Infertility Treatment — More Risks and Challenges

Abstract

Infertility is defined by the failure to conceive after 12 months of unprotected intercourse, and it affects an estimated 10 percent of the population of reproductive age in the United States.¹ Medical approaches to overcoming infertility include artificial insemination and stimulation of ovulation with medication. More invasive techniques requiring the use of assisted reproductive technology involve the external manipulation of both egg and sperm and include in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection. When successful, the use of assisted reproductive technology dramatically increases the risk of multiple births² and, in so doing, increases the risk of low birth weight (a . . .