Infertility affects 6.1 million American women and their partners—about 10 percent of those of reproductive age.

Infertility is a disease that affects the male or female reproductive system with almost equal frequency.

Recent improvements in medication, microsurgery and in vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques make pregnancy possible for more than half of couples pursuing treatment.

An estimated 25 percent of infertile couples have more than one factor contributing to their infertility.

The male partner is either the sole cause or a contributing cause of infertility in approximately one third of infertile couples.

Fallopian tube blockage and/or pelvic factors account for approximately 25 percent of all female infertility problems.

Irregular or abnormal ovulation accounts for approximately 25 percent of all female infertility cases.

Endometriosis is found in about 60 to 70 percent of infertile women who have laparoscopy as part of their infertility assessment.

Approximately 30 percent of couples who have a complete fertility assessment are diagnosed with unexplained infertility because no specific cause is identified.

The number of babies born each year as the result of assisted reproductive technology is growing rapidly. In December 2005, the CDC released its ninth annual report which stated that more than 48,000 babies were born as a result of assisted reproductive technologies in 2003, up from 45,751 in 2002.