Here are some fast facts on infertility according to the National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC):
-- Approximately 6.1 million couples in the United States, or 10 percent of all couples of childbearing age, have difficulty conceiving.
-- When no fertility problems are present, the average couple between ages 29 and 33 has about a 20 to 25 percent chance of becoming pregnant during any given menstrual cycle.
-- About one-third of infertility cases can be attributed to males, another third to females and the remaining third to both members of a couple. About 10 to 20 percent of infertility cases go unexplained, although these couples often later succeed in becoming pregnant.
-- Ovulation abnormalities and sperm deficiencies are the most common causes of infertility. Together, they are responsible for two-thirds of infertility problems.
-- About 15 percent of female infertility cases are the result of fallopian tube disease while irregular ovulation accounts for about 25 percent.
-- About 60 to 70 percent of women who have a laparoscopy as part of their infertility assessment are found to have endometriosis, a painful condition in which endometrial cells -- usually only found lining the uterus -- grow in other locations.
-- A 29-year-old woman has a 20 percent per month chance of getting pregnant -- compared to 7 percent for a woman at age 39.
-- In 85 to 90 percent of all cases, infertility is treated with either medication or surgery. Just 5 to 10 percent of infertility treatments involve in vitro fertilization or other kinds of assisted reproductive technologies, in which a laboratory is used to try to help a couple become pregnant.
-- There are about 600 reproductive endocrinologists (fertility specialists) in the United States, compared to 28,000 ob/gyns (obstetricians-gynecologists).
-- Women are most fertile during ovulation, which occurs around the 14th day of their menstrual cycle. However, the exact time of ovulation varies among women due to normal differences in cycle length.
-- After ovulation occurs, an egg remains viable for about 24 hours. Sperm, on the other hand, can live in a woman's reproductive tract up to 72 hours.
-- The sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) chlamydia and gonorrhea are the most important preventable causes of infertility, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If untreated, up to 40 percent of women with these conditions will develop pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can lead to infertility.
-- The number of children born as a result of assisted reproductive technologies is growing each year. In 2005, that number was more than 52,000 according to the CDC -- compared to 14,500 in 1996.
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