Aspiration and desire for a child while trying your best, alone, is not enough. Of course, there’s the complexity of biology and more involved. The process of conceiving is not as simple as you may think it is and it can actually get difficult to ‘be’ pregnant when you ‘want’ to be pregnant. Along with a bunch of different factors aligning together at the same time, there is also the chance factor that makes it happen for you. So, while your friends may be breaking the news of their pregnancy to you every now and then, it might leave you feeling helpless and confused as to why it is not working out for you, especially if you’ve been trying for quite sometime. You may end up wondering why your efforts are all going in vain. Getting pregnant is not exactly cake walk and that is what I’m going to be talking about here.
The chance of pregnancy is only about 15% to 20% per month. A woman is ‘fertile’ only for 3 to 5 days every month around the time she is ovulating. A lot has to happen for a pregnancy to occur. Viable sperm has to reach and fertilize a viable egg, the developing embryo needs to work its way to the uterus, the lining of the uterus needs to be receptive, the embryo needs to divide and grow appropriately, and implantation needs to occur. ‘Conception’ is a marvelous and remarkable process – one that requires many and all the conditions to be simultaneously right. It is not as simple as striving for that end goal and there are many things in this seemingly simple act of getting pregnant that are not really in your hands! Sometimes, there actually is a problem that is not letting you conceive and hence it is important that you know when to visit a Fertility Specialist.
Here’s my guide to help you know when it’s time to get checked for possible fertility problems:
- You are under 35 and have been trying for over a year
- You are over 35 and have been trying for over 6 months
- Your periods are absent, irregular or very painful
- You have a history of one or more miscarriages
- You already have a child/children but are having difficulty conceiving again
- You have had abdominal or pelvic surgery
- You have a known autoimmune or medical disease or malignancy
- Your husband has issues with erection/ejaculation
- Your husband has a history of trauma or surgery to the groin or genitals
- You or your husband have known Genetic diseases in the family
- You are over 30, but want to delay childbearing
A consultation with a Fertility Specialist will give you the knowledge you need to understand your fertility and empower you to make choices that are right for you.