Erika Tabke, MSN

The three most common causes of male infertility are:

• the body's inability to make healthy sperm,
• the body's inability to make a sufficient number of sperm, and
• the inability of the man's body to transport the sperm to the semen and then out of the body.

Male infertility, the inability to impregnate a female partner within six to twelve months, is a common reason that couples seek medical help to conceive. About 20% of infertility in the U.S. can be attributed to male factor problems, and an additional 20-40% are partially attributable to male factors.

Infertility is more common than you might think. Many people keep it to themselves because it is a personal topic; in some cultures, religions and/or families, being infertile is not something that is talked about openly. You probably know more than one couple who is struggling with infertility right

A laparoscopy serves two purposes during infertility treatment:

• to help diagnose the cause of infertility in an individual, and
• to perform any number of surgeries that can greatly increase the chances of future pregnancy.

A laparoscopy is a "minimally invasive" surgical procedure. The surgeon

A direct-entry midwife is a person who is trained to assist with various aspects of childbirth, including prenatal care, preparation for childbirth, and labor and delivery outside of a hospital setting. Direct-entry midwives are not nurses and, depending on the state in which they practice, do not

Painful cramping during menstruation may be a sign of potential infertility issues. One of the most common causes of painful menstrual cramping is a condition known as endometriosis. With endometriosis, the tissues that line the uterus (the endometrium) are found outside of the uterus in the pelvic

Yes! Egg donation and surrogacy are both excellent family-building options for couples facing infertility. The relative ease or difficulty of surrogacy is dependent on where you live; in the U.S., several states are very surrogate-friendly, while other states involve more red tape. Resolve.org, the

Infertility is equally attributable to both the male and female partners. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, about 40% of infertility cases are due to male factors, about 40% are due to female factors, and the remaining 20% are either a combination of both partners' factors

Yes, most women with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) can become pregnant, but some cannot do so without some intervention by a fertility specialist. PID happens when a woman contracts one or more untreated sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including gonorrhea and Chlamydia, and does not get