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Infertility: Fertility In The United States

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Approximately 7.3 million Americans are infertile during their reproductive years. That number places about one out of ten American couples diagnosed with fertility problems. Infertility refers to the inability to conceive after regular unprotected sex or a female who cannot carry a pregnancy full term. Numerous risk factors are contributed to infertility. The most common factor we think of when it comes to infertility is hormonal imbalance. Hormonal imbalance is characterized by irregular menstrual cycles or short, long, or heavy periods. The lack of ovulation, the releasing of eggs from an ovary, is a factor in hormonal imbalance. Another common health factor that can affect fertility is being overweight or being underweight. Body fat …show more content…

Although we assume that fertility drugs would be the most commonly used fertility method, the artificial insemination method is to be found the most common. Artificial insemination is when “washed” sperm is inserted directly into the uterus through a thin and flexible catheter during IUI. When artificial insemination is the chosen method, a doctor may recommend the use of fertility drugs. Fertility drugs are most commonly used to induce ovulation increasing egg production and making embryo implantation more receptive. Another possible method is IVF, which is in vitro fertilization. IVF is a cycle in which eggs are extracted and fertilized with sperm in a lab. Once the embryos develop, one or two are implanted into the uterus and the rest are stored. An option like IVF, is ZIFT. ZIFT is zygote intrafallopian transfer. Instead of the embryo being inserted into the uterus, it is inserted into the fallopian …show more content…

On average the cost of artificial insemination is about $865. While being the most commonly used method, the success rate depends purely on the woman’s age and the quality of the man’s sperm. Generally, the chance of conception per cycle is 15-20%, with a 60-70% chance of pregnancy after six cycles. Due to so many fertility drugs, there is a very wide cost depending on whether the drug is a pill or an injectable. The cost can vary between $60 to $6,000 per cycle. The success rate of the pill is 40-45% while the injectable is 50%. Although the success rate of the in vitro fertilisation varies on the age of the woman, the cost on average per cycle is $8,000. The price of IVF alone does not include the additional prices of medication that are suggested to take during the cycle. While the chances of fertility choosing the zygote intrafallopian transfer method are again depending on age and health, 36% of couples become pregnant with only 29% going on to deliver. The cost of the ZIFT for one cycle is anywhere between $8,000 and

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