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INFERTILITY

Fast Facts: Genetic Testing for Infertility

Genetic testing for infertility can help you:

  • learn if treatments are available
  • find reproductive options that might be most effective
  • skip treatments that won't be effective
  • decide on your best next steps

What is "infertility"?

  • Infertility is a complex issue. Doctors say that a couple is experiencing infertility if the woman in a couple is 33 years old or younger and has been unable to become pregnant after a year of trying. Or, if the woman is older than 33, after six months of trying.
  • Infertility is a couple's issue.

Infertility is a common problem:

  • About 8 to 10 percent of couples (1 in 10) struggle with infertility.

Both men and women can have factors that contribute to infertility:

  • 1/3 of all cases are due to female infertility
  • 1/3 of all cases are due to male infertility
  • 1/3 of the time both partners have factors that suggest a cause for the infertility.

For women, fertility decreases with age because:

  • Hormonal changes decrease ovarian function. For example, an older woman may not ovulate every month.
  • An older woman's eggs are not as robust as when she is younger.
  • An older woman's eggs are more likely to carry chromosome abnormalities.
Woman's Age Average Fertility
3075%
3566%
4044%

Genetics is thought to be a contributing factor in 5 to 10 percent of couples who experience infertility or recurrent pregnancy loss:

  • 1 in 4000 men in the general population have Y chromosome deletions that can contribute to infertility. (About 20 percent, or 1 in 5, men who don't make any sperm have Y deletions.)
  • At least 1 in 500 people in the general population have chromosomal rearrangements or inversions that can contribute to infertility. And, 1 in 20 couples who experience infertility have a chromosomal rearrangement.
  • Depending on ethnicity, 1 in 20 to 1 in 2500 people have changes in one or both copies of the cystic fibrosis gene that can contribute to infertility.
  • 1 in 246 to 1 in 468 Caucasian women are believed to carry a Fragile X premutation, which can contribute to infertility.
  • Genetic infertility affects men and women of all races and socioeconomic status.
  • About 15 to 20 percent of the time no explanation can be found for infertility, even when couples have gone through all of the standard physical, hormonal, and genetic tests.

These days, being diagnosed with infertility doesn't mean that you will never have a baby. Outcomes depend on the cause of infertility and the treatments or options you choose, but generally the majority of couples can achieve their goal of having a family.

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