If you are in your early twenties, have regular monthly cycles, no family history of endometriosis or history of a pelvic infection and your husband is in excellent health with no history of male reproductive problems such as infection, trauma or surgery as a child-- then it may be O.K. to wait one year before seeking answers. Otherwise, run don't walk, to your Ob/Gyn or see a fertility specialist.
Here is why age matters: a woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have -- approximately one million. Sounds like a lot? By puberty, her egg count has been reduced to 300,000. At age 31, the count is 100,000. By age 38, only 35,000 are left ,and they age right along with you.
It is an indisputable fact that as you age, your chances to conceive (fecundity rate) decreases and your miscarriage rate increases. Does that mean if you are over age 38 that you should give up and reconcile yourself to never having a child? Not at all, but it will involve higher levels of medical technology , increased time and expense in pursuit of achieving a successful pregnancy. The earlier you start finding out you haven't achieved a successful pregnancy, the better the chance that we, or someone like us, can help you. We believe in an aggressive approach to discover why you haven't gotten pregnant. Once identified, we can then sit down together and come up with a plan that offers you the best chance for success now -- and for that second and maybe even a third child.
TAKE HOME MESSAGE - AGE DOES MATTER!