If you've been trying to get pregnant for more than a year, or have been trying for six months and are aged 35 or over, see your GP. Checks will be made on your hormone levels, while your partner will have a semen analysis.
You might also be referred for an HSG or a laparoscopy. As a result of the tests, your doctor may diagnose the following:
Depending on your age and the outcome of your results, your doctor may refer you to a specialist. This is when you'll need to decide whether to have private or NHS treatment.
Some NHS hospitals have good success rates, so don't base your decision (or break the bank) on the belief that going privately means a more successful outcome.
The HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority) site, www.hfea.gov.uk, details every fertility unit in the UK offering assisted conception (NHS and private).
In order of invasiveness, these include:
Suitable for: Women with ovulation problems; 'unexplained' infertility.
What happens? Clomid (taken as a pill) or Gonal-f, Menogon and Menopur administered by injection) will be prescribed to force the ovaries to produce more eggs than usual.
Side effects: Hot flushes, mood swings, nausea and Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), a rare but potentially fatal condition.
Private cost: Clomid costs less than £10 for a prescription; the injectable drugs are around £200 per cycle.
Suitable for: Women for whom superovulation alone hasn't worked; mild to moderate factor male infertility; unexplained infertility; PCOS; if using donor sperm.
What happens? You take superovulatory drugs and have ultrasound scans to track the development of your eggs. Once your eggs are mature, you will be given a shot of the hormone HCG to trigger ovulation; you usually have the IUI performed the day after. Your partner produces a semen sample and, an hour later, you'll have it inseminated into the uterus - this takes about 10 minutes and is pretty painless.
Private cost: Around £500, plus the cost of any superovulatory drugs.
Suitable for: Women for whom superovulation and IUI haven't worked; blocked tubes; severe male factor infertility.
What happens: First you'll be given drugs to put you in a temporary menopause, followed by superovulatory drugs. The development of your eggs will be tracked by ultrasound and blood tests, then when the time is right, an injection of HCG is given to ripen the eggs. The eggs are collected under heavy sedation or anaesthetic.
Meanwhile, your partner will have produced a semen sample. The eggs and sperm are placed in a special fluid and checked to see if they've fertilised. Two to five days after fertilisation, up to two of the healthiest embryos will be replaced in a procedure similar to IUI. Any suitable remaining embryos may be frozen.
Private cost: About £3,000 to £4,000; with the cost of drugs on top (these can cost up to £1,000).