Usually, infertility is characterized as inability to attain pregnancy after one year of unprotected intercourse. If you’ve been trying to conceive for a year or more, you should consider an evaluation of infertility. However, if you are 35 years of age or older, you should start an infertility evaluation after approximately six months of unprotected intercourse rather than a year so as not to delay potentially needed treatment.

If you have a reason to suspect that you have a underlying problem, you should seek care earlier. For example, if you have very irregular menstrual cycles (suggesting that you do not ovulate or release an egg), or if you or your partner have a known fertility problem, you should probably not wait a year to get treatment. If you and your partner were unable to have a child, you’re not alone. At least one in seven couples has a hard time conceiving. During this time, it’s normal to experience feelings of frustration, jealousy, anger and stress.

However once you begin exploring your medical options, you will find that fertility treatments provide more hope for successful pregnancy than ever before. The vast majority of patients seeking treatment from a fertility specialist have achieved their goal of becoming pregnant.