Traditionally, human infertility has been referred to as the "woman's problem" ignoring the male contribution. More recent studies have revealed that in a population of infertile couples about 40% is due to male factors, 40% is due to female factors and the other 20% are due to female and male factors together. However, to evaluate the reproductive potential of a couple the physician must see the couple as a unit. To illustrate this point further, a man with moderate infertility may never need medical attention if the spouse displays normal or above average fertility. Thus, the high reproductive potential of one partner compensates for the lower fertility of the spouse. In contrast, the same man, if his partner shows mild infertility, may need medical treatment for infertility. Infertility can be a multi-factor problem, where several conditions when present alone are not so important but when added together markedly influence the reproductive potential of a couple. Therefore, a systematic, simultaneous basic evaluation should be implemented on both spouses.

Over the past decade, knowledge and technological advances have increased the variety and availability of procedures designed to assist infertile couples in achieving pregnancy. The original and most often used infertility therapy is In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), which, along with other techniques, has substantially increased the likelihood of couples to have babies.