Quick Facts About Infertility Infertility is NOT an inconvenience; it is a disease of the reproductive system that impairs the body's ability to perform the basic function of reproduction.  Infertility affects about 6.1 million women and their partners in the U.S.  -- about ten percent of the reproductive-age population (Source: National Survey of Family Growth, CDC 1995).  Infertility affects men and women equally.  Most infertility cases -- 85% to 90% -- are treated with conventional medical therapies such as medication or surgery.  While vital for some patients, in vitro fertilization and similar treatments account for less than 3% of infertility services, and about (or approximately) seven hundredths of one percent (0.07%) of U.S. health care costs.