While one in eight couples in the United States are plagued with fertility problems, the outlook—if they seek medical help sooner rather than later—has never been brighter. Infertility treatments have improved, options have expanded, and doctors are more skilled at the techniques.

Sometimes infertility can be treated with medication or surgical repair of reproductive organs. Another standard fertility treatment is to do one to three cycles of ovarian stimulation and intrauterine insemination, says Guy Ringler, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist at the Santa Monica—UCLA Medical Center.

This involves stimulating the ovaries to boost egg production with medicine such as Clomid, and then inserting a thin catheter into the uterine cavity to place the sperm there. The treatment, Dr. Ringler says, "will increase the pregnancy rate from about 3 percent per month to about 12 percent to 15 percent in women under age 40, and to about 5 to 7 percent in those over age 40."

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By Michael W. Smith, MD; Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD