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When it comes to infertility, there are a lot of common misconceptions. It would be impossible to list them all here, because even in today’s age of transparency around fertility issues and treatment, there are still just so many misguided ideas. But it all starts with the definition of the term itself.
The word “infertility” suggests that someone is just completely lacking in the ability to be fertile — to conceive a child. So when someone hears or even receives that diagnosis, their head may go straight to “I can never get pregnant."
A lot of people don't know the clinical definition of infertility
The long-held definition of infertility diagnoses the condition after someone has not conceived after a year of unprotected sex. In 2023, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) updated the clinical definition of infertility to something more inclusive: ‘‘'Infertility' is a disease, condition, or status characterized by any of the following: The inability to achieve a successful pregnancy based on a patient’s medical, sexual, and reproductive history, age, physical findings, diagnostic testing, or any combination of those factors. The need for medical intervention, including, but not limited to, the use of donor gametes or donor embryos in order to achieve a successful pregnancy either as an individual or with a partner. In patients having regular, unprotected intercourse and without any known etiology for either partner suggestive of impaired reproductive ability, evaluation should be initiated at 12 months when the female partner is under 35 years of age and at 6 months when the female partner is 35 years of age or older.”
Every single day, people receive this diagnosis, then go on to conceive and carry a baby to term — sometimes through a treatment like IUI or IVF, sometimes without.
Infertility is sometimes confused with sterility, which is another term that has some misinformation surrounding it. Some people seem to think infertility is a condition that affects women, while sterility affects men. In reality, both men and women can experience both conditions. When someone assumes that “infertility” means someone is physiologically unable to conceive at all, they’re actually thinking of “sterility," which is defined as the inability to produce a biological child.
As a 2020 study points out, sterility is often overlooked, and the term is often conflated with infertility.
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Infertility and sterility are different in definition and experience
Understanding the difference in definition between these two terms is important, especially when someone receives a diagnosis of infertility and may not realize what that truly means.
It’s about more than just a definition, though. Both of these terms don’t fully explain the difference in the experience of experiencing infertility vs, sterility. Most of the time, infertility is something we experience for a few years. During that time, it feels all-consuming, and for many people, the impact and memory of infertility sticks with them forever — but, in the grand scheme of things, it’s often (but not always) a relatively short-lived journey to actually work through.
Sterility, on the other hand, can be more of a long-term, or even lifelong experience. Sterility can happen after a procedure, like a hysterectomy or tubal ligation (also known as “having your tubes tied”) or, in the case of men, a vasectomy.
In a TikTok video, Dr. Allison Rogers shares a few other reasons why someone might experience sterility (and clears up the common misconception that sterility only applies to men). “In terms of people, if people are considered sterile, it means for men, no sperm, for women, unable to conceive or get pregnant. [It may mean] they have no eggs,” she says.
The difference is subtle but significant
Even though the path of infertility can vary greatly between people who experience it, there’s a universal element: Everyone who is dealing with infertility wants to conceive, and has tried to conceive, before receiving the diagnosis. That's why it's becoming easier and easier for people going through infertility to find community: There are several spaces, both in person and digitally, devoted to people dealing with infertility.
Sterility, on the other hand, doesn’t involve this universal element. Some people undergo procedures like tubal ligation or vasectomy for the *purpose* of achieving sterility. Others undergo treatments like hysterectomies to treat other conditions, and learn that sterility is a byproduct of those treatments. Others still may learn that they are physiologically unable to conceive after trying to conceive (and may be diagnosed with something like azoospermia, which means there is no sperm in the body). Sterility, in some ways, lacks the neat definition that infertility has. There’s some overlap, but sterility and infertility are not the same thing.
But there’s one common factor
In 2024, we’re well into a societal movement where people are openly discussing the experience of infertility. That means we get to challenge the way people used to talk about the condition.
Let's make one thing clear: People can have infertility, but calling someone infertile doesn’t feel right, just like it isn’t acceptable to call someone “barren."
Sterility too is a condition, not a defining characteristic. Even though it’s still considered more acceptable to call someone “sterile”, we’re going to push back on this. Sterility is something you can have, but referring to a person as “infertile” or “barren” or “sterile” takes us back to a time of stigmatization around reproductive health issues and conditions. All of these things are health conditions, and they don't determine our value as humans.
Zara Hanawalt is a freelance journalist and mom of twins. She's written for outlets like Vogue, Parents, MarieClaire, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Motherly, and many others. In her (admittedly limited!) free time, she enjoys cooking, reading, trying new restaurants, and traveling with her family.
