Health and Wellness Blog

Canada's fertility rate (the average number of children per woman) is 1.66 - well below the replacement level fertility rate of 2.1 (the level of fertility the population needs to replace itself from one generation to the next).

Some people choose to be childless due to their lifestyle, others just can't get pregnant naturally or even with medical assistance – that is infertility. In a nutshell, infertility means not being able to become pregnant after a year of trying. It isn't uncommon: there are about 7% Canadian and 10% American having difficulty to get pregnant.

There are various causes of infertility.

• In about 20 percent of cases, infertility is due to a cause involving only the male partner.
• In about 30 to 40 percent of cases, infertility is due to causes involving both the male and female.
• In the remaining 40 to 50 percent of cases, infertility is due entirely to a cause involving the female.

See more details in Merck Manual.

Although Infertility isn't life threatening like cancer, it can be very emotional, and take a toll on your family relationships. Take a deep breath, calm down and check out what options are available out there: treatment or adoption.

Borrow some books from the Toronto Public Library on your topic:

More information on infertility:

• Infertility Awareness Association of Canada: Adoption
• MedBroadcast: Infertility
• MedlinePlus: Infertility
• New York Online Access to Health: Infertility