|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Dedicated to Women's Health |
Home | Site Map | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
General Information
Tests I’ve been trying to get pregnant for four months with no success. When should I ask for help?
Although some couples seem to get pregnant instantly, it can be normal for
it to take a year or more. In general, if you have regular monthly menstrual
periods and you’ve been trying for one year, you should see your doctor. If
you’re over 35 years old, you can start getting help after 6 months of
trying. It’s
nobody’s fault. Infertility is a medical condition. About 40% of the time
infertility is caused by something in the sperm, and 40% of the time there
is something we can see in the woman that is causing the infertility. 10% of
the time there is no specific cause that can be identified. If you
have regular monthly menstrual periods you are probably ovulating. If your
cycles are 28 days (28 days from the first day of one period until the first
day of the next period), you ovulate (produce an egg) around day 14. You can
check to see if you’re ovulating by using the basal body temperature chart,
or by using an ovulation test kit available at your pharmacy. You should have
intercourse the day you ovulate (when your temperature goes up or when the
ovulation test kit indicates that you have ovulated) and the next day. Your
doctor will take a careful history, asking about your periods, any medical
problems you have or medications you are taking, any medical problems your
partner has, and asking about how you are timing intercourse. She may order
lab work to check various hormone levels. Your partner will need to have a
semen analysis done. You may need to have a hysterosalpingogram, or HSG
done, which is an X-ray that looks at the inside of your uterus and checks
if your tubes are open. That
depends on what your doctor finds in the initial visit and lab work. If
there is something abnormal with your tubes or uterus you may need surgery.
If there is something abnormal with your lab work, you may need medication.
If your partner’s semen analysis is abnormal, he will probably need to see a
urologist and you may need artificial insemination or in vitro
fertilization. If you need IVF we will refer you to Shady Grove Fertility or Fertility Center of Maryland. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Dundalk ● Baltimore ● Catonsville | Tel. 410-633-6300 | info@hoffmanobgyn.com |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
