Infertility is defined as failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months of regular, unprotected intercourse. However, it is best to evaluate after 6 months of unprotected intercourse if the woman is more than 35 years of age and is unable to conceive after 6 months of unprotected intercourse. In the presence of known medical history, physical findings or advanced age contributing to infertility, evaluation and treatment should be undertaken even earlier than 6 months.

Infertility is an issue faced by the couple trying to conceive. The cause of infertility could be due to problems in the female (30%) or male (30%) and sometimes both (30%) .In about 10 percent of cases, it is unexplained. Hence evaluation of both the partners is essential . While visiting a fertility specialist , the couple is evaluated as a whole by taking a detailed history and conducting a detailed clinical examination and performing tests to diagnose the cause of both the female and male partner.

Yes, this is referred to as secondary infertility. Secondary infertility is the inability to conceive or to carry a pregnancy to term after previously giving birth to a baby. The causes for secondary infertility are similar to those for primary infertility. Some of the factors may be

• Increased age in the female causing decreased pool or reserve of eggs
• Blocked fallopian tubes, ovulatory dysfunction (Ovary may not be developing or releasing egg properly) , or other uterine conditions (Fibroids, polyp, adhesions, adenomyosis etc ).
• Declining sperm count and motility in the male.(which may have been normal or borderline the first time you conceived) Hence if there is a difficulty in conceiving the second time, you should consider visiting a fertility specialist to get proper evaluation and treatment options.