For many people who want to start a family, the dream of having a
child is not easily realized; about 12% of women of childbearing age
in the United States have received an infertility service. Assisted
reproductive technology (ART) has been used in the United States
since 1981 to help women become pregnant, most commonly through the
transfer of fertilized human eggs into a woman’s uterus. However,
for many people, deciding whether to undergo this expensive and
time-consuming treatment can be difficult.
The goal of this report is to help potential ART users make
informed decisions about ART
by providing some of the information needed to answer the following
questions:
- What are my chances of having a child by using ART?
- Where can I go to get this treatment?
The
Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART),* an
organization of ART providers affiliated with the
American Society for Reproductive
Medicine (ASRM),* has been collecting data and publishing annual
reports of pregnancy success rates for fertility clinics in the
United States and Canada since 1989. In 1992, the U.S. Congress
passed the
Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act.
This law requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) to publish pregnancy success rates for ART in fertility
clinics in the United States. Since 1995, CDC has worked in
consultation with
SART* and
ASRM* to report ART success rates.
The 2004 report of pregnancy success rates is the tenth to be
issued under the law. This report is based on the latest available
data on the type, number, and outcome of ART cycles performed in
U.S. clinics.
The 2004 ART report has four major sections:
-
Commonly
asked questions about the U.S. ART clinic reporting system.
This section provides background information on infertility and
ART and an explanation of the data collection, analysis, and
publication processes.
-
A
national report. The national report section presents
overall success rates and shows how they are affected by certain
patient and treatment characteristics. Because the national report
summarizes data from all 411 fertility clinics that reported, it
can give people considering ART a good idea of the average chance
of having a child by using ART.
-
Fertility clinic tables.
Success also is related to the expertise of a particular clinic’s
staff and the quality of its laboratory. The fertility clinic
table section displays ART results and success rates for
individual U.S. fertility clinics in 2004.
- Appendixes:
Appendix A contains technical notes on the
interpretation of 95% confidence intervals and findings from the
data validation visits to selected fertility clinics.
Appendix B (Glossary) provides definitions
for technical and medical terms used throughout the report.
Appendix
C includes the names and addresses of all reporting clinics
along with a list of clinics known to be in operation in 2004 that
did not report their success rate data to CDC as required by law.
Appendix D includes the names and addresses
of national consumer organizations that offer support to people
experiencing infertility.
Success rates can be reported in a variety of ways, and the
statistical aspects of these rates can be difficult to interpret. As
a result, presenting information about ART success rates is a
complex task. This report is intended for the general public, and
the emphasis is on presenting the information in an easily
understandable form. CDC hopes that this report is informative and
helpful to people considering an ART procedure. We welcome any
suggestions for improving the report and making it easier to use.
* |
Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links. |
Previous ART Reports
Implementation
of the Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act of 1992
Assisted
Reproductive Technology: Embryo Laboratory
Date last reviewed:
12/20/2006
Content source: Division
of Reproductive Health,
National Center for Chronic Disease
Prevention and Health Promotion