Medical History and Physical Examination

Often, reduced fertility is brought about by a number of individual factors, each of which by itself may not be significant enough to prevent pregnancy. However, when several of these factors happen at the same time, they may cause reproductive problems. So infertility specialists approach this by putting each partner through a basic minimum workup which generally determines the factors that contribute to the infertility. The basic workup which is generally followed, as outlined by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, consists of tests which consider the following factors: ovulatory, tubal, uterine, and male factors. Factors such as age, weight, smoking and drug use are also considered. This workup can take 2 to 3 months. Last modified on: 30 June 2015