY:
Male infertility may be due to:
Male infertility can be caused by:
In healthy couples under age 30 who have sex regularly, the chance of getting pregnant is about 25 - 30% per month.
A woman's peak fertility occurs in her early 20s. After age 35 (and especially 40), the chances that a woman can get pregnant drops considerably.
Jose-Miller AB, Boyden JW, Frey KA. Infertility. Am Fam Physician. 2007;75(6):894-856.
Lobo RA. Infertility: etiology, diagnostic evaluation, management, prognosis. In: Katz VL, Lentz GM, Lobo RA, Gershenson DM eds. Comprehensive Gynecology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2007: chap 41.
Speroff L, Fitz M, eds. Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2005.
Brassard M, Melk YA, Baillargeon JP. Basic Infertility Including Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Medical Clinics of North America. Sept 2008;92(5).
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).
© 2011 University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). All rights reserved.
UMMC is a member of the University of Maryland Medical System,
22 S. Greene Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. TDD: 1-800-735-2258 or 1.866.408.6885