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Infertility and Subfertility Cofactors in Women with PCOS

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Book cover Infertility in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

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Abstract

Infertility is defined as a failure to conceive after 12 months of unprotected intercourse. Due to the declining fertility with increasing age, couples in which the female partner age is older than 35 years may be considered as infertile after 6 months of unprotected intercourse. Irrespectively from a previous diagnosis of PCOS, the evaluation of infertility should focus on the couple and not solely on the female partner. In fact, even if one of the main cause of infertility include ovulatory dysfunction, some couples may be affected by tubal and uterine factors, endometriosis, male factor, and unexplained infertility. Infertility investigation is usually performed after a year of infertility, although earlier evaluation should be offered to those with known conditions related to subfertility. In women with PCOS, the main contributing factor for the infertility is anovulation, but several additional factors may play a role. This chapter discusses factors leading to anovulation in women with PCOS and additional characteristics of PCOS women that may affect their fertility potential.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 1A1, Canada

    Tal Shavit & Togas Tulandi

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  1. Tal Shavit
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  2. Togas Tulandi
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Correspondence to Togas Tulandi .

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  1. Unit of Reproductive Medicine and Surgery, ASMN-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy

    Stefano Palomba

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Shavit, T., Tulandi, T. (2018). Infertility and Subfertility Cofactors in Women with PCOS. In: Palomba, S. (eds) Infertility in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45534-1_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45534-1_6

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