Infertility Awareness Week - Oct 19-25

• Approximately 6.1 million couples in the United States, or 10 percent of all couples of childbearing age, have difficulty conceiving.


• Ovulation abnormalities and sperm deficiencies are the most common causes of infertility. Together, they are responsible for two-thirds of infertility problems.


• 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.


• 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.

Currently in the United States, just twelve states require health insurance companies to provide coverage for infertility tests and procedures. For many families, this means giving up on dreams of having a family simply because the costs associated are prohibitively expensive. Costs for one cycle of in-vitro fertilization average $12,000 and the average success rate in one cycle is only 30-35% for women under age 35.

Contrast those statistics to the $2.25 per month it would cost to include infertility coverage to monthly insurance premiums and it is very difficult to see why coverage isn't mandated.

One in six couples are faced with infertility.

One in six couples will not have a little one in a Halloween costume this year.

One in six couples will not announce a pregnancy around the Thanksgiving table.

One in six couples will not tuck presents under the Christmas tree, excited for the giggles in the morning.



Please help make mandated infertility coverage a reality in this country. Please repost this to become an advocate for infertility awareness.