Dear Potential Mom,

Many women wake up every morning and feel the same empty feeling in their stomach. On the outside, it may seem that they have almost everything. Yet, something is missing, children. Infertility is a big problem these days, and is associated with depression, grief, guilt, shame, and inadequacy with social isolation.

There are many reasons for infertility such as sexually transmitted diseases and pelvic inflammatory diseases.  Even habits such as smoking and alcohol intake can affect one’s ability to reproduce.

In the hopes of improving chances of getting pregnant, people try everything. I even know someone who took the year off from work, so as to avoid stress for better chances of pregnancy. Some try so hard that love making started becoming a chore.

Not every women is blessed with being extremely fertile.  In fact, many women are going through the exact same problem as you and are looking at ways to increase their chances of pregnancy. A study in the journal “Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology”, states that infertility affects 13%-15% of couples worldwide.  Of course, there are certain areas where infertility is higher than normal, and vice versa.  For instance, in the United Kingdom, 1 in 6 couples complain of infertility (Kamel 2010).

Age is the single most important factor when talking about fertility in males or females.  Age not only affects the outcome of the pregnancy, but also the risks associated with birth on the mother.  Complications and risks associated with higher maternal age have been described in numerous Journal articles.

There are consistent trends that women in developed countries are having children later and later in life.  This may have to do with the fact that more women are going to college and working before trying to conceive.  So women must keep in mind that their chances of pregnancy significantly decreases once they get over the age of around 35.

If you are trying to increase your chances of pregnancy the best thing to do is go to a fertility clinic or doctor.  Do not waste time and act immediately because the window for fertility closes quickly.  Good luck!