infertility
Sign in to saveIn biology, infertility is the inability of a male and female organism to reproduce. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy organism that has reached sexual maturity, so children who have not undergone puberty, which is the body's start of reproductive capacity, are excluded. It is also a normal state in women after menopause.
AI overview
Infertility is the inability of a male and female organism to reproduce, a condition that differs from the normal reproductive capacity of healthy adults. It typically affects people who have gone through puberty but excludes children who haven't reached sexual maturity and women after menopause, when infertility is a natural part of aging.
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Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Infertility
- Medical condition (new).field
- Urology, gynecology
- Medical condition (new).causes
- Common in females: anovulation, blocked fallopian tube, hormonal imbalance Common in males: low sperm count, abnormal sperm morphology
- Medical condition (new).frequency
- 113 million (2015)
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
33 sectionsContents
- Definition
- World Health Organization
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Other definitions
- Primary vs. secondary infertility
- Effects
- Psychological
- Social
- Sexual
- Causes
- Iodine deficiency
- Natural infertility
- Delayed puberty
- Immune infertility
- Sexually transmitted infections
- Genetic
- Other causes
- Females
- Males
- Unexplained infertility
- In animals
- Diagnosis
- Medical treatments
- Tourism
- Stem cell therapy
- Epidemiology
- Society and culture
- Ethics
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
In biology, infertility is the inability of a male and female organism to reproduce. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy organism that has reached sexual maturity, so children who have not undergone puberty, which is the body's start of reproductive capacity, are excluded. It is also a normal state in women after menopause.
In humans, infertility is defined as the inability to become pregnant after at least one year of unprotected and regular sexual intercourse involving a male and female partner. There are many causes of infertility, including some that medical intervention can treat. Estimates from 1997, suggest that worldwide about five percent of all heterosexual couples have an unresolved problem with infertility. That figure has been on the rise, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting in 2023 that about 17.5% of people experience infertility during their lifetime, while prevalence at a given time point is 12.6%. Many more couples, however, experience involuntary childlessness for at least one year, with estimates ranging from 12% to 28%.