Infertility Statistics: You Are Not Alone By Sonja Kristiansen, MD on July 18, 2016

At Houston Fertility Center, our infertility specialists often encounter patients who feel isolated and alone, as though they are being singled out among the millions of couples who are able to conceive and give birth without incident. While it is perfectly understandable why they would feel this way, we are here to assure them that they are far from alone. In fact, according to the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 7.4 million women have received infertility treatment at some point during their lives.

This is just one of the infertility statistics our Houston, TX fertility doctors can provide to evidence exactly how common infertility and fertility treatments are. For further information about infertility and how it can be treated, please contact Houston Fertility Center today.

Statistics about Infertility

The following statistics about infertility come from the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth, published by the Centers for Disease Control:

There are approximately 1.5 million married women between the ages of 15 and 44 who are infertile, representing 6 percent of all married women in the United States.
Approximately 6.7 million women in the United States between the ages of 15 and 44 are either unable to become pregnant or unable to carry a baby to term. This represents 10.9 percent of all women between the ages of 15 and 44.

These statistics come courtesy of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine:

In one-quarter of cases, more than one factor contributes to a couple’s infertility. In roughly 40 percent of cases, male factor infertility is the sole cause or a contributing cause.
Cigarette smoking is the cause of female infertility in up to 13 percent of all cases.
Being overweight or underweight is a contributing factor in 12 percent of all female infertility cases.
In 25 percent of all cases of female infertility, ovulation problems are accountable.
Only 3 percent of all cases of infertility are treated using advanced methods such as in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Other compelling statistics include:

According to Infertility as a Covered Benefit by William M. Mercer, 65 percent of women with infertility who seek medical assistance have ended up giving birth.
According to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, in 2013, the live birth rate per fresh non-donor embryo transfer is 47.7 percent among women under 35 years of age and 39.2 percent among women between the ages of 35 and 37.
According to Infertility in America 2015, 55 percent of those surveyed who had experienced infertility believed that infertility was more stressful than unemployment, while 61 percent believed it was more stressful than divorce.
The Infertility in America 2015 report also found that 58 percent of survey respondents who forewent fertility treatments did so because of cost, while 34 percent did so because of psychological and physical stress and 30 percent because of potential health impact.

Contact Our Fertility Center

If you would like to schedule a consultation at a fertility center where you will never be treated like just another statistic, please contact Houston Fertility Center today.