Conception is most likely to occur during a six-day period ending on the day of ovulation. It has been estimated that as many as 1 in 6 US couples attempting pregnancy experiences fertility problems. Infertility is not only the inability to conceive any children, but also the inability to conceive a second child. Female infertility Failure to ovulate at regular intervals is quite common due to age, hormone imbalances, severe vitamin deficiencies, metabolic disturbances, poor nutrition, genetic factors, emotional stress, or medical conditions. Women who smoke cigarettes are less fertile and take longer to become pregnant than nonsmokers.
Smokers are also more likely to experience ectopic pregnancy.
Alcohol and drug abuse reduces fertility in women, and environmental toxins can also impair female fertility. If a woman is ovulation and her partner's semen quality is good, the next step is to do a post-coital test to see whether the sperm remain viable and motile in the cervical mucus . A woman's cervical mucus may contain antibodies against her partner's sperm, or it may form a plug that blocks their passage. Infections , as well as other abnormalities of the cervix, vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes, or ovaries, can destroy sperm or prevent them from reaching the egg. Scar tissue from old infections in the fallopian tubes or in or around the ovaries can block the passage of sperm and eggs.