Infertility - a basic understanding
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What is infertility?
Infertility means difficulty in conceiving (becoming pregnant) despite having regular sex when not using contraception. There is no definite cut-off point to say when a couple is infertile. Many couples take several months to conceive. About 84 couples out of 100 conceive within a year of trying. About 92 couples out of 100 conceive within two years. Looking at this another way, about one in seven couples do not conceive within a year of trying. However, more than half of these couples will conceive over the next year, without any treatment.
Doctors usually say that a couple is infertile if they have not conceived in two years, despite regular sexual intercourse.
It is usually worth seeing a GP if you have not conceived after one year of trying. A GP can check for some common causes, talk things over, and discuss possible options. You may want to see your GP earlier, if the woman in the couple is over the age of 35 or if either partner has a history of fertil...
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