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Obviously, the answer to this question is that it depends. The averages run like this: 80% of couples become pregnant within the first year, and 90% of couples become pregnant within the first 18 months. After trying for this long with no results, it may be time to contact a fertility specialist to find out if there are any biological problems preventing you or your partner from conceiving. It is important to remember; and I find this number surprising, that you only have a 20% chance of getting pregnant each time you have intercourse, although your chances are higher when you are ovulating. There are tests available for this purpose.
These conditions presuppose that you haven’t been taking oral contraceptives.
When I was trying to conceive, the doctor’s advised me to use a barrier method of birth control for three months before trying to conceive in order to protect the baby from any possible birth defects caused by the hormone(s), but one source that I read recently said that as soon as you stop taking the pill, the hormones leave your body within a few days and that even if you are taking the pill and get pregnant, that there is minimal risk to the fetus. Other sources that I read verified that claim. The advantage of waiting a couple of months to conceive after the pill is that you will relearn your natural menstrual cycle in order to more accurately determine your due date.
Your age does affect your chances of conceiving. After age 35, your ability to become pregnant declines quickly. By the time you reach 40, you have less than a 50% chance of conceiving in the first year. Women are born with all of the eggs that they will ever have; as we age, our eggs age. In addition, we shed an egg every menstral cycle. Men, on the other hand, will produce sperm their whole lives, but with decreasing levels of testosterone, their sex drive decreases which impacts the chances of conception.
A copy of this article and other news in baby making can be found at The Womb Within.