Medically assisted procreation (MAP) encompasses a range of techniques directed at compensating for situations of infertility in couples, which may depend on the man or the woman.
Couple infertility is defined as the inability to conceive and/or carry a pregnancy to term after at least one year of unprotected, purposeful sexual intercourse.
Currently in Europe, infertility affects about 20% of couples of reproductive age, with a frequency that increases with the woman’s age, due to the progressive reduction of ovarian reserve and reproductive efficiency (in particular, after the age of 35).
The causes of couple infertility may affect the man (30% of cases), the woman (30% of cases) or both partners (20% of cases), while in the remaining 20% of cases the reasons behind infertility remain unknown (idiopathic infertility).
