Having problems conceiving?
If you're having trouble getting pregnant, you could be feeling very upset and isolated. But 25 per cent of couples experience a period of infertility that can last up to a year and about 1 in 10 will need medical help. Here's help coping with infertility.
While it may seem that people all around you are falling pregnant at the drop of a hat, it can take time to conceive. You only have a 20% chance of getting pregnant each month. After a year of having unprotected sex, one in seven couples won't have conceived. But 90 per cent of couples conceive within two years.
If it's not happening for you there are some practical things you can do to help. Both you and your partner need to eat healthily, quit smoking, cut down on alcohol and have lots of sex, of course!
Try to pinpoint when you ovulate (release an egg), so you can make sure you're having sex at the optimum conception time. It's normally halfway through your cycle. You can buy an ovulation kit from the chemist, or you may know yourself when you ovulate. (Many women feel a pain in their ovary when an egg is released mid-cycle and you produce a clear, stringy mucous discharge.)
If you're under 35 and haven't become pregnant after a year of unprotected, regular sex, then you should see your GP for fertility advice. If you're over 35, see your doctor after six months and ask for tests.
By Julia Shaw
Share this article
- Comment (21)
- Send to a friend
- Print: Article | Page
Find out more
Get to more facts
Find expert help
Your stories & tips
Quick Tips
- Be the first to share a tip on this subject, click here





kelly, 4 months [Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.]
im a 27yrs old, ive got a girl aged 4, me and my partner have been trying for a baby for 2yrs, but recently ive been diagnosed with pcos. im on tablets called provera to help me get my periods back, but ive just had my blood tests back and they state that i did not ovulate last month, my doctor was supposed to prescribe me with clomid tablets but now they have refered me back to another hospital, is there anything else i can take to make me ovulate on my own without waiting for the doctors to get back to me as ive been under them for nearly a year now and they dont seem to be doing anything for me???? please help as this is really getting me down. as i think my time is running out because i'll be hitting the 30 mark soon. thank you.