Predictors of pregnancy and discontinuation of infertility services among women who received medical help to become pregnant, National Survey of Family Growth, 2002
Received 7 December 2007; received in revised form 11 January 2008; accepted 14 January 2008. published online 17 March 2008.
Objective
To determine demographic characteristics associated with pregnancy and, separately, discontinuation of infertility services when unsuccessful at achieving pregnancy, among a national sample of women who received infertility services.
Design
Using a log-linear regression model, we examined associations with becoming pregnant among women who had received infertility services; and using a Cox proportional hazards model, we examined associations with earlier infertility service discontinuation.
Setting
2002 National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle 6.
Participant(s)
A total of 530 women aged 18–44 years in the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth who had received infertility services.
Intervention(s)
None.
Main Outcome Measure(s)
Relative risks for predictors of pregnancy after receiving infertility services; median time to discontinuation of infertility services; hazard ratios for predictors of earlier discontinuation of services.
Result(s)
Fifty-nine percent of respondents became pregnant while receiving infertility services, and 32% reported discontinuing infertility services before establishing a pregnancy. Women received infertility services for a median of 8 months; among those who discontinued services, more than half did so within 1 month. Among women who received infertility services, those who were white, nonsmokers, nulliparous, had insurance coverage, and received more than advice had a higher likelihood of pregnancy. Non-whites, parous women, and smokers discontinued infertility services earlier than others.
Conclusion(s)
Patients should be adequately counseled regarding modifiable behaviors and the range of services available before making decisions regarding their infertility.
Division of Reproductive Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Reprint requests: Sherry L. Farr, Ph.D., Division of Reproductive Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mail-stop K-34, 4770 Buford Highway, Atlanta, GA 30341 (FAX: 770-488-6391).
The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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