Flag as Not Acceptable?
We review flagged content and enforce our Terms of Use, in which content must never be:
- Profane or sexually explicit
- Disrespectful or abusive
- Infringing of copyright
Parentpedia
Infertility Treatments
According to Samuel Thatcher, M.D. PhD., author of "Making a Baby: Everything You Need to Know to Get Pregnant", infertility is a female issue about as often as it's a male issue – 35% of the time both ways. 20% of the time it's due to problems for both partners and 10% of the time it remains undiagnosed. However because conception happens in a woman's body, most fertility treatment will initially focus on her.
First Steps
For many women, infertility treatment begins with a prescription for the "aspirin of fertility drugs" – clomiphene citrate, marketed as Clomida® and Serophene®. Clomiphene boosts ovulation so it's important to rule out other issues before using it. For example, women who are not conceiving because of blocked fallopian tubes will not be helped by Clomiphene.
Many women are prescribed Clomiphene while under the care of their primary care physician or gynecologist, and could be referred to a reproductive endocrinologist (RE) for further treatment. REs receive additional schooling to understand how to treat fertility problems. An RE will give you a full workup, including a battery of hormonal screenings and diagnostic tests to examine the health of your fallopian tubes, ovaries, and uterus.
All board-certified gynecologists are also qualified to perform the initial workup and physical exam, and to order or perform the laboratory and radiologic tests required. In fact, many gynecologists routinely perform this evaluation and prescribe Clomiphene citrate because there are no reproductive endocrinologists near where they practice.
Next Steps
After Clomiphene, the two most common fertility treatments are:
- Intrauterine insemination (IUI): An IUI is done in-office where the doctor deposits the sperm directly into the uterus.
- In-vitro fertilization (IVF): Ovulatory-stimulation drugs help the woman's body produce several eggs. The eggs are removed through her vagina under ultrasound guidance and carefully combined with sperm. If fertilization occurs, the resulting embryos are placed back in the woman's uterus.
* IMPORTANT NOTICE: Parentpedia contains the opinions and views of other users and not of Disney or its affiliated companies. Given the interactive nature of Parentpedia, we cannot endorse, guarantee or be responsible for the accuracy, efficacy or veracity of any content on this site, including the content generated by users, article authors or article reviewers.The contents of Parentpedia are intended for informational purposes only. Such contents provide general information that is not specific to any individual. The contents are not intended to, and do not, substitute for or constitute medical or healthcare advice, diagnosis or treatment, and may not be used for such purposes. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition and before acting on information obtained from this site. Never disregard professional medical or healthcare advice or delay in seeking it because of something you read on this site. Parentpedia does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on this site. Reliance on information presented on Parentpedia is at your own risk.
Thank You!
Thank you for helping us maintain a friendly, high quality community at Family.com. This comment will be reviewed by a community moderator.
