You and your partner have been trying to get pregnant, but it just hasn’t happened yet, or you have gotten pregnant, but have lost the pregnancy (or pregnancies). How do you know if you should keep trying, or if it is time to seek outside help?
What is Infertility?
According to The World Health Organization, infertility is a disease of the reproductive system, defined by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. It is estimated that 85% of couples will conceive within one year. Therefore, infertility appears to affect roughly 15% of the population worldwide. The probability of becoming pregnant for a young healthy couple is 20-25% each month. If a couple is not pregnant within a year, the probability of achieving a pregnancy within one menstrual cycle drops to roughly 3% per month.
Infertility is categorized as either primary or secondary. Primary infertility refers to couples who have not conceived after 1 year of unprotected vaginal intercourse. If the female partner is age 35 or older, a time duration of 6 months is considered relevant. Secondary infertility refers to couples who have successfully conceived in the past at least once, but now are unable to conceive.
If you’re under the age of 35
In general, if you’re under the age of 35 and have not gotten pregnant within 12 months of having unprotected vaginal intercourse, it is time to schedule an appointment with a fertility specialist to evaluate your fertility status and to review your lifestyle, bloodwork, and other factors that may be contributing to the challenges you are facing. It is also important to acknowledge that attempting conception can become extremely stressful for a couple. If you are becoming stressed and it has not been 1 year of trying to conceive, consider meeting with a fertility specialist to empower yourself, and learn more about your reproductive potential.
If you’re age 35 or older
As women age, ovulation occurs less frequently, and egg quality begins to decline, so for women in this age group, testing should begin sooner. If you’re 35 or older and have not gotten pregnant within 6 months of having unprotected vaginal intercourse, you should schedule an appointment to evaluate your fertility and review your lifestyle, bloodwork, and other factors that may be contributing to the challenges you are facing. If at any time prior to 6 months of attempting to conceive you are becoming stressed, consider an appointment to evaluate your individual fertility potential.
Things to know about infertility:
- It’s normal to feel sad, lost, frustrated and alone when you are dealing with challenges getting pregnant. Studies have shown that the stress of trying to conceive is equivalent to either losing a family member or being diagnosed with cancer. Our staff recognizes this stress and makes it a priority to support you along this journey. We also have excellent fertility psychology recommendations, if you feel this would be of benefit.
- You are not alone. 1 in 6 couples in the United States trying to get pregnant will experience fertility challenges.
- All is not lost. Our team at Davies Fertility and IVF Specialists, are trained to find underlying issues with you and/or your partner that may be affecting your ability to get pregnant. Sometimes, something as simple as changing your timing due to later ovulation can help. Other times, more extensive testing and treatment options are needed. Each person/couple is different and will be given their own unique treatment plan.
Ready to get started?
Learn more about scheduling a Fertility Evaluation appointment here.