Reproductive impairments in the United States, 1965-1982

The first national estimates of current fecundity status of women of all marital statuses indicate that, in 1982, about 5.1 million women were unable to have a future birth but would have liked to. About 2.7 million had difficulty bearing children, and the other 2.4 million were surgically sterile for noncontraceptive reasons. Since 1965, infertility was unchanged overall and in most age groups, but increased among wives aged 20-24. This paper explores a number of methodological and substantive questions related to reproductive impairments, such as the frequency of intercourse, the duration of infertility, and the possible causes of trends.