Life with loss of privacy and feelings of reproductive failure is unacceptable. Painful intercourse may point to gynecologic disease or sexual dysfunction that needs attention. The fertile period of the menstrual cycle should be understood. This may be a mystery to patients with no medical background.
Human reproduction is innately wasteful and inefficient.
Even for young women at their reproductive peak, pregnancy occurs at a rate of only 20 to 25 percent per month. Advanced maternal age aggravates the basic inefficiencies of human reproduction. A woman's most fertile years are between ages 15 and 30. After age 30, fertility decreases. Cigarette smoking, caffeine, alcohol, illicit drugs and obesity all adversely affect reproductive efficiency.