Infertility is the inability to conceive after one year of unprotected intercourse. The emotional side-effects of infertility can be devastating. You may find yourself facing anger, blame, self-doubt, frustration, even grief. You may experience guilt and sadness. In addition, those of you who seek medical help must deal with other concerns. How long will treatment last? What will be involved? How difficult will it be? How much will it cost? Most importantly, what are your chances for success? When we uncover what the problem is and suggest what can be done to help, much of this frustration can be relieved.

At what point should we consult a doctor?

On average, it takes about 5.3 months to conceive. However, after one year's time about 15% still have trouble conceiving.

If you have not conceived after a year of trying, you should see a physician for a complete workup and treatment.  If you are 35 years of age or over you should seek evaluation in 6 months.  Most causes of infertility are identifiable and treatable with methods readily available.

What are some of the causes of infertility?

It is important to remember that infertility is not simply caused by either the male or the female. Support for both partners is critical to the success of whatever procedure you choose.

A low sperm count and poor sperm motility account for about 40% of infertility problems.

The other 60% are related to the woman and fall into one or more of the following categories:

• Adhesions or damage to the fallopian tubes. Previous surgery, endometriosis or past infections often result in adhesions or scarring which can prevent the tubes from picking up an egg. Between 20-40% 
• Difficulty in ovulation, or monthly production of an egg. Approximately 10-20% 
• Cervical damage, which results in absent or poor cervical mucus.

Up to 5-10%
• Immunologic factors resulting in the woman making antibodies against her partner's sperm.

About 1-5%
• Unexplained infertility. This diagnosis means that medical science does not yet have the means to determine the cause of the inability to conceive.

About 10-20%

As many as 35% of all infertile couples have more than one cause
for their infertility.

For this reason, choosing a doctor with expertise, experience, and the facilities to complete a thorough workup and treatment is crucial to
your success.

How should we go about choosing a doctor? 

The most critical aspect is that the doctor has extensive experience with infertility and a known success rate.

If you're like most, you've established a relationship with a gynecologist whom you trust and respect. And although ob/gyn's are familiar with various issues related to infertility, their specialty lies in a different field. Today, reproductive medicine is advancing far too quickly for non-specialists to stay informed of, or trained in, the full range of technologies available.

The Arizona Center for Fertility Studies is a member of the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (SART). According to SART's data on ART, ACFS has some of the best success rates in the U.S.

Is infertility covered by insurance?

In many cases, insurance companies will reimburse up to 80% of the costs for the evaluation of infertility and many will also pay a percentage of the treatment. But for many couples there may be little to no coverage for infertility procedures. Fortunately, much of the infertility evaluation and resulting treatments are not that costly. In fact, other than the more advanced, "high-tech" procedures, there can be much success without unmanageable costs.