How long should I try before deciding if there is a need to seek medical assistance or consider IVF treatments?

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Janice asked:: How long should I try before deciding if there is a need to seek medical assistance or consider IVF treatments?

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Roxanne Lau answered:: Usually doctors would recommend to try naturally for about a year before seeking medical assistance or considering IVF treatment. If both you and husband are young and have no serious medical causes of infertility, you should consider improving fertility naturally. Below are some tips which can help increase your chances of conceiving: 1. Both you and husband need to monitor your weight and diet. Too much or too little body fat can make your periods irregular or stop them completely, which can affect your ability to conceive. 2. When you’re trying for a baby, avoid drinking alcohol to reduce the risk of harming the baby. If you choose to drink, you should drink not more than 1-2 units of alcohol once or twice a week and don’t get drunk. 3. For the best chance of success, you should have sex every two to three days throughout the month. You don’t need to time it to coincide with the days when you ovulate. Because of the emotional, physical, and financial toll exerted by IVF, it is preferable that both of you undertake the process with the mind set that you will be in it for more than one attempt. If a couple could only afford for one treatment, IVF may not be the right course of action. On an average for conventional IVF, there is only about one chance in three that it will result in a live birth. Couples who choose to undergo IVF should be encouraged to view the entire procedure with guarded optimism, but nevertheless must be emotionally prepared to deal with the ever present possibility of failure.

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Marianne_Hendricks answered:: Usually after one year of trying, it is advisable to seek medical assistance. Earlier medical assistance can be sought if there are the following symptoms which can indicate some problems: 1.age > 38 years 2.Irregular menses can indicate problem with ovulation 3.Painful menses, pain during deep penetration at sexual intercourse( deep dyspareunia), and tenesmus( painful defecation) can indicate problem of endometriosis ( disease caused by presence of womb lining outside the womb) 4.Intermenstrual bleeding can indicate endometrial polyp, 5.Heavy menses can indicate uterine fibroid, 6.Pelvic pain, fever and foul smelling vaginal discharge can indicate pelvic inflammatory disease ( PID). Past history of PID, pelvic surgeries can indicate problems with Fallopian tubes 7.In men, past history of undescended testes, mumps, trauma to testes, torsion of testes, prostate surgery can indicate a problem with sperm production or transport 8.Problem with sexual penetration or ejaculation The fertility specialist will evaluate the couple and decide whether IVF treatment is necessary. For example, IVF treatment maybe necessary if the sperms are very poor, the Fallopian tubes are blocked, there is severe endometriosis, or there have repeated failed attempts at intrauterine insemination.

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oink17 answered:: One of my friends tried for 2 years while another one tried for 1 year before turning to fertility specialists for help. From what I herd from my friend, her gynae told her that if a couple has not achieved pregnancy after one year of unprotected sex, they should seek professional help getting pregnant. However, if the woman is over age 35, she shouldn’t wait so long. In this case, it's recommended that she seek help getting pregnant after just six months of unprotected sex. Infertility can be a symptom of an underlying medical problem. Whether or not you plan on starting fertility treatments, you still might want to seek an evaluation from your gynae, just in case something more serious needs to be addressed.