What is unexplained infertility?
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Unexplained infertility is diagnosed when standard evaluations of both partners find no cause. Many older, obscure tests were discarded after research showed they didn’t help. Care now focuses on a core set of evidence-based tests; if those are normal, couples consider empiric treatment options—timed intercourse, intrauterine insemination, or IVF—reviewing success rates, risks, and costs to choose an individualized plan.
Unexplained infertility: Infertility where no specific cause is found after standard testing of both partners.
Diagnosis of exclusion: A diagnosis made after ruling out all known possible causes.
Infertility: Difficulty getting pregnant after a period of trying; further evaluated to find possible causes.
Empirically treat: Providing treatment based on evidence of benefit even when the exact cause isn’t identified.
Timed intercourse: Having sex during the fertile window at the time of ovulation to increase chances of pregnancy.
Ovulation: The release of an egg from the ovary; the most fertile time in the cycle.
Intrauterine insemination: A procedure where prepared (washed) sperm is placed directly into the uterus around ovulation.
Washed sperm: Sperm processed in a lab to concentrate healthy sperm and remove seminal fluid before insemination.
Uterus: The womb; the organ where a pregnancy develops.
IVF (in vitro fertilization): A treatment where eggs and sperm are combined in a lab, and resulting embryo(s) are transferred to the uterus.