Getting pregnant isn't always easy. About a quarter of couples experience a period of infertility lasting more than a year, and some continue to experience difficulties for longer. At least one in six couples consults an infertility specialist, and about one is 80 babies in the UK is born as the result of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment.
Infertility may be a result of factors affecting the fertility of either partner. In some instances, despite investigation, the cause is never identified. This is called unexplained infertility.
How long does it take to get pregnant?
If you make love two or three times a week, you have about a 20 to 30 per cent chance of conceiving in any month. It's not unusual, however, for a healthy couple to take up to two years to conceive, as the following statistics from the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) show.
30 per cent of couples conceive within a month of starting to try for a baby.
75 per cent conceive within six months.
90 per cent conceive within a year.
95 per cent conceive within two years.
Time it right
For fertilisation to occur, the man's sperm needs to meet the woman's egg at about the time of ovulation (when the egg is released from the ovaries). Ovulation normally occurs 14 days before a period. So, if the woman has a menstrual cycle of 28 days, ovulation will be on or around day 14. If the menstrual cycle is longer or shorter, count 14 days back from when the next period is due.