Fecundity Status of American Women

Among American women aged 15 to 44, two out of three (66.5 percent) are fecund (meaning they are able to have children), according to the National Survey of Family Growth. Another 22.7 percent are surgically sterile, and 10.9 percent have impaired fecundity (difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a baby to term). By age, here is the percentage of women who are "presumed fecund"...

Aged 15 to 24: 92.0%

Aged 25 to 29: 74.3%

Aged 30 to 34: 61.1%

Aged 35 to 39: 46.0%

Aged 40 to 44: 33.5%

What accounts for the plunge in fecundity with age? Surgical sterilization. The percentage of women who have been surgically sterilized rises from essentially zero among the youngest women to 49 percent among those aged 40 to 44. Interestingly, the percentage of women with impaired fecundity shows little variation by age. It is 7 percent among the youngest women and ranges from 12 to 14 percent among women aged 25 to 44. 

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Infertility and Impaired Fecundity in the United States, 1982-2010: Data from the National Survey of Family Growth