The most this book can hope to contribute to the public debate is to make the facts regarding difficulties in getting pregnant more available and accessible. Meanwhile most physicians tend sympathetically to define abnormal as something troublesome enough to draw a patient into the chair on the other side of the physician's desk. But the doctor an infertile couple wants to see is one who puts their interests first, or who at least tells them when there are constraints that prevent this from happening. The infertility doctor and the patient become allies in securing what's wanted, which is usually a baby. This, of course, is the position I take in this book.
Most couples expect to get pregnant within about six months of trying.
If it has taken a year, most will have at least thought of seeing a physician. The tests that are done on the doctor's recommendation lead generally to one of three conclusions. It can also result from a complete obstruction of the fallopian tubes , which prevents sperm from reaching and fertilizing an ovulated egg. Second, a cause might be found for relative infertility , by which we mean fertility that is low in relation to what we expect but is not zero. Examples include a low sperm count, irregular ovulation, a problem of anatomy or physiology that lowers the chance of sperm or egg arriving for fertilization at the right place at the right time, or some incomplete, unpredictable disturbance in embryo development.