Q: What causes infertility in men?
A: Infertility in men is most often caused by:
- problems making sperm — producing too few sperm or none at all
- problems with the sperm's ability to reach the egg and fertilize it — abnormal sperm shape or structure prevent it from moving correctly
Sometimes a man is born with the problems that affect his sperm. Other times problems start later in life due to illness or injury. For example, cystic fibrosis often causes infertility in men.
Q: What causes infertility in women?
A: Problems with ovulation account for most cases of infertility in women. Without ovulation, there are no eggs to be fertilized. Some signs that a woman is not ovulating normally include irregular or absent menstrual periods.
Less common causes of fertility problems in women include:
- blocked fallopian tubes due to pelvic inflammatory disease, endometriosis, or surgery for an ectopic pregnancy
- physical problems with the uterus
- uterine fibroids
Q: What things increase a woman's risk of infertility?
A: Many things can affect a woman's ability to have a baby. These include:
- age
- stress
- poor diet
- athletic training
- being overweight or underweight
- tobacco smoking
- excess alcohol consumption
- sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
- health problems that cause hormonal changes
Q: How does age affect a woman's ability to have children?
A: More and more women are waiting until their 30s and 40s to have children. Actually, about 20 percent of women in the United States now have their first child after age 35. So age is an increasingly common cause of fertility problems. About one third of couples in which the woman is over 35 have fertility problems.
Aging decreases a woman's chances of having a baby in the following ways:
- The ability of a woman's ovaries to release eggs ready for fertilization declines with age.
- The health of a woman's eggs declines with age.
- As a woman ages, she is more likely to have health problems that can interfere with fertility.
- As a women ages, her risk of having a miscarriage increases.
