ABSTRACT
Female infertility can be due to a tuboperitoneal, ovulatory, uterine, cervical or vulvovaginal factor. The prevalence of unexplained infertility ranges from 3 to 14 per cent of all investigated infertility cases. Although in vitro fertilisation (IVF) may have achieved popular notoriety, it is certainly not the only option, nor is it necessarily always the best option for treating infertility. Other treatments including timed intercourse, ovarian stimulation, and artificial insemination, are important alternatives to IVF. IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is responsible for only about 20 per cent of pregnancies among infertile couples. This means that in most cases, pregnancies are obtained through non-IVF therapies. In some cases, it is possible to aspirate spermatozoa directly from the testes, and to achieve fertilisation and subsequent pregnancy by ICSI. In contrast, hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism can be treated with gonadotrophin therapy.
