Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2026

Fertility Preservation Through Oocyte Vitrification: Clinical and Laboratory Perspectives
Published on: September 16, 2021
Infertility in American college alumnae
1Department of Population and International Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. wyshak@hsph.harvard.edu
Objective:
The objective of this paper is to present data on prevalence of infertility, causes and treatments based on self-reports of a sample of American college alumnae.
Methods:
A sample of 3940 American college alumnae, ages 37 to over 70 years, completed a self-administered questionnaire relating to infertility, its causes, treatment and treatment outcomes.
Results:
Of the entire sample (n=3940), 3.1% (n=121) had primary infertility; 14.0% (n=548) had secondary infertility and were treated; 4.7% (n=184) tried for more than 1 year without success but had pregnancies without treatment; and 62.4% had no problems with infertility; and 16% (n=616) did not try to get pregnant. The major causes were 'unexplained infertility' reported by 43.5%; low sperm count or low motility, 21.4%; and anovulatory cycles, 20.3%. Treatment by clomid was reported by 39.5%. The overall success rate, resulting from treatment was 45%. The highest success rate occurred when anovulatory cycles were treated with clomid.
Conclusion:
Prevalence of primary and secondary infertility in this sample of American women is approximately 17%, similar to that observed for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Related Concept Videos
Oogenesis
Fertilization
In Vitro Fertilization
The IVF process begins with ovarian stimulation, during which reproductive endocrinologists prescribe hormonal medications to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs instead of the single...
Infertility in Males
Infertility in Females
Endometriosis, a condition characterized by abnormal growth of endometrial...
Close Relationships and Culture

