New definitions for infertility and other definitions

Obie Editorial Team

Recently, there have been new definitions for infertility published in Fertility & Sterility:

Broadened definition of infertility


Infertility: A disease characterized by the failure to establish a clinical pregnancy after 12 months of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse or due to an impairment of a person’s capacity to reproduce either as an individual or with his/her partner. Fertility interventions may be initiated in less than 1 year based on medical, sexual and reproductive history, age, physical findings and diagnostic testing. Infertility is a disease, which generates disability
as an impairment of function.

Some terms with an important new definition

• Clinical pregnancy

• Conception (removed from glossary)

• Diminished ovarian reserve

• Fertility care

• Hypospermia (replaces oligospermia)

• Ovarian reserve

• Pregnancy

• Preimplantation genetic testing

• Spontaneous abortion/miscarriage

• Subfertility (should be used interchangeably with infertility) 

Zegers-Hochchild F, Adamson GD, Dyer S, et al. The International Glossary on Infertility
and Fertility Care, 2017. Fertil Steril. 2017;108(3):393–406.