Primary And Secondary Infertility

Infertility is the inability to conceive and achieve pregnancy. In general, infertility can be divided into primary infertility and secondary infertility.

Primary infertility refers to couples who have not been able to achieve pregnancy after at least 1 year of unprotected intercourse.

Secondary infertility refers to couples who have been pregnant at least once in the past but have not been able to achieve pregnancy again after at least one year of unprotected sex. About 20% of women experience secondary infertility at some point in their life and secondary infertility is believed to be more common than primary infertility. Secondary infertility can sometimes be due to complications which may have arisen with a previous delivery.

Some women conceive fairly easily but then repeatedly miscarry and thus are considered infertile. It is estimated that 10% - 20% of couples are unable to conceive after 1 year of unprotected baby making intercourse.

The chances of getting pregnant in healthy couples who are both under the age of 30 and regularly having unprotected intercourse, are between 25% and 30% each menstrual cycle. A woman's peak fertility is usually in her early 20s, and as she ages beyond 35 (and particularly after the age of 40), her chances of getting pregnant decline to less than 10% per month.

Increased risk of primary and secondary infertility is also usually associated with the following:

• Sexually transmitted diseases
• History of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
• History of orchitis or epididymitis in men
• Mumps (men)
• Varicocele (men)
• A past medical history that includes DES exposure (men or women)
• Eating disorders (women)
• Anovulatory menstrual cycles
• Endometriosis
• Defects of the uterus (myomas) or cervical obstruction
• Long-term (chronic) disease such as diabetes>

It is believed that about 30% – 40% of all infertility is due to male factors and that female factors account for 40% – 50% of infertility in couples; the remaining 10% – 30% of cases are either due to contributing factors from both partners or to unexplained infertility.

DuoFertility will help you to identify your fertile days and the best time to try for a baby which is important in cases of both primary and secondary infertility. In some cases of infertility, however, monitoring your ovulation will not increase your chances of getting pregnant. Please consult our infertility pages to find out more.

Read more about irregular menstrual cycles

Read more about polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

Find out how DuoFertility works

Did you know...?

Asherman’s syndrome (problems with the scar tissue in the uterus) is a potential cause of secondary infertility. It is also rarely ever found in women who have had no children previously. This may lead your doctor or specialist to look at your birth and surgical history from any previous pregnancies.