More women seeking medical help to get pregnant

A growing share of American women are seeking medical help to become pregnant.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention show that roughly 12.5 percent of women between the ages of 25 and 44 had sought such help—everything from counseling to artificial insemination—during the 2006-2010 survey period, up from 11.2 percent in 1995.

Among women 35 to 39 years old who have experienced one or more births, 15.8 percent got medical help, up from 13.1 percent in 1995. For women in this age group who have never had children, the share rose slightly to 19.6 percent from 19.1 percent.

The findings are part of the CDC's National Survey of Family Growth, which was conducted between June 2006 and June 2010. More than 12,000 women were interviewed, not all of whom had fertility problems or were seeking to get pregnant.

While the CDC survey is nationally representative, individual demographic percentages—for example, women in their late 30s who have had no children—may have a larger margin of error because they rely on smaller sample sizes. Also, the CDC's definition of "medical help to get pregnant" is broad—ranging from getting advice and infertility testing to artificial insemination, which is fairly rare.