Infertility

Infertility is a common occurrence for couples. Millions of women each year have trouble getting pregnant or experience multiple miscarriages.

There may be multiple factors affecting your ovulation, fertilization and implementation – the phases necessary to become pregnant.

Some risk factors for infertility include:

• Age (infertility risk increases after age 30)
• Stress
• Diet and weight
• Drug, tobacco and alcohol use
• STDs, endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease
• A history of miscarriages

What you can do to help prevent or treat infertility

In many cases, infertility cannot be prevented. Yet the following tips may help reduce your risk:

• Start your family before 30
• Manage your stress
• Eat healthfully and aim for a healthy weight
• Avoid drugs, tobacco and alcohol
• Protect yourself from STDs

If you are diagnosed with infertility, your doctor might recommend treatment options depending on your specific circumstances. Common treatments may include:

• Fertility drugs
• Surgery for damaged female or male reproductive organs
• Assisted reproductive technology (ART), such as in vitro fertilization
• Artificial insemination, donor eggs or gestational carriers

How to talk to your doctor

Start by telling your doctor when you decide to begin a family. If you've been trying to get pregnant for an entire year without success, ask your doctor about a fertility evaluation and ask your husband or partner to do the same.

Consider seeing your doctor sooner if:

• You're under 35 and have been trying for six months
• Your periods are irregular or painful
• You have endometriosis or a pelvic inflammatory disease
• You've had more than one miscarriage