What Does “Hyperfertility” Mean?

Is hyperfertility a real thing?

—Sierra

“Hyperfertility” is not a medical term. More than that, it is not something generally recognized. I asked an OB, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, and a reproductive endocrinologist about it. None had ever heard of this as a medical diagnosis.

There is some discussion of this term in the popular press, though, most notably this article in Elle magazine from 2022. (If you google “hyperfertility,” Google AI will cite this as the source of its definition, which is somewhat misleading.) In this telling, hyperfertility is linked with recurrent miscarriage — basically, it’s a condition where it’s easy to get pregnant but pregnancy loss is common. The suggestion is that the uterus is too welcoming to non-viable pregnancies.

There is nothing in the literature I can find that points to this link, nothing that would support the uterus explanation. So: hyperfertility as defined in this way isn’t something recognized in the literature.

However, there are two things that are true. First, fecundity (the ability to get pregnant) varies across individuals. It’s very likely some of this is genetic, and some is due to other factors. In this distribution, there will be people who have a very easy time getting pregnant. Second, some women do have recurrent miscarriages. This should be evaluated regardless of whether the initial pregnancy came easily. In general, after two miscarriages, it is a good idea to ask your doctor about additional testing.