Internet-based study aims to help infertile couples

Infertility is among the most painful problems a couple can face, with emotional repercussions that can last for years—or a lifetime. The causes are often hard to pinpoint and it can be hard to treat.

Do women who take antidepressants have a harder time getting pregnant? Do men who carry their cell phones in their pants’ pockets have an increased risk of infertility?

Those are among the questions that researchers from the School of Public Health and the Slone Epidemiology Center are probing in the recently launched PRESTO (Pregnancy Study Online) project—the largest internet-based study of fertility in the United States.