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40% of women diagnosed with infertility successfully become pregnant within the next two years
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Almost half of women who fail to conceive within a year later become pregnant without any treatment, GMA News reports, based on materials from the journal Fertility and Sterility.
Australian scientists observed 1,376 women aged 28 to 36 who had been trying unsuccessfully to conceive for at least one year. Over several years, they all underwent medical examinations and questionnaires and were diagnosed with infertility.
About 600 of the women in the study group underwent hormonal treatment for infertility or IVF. Of these, 53% successfully carried to term and gave birth to a child. The remaining women did not seek medical help, but 44% of them also became mothers. No statistical difference in the number of complications was noted between women who conceived with the help of doctors and those who did not receive treatment.
True, doctors clarify that the calculations did not take into account the women's change of partners during the entire observation period, and it is also unknown whether they changed their lifestyle. Despite this, doctors advise women not to despair and to try to conceive a child until the very end, even if the attempts have been going on for a year or more.
“Women can get pregnant faster if they try IVF, but many women can do it on their own,” says Courtney Lynch of Ohio State University in Columbus. About 15 percent of women fail to conceive after a year of trying, she says. But only 3 percent to 5 percent are truly infertile. The rest—about 40 percent of women diagnosed with infertility—will successfully conceive within the next year or two. “If you’re 28, it makes sense to try for another year before seeing a doctor,” says Lynch.
Boston-based IVF specialist Alice Domar agrees: "If you're young and you're diagnosed with unexplained infertility, you have a pretty good chance of conceiving spontaneously. Plus, hormone treatments cost a woman about a dollar a day to get her ovulation back to normal. And IVF costs about $15,000 and isn't always covered by insurance."