As every patient has different circumstances, you should not look just at clinics' 'success rates'. You should take into account the many other aspects that may well be relevant to you, such as a clinic's location, multiple birth rates, restrictions on treatment and costs. A visit to the clinic can also be worthwhile. The male and female reproductive systems are intricate, and unfortunately many things can go wrong within a lifetime. Although the word 'infertility' is commonly used, to be 'infertile' is actually rare and means a total absence of reproductive function.
Most people seeking treatment have a varying degree of what is known as 'subfertility'.
One or more parts of their reproductive systems are impaired in some way, and they may well need some medical help to conceive. In this booklet we use the word 'infertility' to include 'subfertility'. Infertility equally affects both men and women. For men it is most commonly due to poor sperm quality. For women it can be due to a number of factors.