A term referring to a condition where a woman has had three or more miscarriages.

An abortion where the fetus dies in the uterus but there is no bleeding or cramping. A D&C will be needed to remove the fetal remains and prevent complications.

A pregnancy  loss during the first twenty weeks of gestation.

A benign (non cancerous)  growth of cells that usually does not invade adjacent tissue. A pituary adenoma can disrupt ovulation and menstruation and is often associated with excessive prolactin production.

A benign (non-cancerous) invasion of endometrial tissue into the muscular wall of the uterus; is associated with painful or heavy menstrual periods.

Scar tissue occurring in the abdominal cavity, fallopian tubes, or inside the uterus. Adhesions can interfere with transport of the egg and implantation of the embryo in the uterus.

A blood test performed to evaluate the development of the fetus and to look for fetal abnormalities.

Refers to a woman who has never had a period

A woman who has menstruated at one time, but who has not a period for six months or more

A procedure performed in the second trimester of pregnancy, involving the withdrawal of a small amount of amniotic fluid from the sac surrounding the baby for testing.

 One or a few chromosomes below the normal chromosome number.In human beings, 23 pairs of chromosomes is the normal chromosome number in each non-reproductive cell. Disease can occur when there are more or less chromosomes than normal, or aneuploidy. For example, three copies of chromosome number 21 or trisomy 21(Down's syndrome)is a form of aneuploidy

Failure or absence of ovulation

Immune or protective proteins which attack and destroy the sperm because they recognize it as a foreign substance.Antisperm antibodies may be present in the male in blood or sperm or in the female in blood or cervical mucus.

The depositing of sperm in the vagina near the cervix or directly into the uterus, with the use of a special catheter instead of by coitus.

Artificial insemination with donor sperm. A fresh donor semen specimen or a thawed frozen specimen is injected next to the woman's cervix.

Artificial insemination with the husband's sperm. The sperm may be washed and injected directly into the wife's uterus (AIH). Often used with poor semen or to overcome sperm-mucus problems.

Micromanipulation technique  for perforating the shell surrounding the egg (the zona pellucida) so that the embryo can "break out" and implant in the uterus.

 A group of therapies that employ manipulation of the egg and or sperm and or early conceptus in order to establish a pregnancy.

Low sperm motility

A condition in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues, falsely recognizing them as foreign

Semen containing no sperm, either because the testicles cannot produce sperm or because of blockage in the reproductive tract