Female infertility is most often caused by problems with ovulation (40%) or fallopian tubes (40%). Other possible causes include endometriosis, in which the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, premature ovarian failure, in which a woman’s ovaries stop functioning before she reaches the age of forty, and uterine fibroids. Women who were exposed in the womb to diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen prescribed to women from 1938-1971, have had an increased risk of infertility. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) also play a major role in infertility. Chlamydia, for example, has one of the highest numbers of reported cases of STIs.
