title: A New Way to Estimate the Potential Unmet Need for Infertility Services Among Women in the United States.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fewer than 50% of women who meet the medical/behavioral criteria for infertility receive medical services. Estimating the number of women who both meet the medical/behavioral criteria for infertility and who have pro-conception attitudes will allow for better estimates of the potential need and unmet need for infertility services in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  The National Survey of Fertility Barriers was administered by telephone to a probability sample of 4,712 women in the United States. The sample for this analysis was 292 women who reported an experience of infertility within 3 years of the time of the interview. Infertile women were asked if they were trying to conceive at the time of their infertility experience and if they wanted to have a child to determine who could be considered in need of services.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among U.S. women who have met medical criteria for infertility within the past three years, 15.9% report that they were neither trying to have a child nor wanted to have a child and can be classified as not in need of treatment. Of the 84.9% of infertile women in need of treatment, 58.1% did not even talk to a doctor about ways to become pregnant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Even after taking into account that not all infertile women are in need of treatment, there is still a large unmet need for infertility treatment in the United States.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Studies of the incidence of infertility should include measures of both trying to have a child and wanting to have a child.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Sociology, Alfred University , Alfred, New York.
authors.forename: Arthur L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Greil
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Sociology, Old Dominion University , Norfolk, Virginia.
authors.forename: Kathleen S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Slauson-Blevins
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln , Lincoln, Nebraska.
authors.forename: Stacy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tiemeyer
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln , Lincoln, Nebraska.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McQuillan
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Family Demography, Oklahoma State University , Tulsa, Oklahoma.
authors.forename: Karina M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Shreffler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States