Question 2: What is Infertility?

So how bad was the snow in Washington, DC? Let me tell you....it was epic! Seriously. I had not seen see snow that deep since the Blizzard of 1978 in Boston when I was only 12 years old (see photo below).

The roads were a complete disaster and just trying to get to work was near impossible. I remember a few years ago when we had a lesser storm that I arrived at the office to find myself the only employee who made it in. There were 18 patients waiting and no nurses, no medical assistants, no front desk. So until the rest of the crew made it in I was checking the patients in, rooming them, drawing the blood and doing the sonograms (my usual role)! So the hotel seemed a good option for this most recent storm (see other photo).

Of course, the bad weather was a perfect time for us to work on revising the book and trying to get it off to the publisher. I am pleased to say that we are doing well in terms of the timetable and I truly hope thatthe book will go to press way before I complete running through all these questions. I think that I need to talk with Jones and Bartlett about an iPad version so I have an excuse to give Steve Jobs more of my money.

2. What is infertility?

Approximately 80% to 85% of couples who are trying to become pregnant will successfully conceive within a year. Thus infertility is commonly defined as the inability to achieve a pregnancy within 12 months of unprotected intercourse. However, certain patients may have recognized factors that preclude normal conception; for them, the 12-month period of waiting makes little sense. Common examples of women with such problems include those who have extremely irregular periods, a history of severe endometriosis, a history of previous tubal pregnancies, or other anatomical factors that would clearly lead to diminished fertility. Since fertility declines significantly as a woman ages, couples are encouraged to seek evaluation for infertility after 6 months of no contraception if the woman is older than age 35.

Another problem related to reproduction is recurrent pregnancy loss. Many women can readily conceive, only to suffer repeated pregnancy losses. These women represent a special subset of those who are unable to successfully reproduce and should be evaluated by a medical professional.