Human reproduction update
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Human reproduction update · Sep 2017
ReviewBaseline anatomical assessment of the uterus and ovaries in infertile women: a systematic review of the evidence on which assessment methods are the safest and most effective in terms of improving fertility outcomes.
This review focuses on the initial presentation of women who suspect that they are infertile, and how best to assess the anatomy of their uterus and ovaries in order to investigate the cause of their infertility, and potentially improve desired fertility outcomes. This review was undertaken as part of a World Health Organization initiative to assess the evidence available to address guidance for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility within a global context. Providing access to care for infertile women will help to ease the psycho-social burdens, such as ostracization, intimate partner violence and other negative consequences of being involuntarily childless or unable to become pregnant despite desiring a biological child or children. ⋯ This review provides the most reliable evidence available to guide clinicians worldwide in the initial, evidence-based investigation of women with fertility problems in order to undertake the most useful investigation and avoid the burden of unnecessary tests.