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In case you are asking what is infertility you should know that it can be defined as the inability to get pregnant after long periods of time of having unprotected sex.

It could mean that the male is not able to contribute to conception or the inability of the woman to carry a pregnancy to term.

Information about the infertility problem

According to studies in more than half of the cases the infertility is caused by the woman’s problem. In the rest of the cases the problem is caused by the male or by unknown problems.

Statistically speaking, in 20% of the cases the infertility is caused by the man’s problems.

On the other hand, in 40%-50% of the cases the infertility is caused by the woman and in 30%-40% of the cases the problem of infertility is caused by both the man and the woman or by unknown causes. The statistical data suggests that 10%-15% of the couples have to struggle with infertility. In many cases infertility is treatable.

Risk factors

When you are asking what is infertility most probably you also think about the factors that increase the chances of infertility. One of these factors is age. After the age of 32 the chances of a woman getting pregnant decrease. The male fertility starts to drop after the age of 40.

Smoking is another factor that you have to think about regarding the infertility issue. This increases the chances of infertility both in case of men and women. Smoking also neutralizes the effects of the fertility treatments meaning that these treatments will be useless. It increases the chances of a miscarriage too.

If you are interested in what is infertility, you also have to think about alcohol consumption as a risk factor. It lowers the fertility of males. Moderate alcohol drinking isn’t linked to infertility, but it can lower fertility in case of men with a low sperm count.

Obese or overweight women often find themselves faced with the issue of infertility. Obese men have higher chances of having abnormal sperm. On the other hand underweight people can also have issues of this kind. Vegan people have to make sure that they have enough iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamin B12.

Causes of infertility

The women asking “what is infertility” are interested for sure in the actual causes of the problem. In case of women the causes include ovulation disorders such as premature ovarian failure, PCOS, hyperprolactinemia, low egg quality, overactive thyroid gland, underactive thyroid gland and chronic conditions.

The problems of the fallopian tubes or uterus can lead to infertility conditions as well. These include submucosal fibroids, endometriosis, sterilization treatment or previous surgery.  Medications like NSAIDs, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and illegal drugs can have the same effects.

Now you know the answer to the question what is infertility. If you think you have problems of this kind the best thing you could do is to see a fertility specialist to find out what are your chances of conception.