Personal stories about different couples' decisions about infertility testing

These stories are based on information gathered from doctors and consumers. They may be helpful as you make important health decisions.

Lynn, age 33, and James, age 40: Most couples we know seemed to get pregnant after just a few months of trying. We've been trying now for about 5 or 6 months and still haven't gotten pregnant. But we aren't sure that we have been having sex at the right time of the month, so we got some information about how to calculate the fertile time. We are going to see if working on our timing for a few months helps us get pregnant. If it doesn't, we'll see our doctor to talk about the next step.

Rosa, age 32: I didn't have any trouble getting pregnant with my first child. But my second husband and I have been trying to have a baby for about a year now, and I still haven't gotten pregnant. Since he doesn't have any children of his own, we can't be sure which one of us may have a problem. We have been having sex at the right times. We agree that it's time to find out whether there may be a problem. We don't want to wait too long because we'd like the new baby to be able to grow up with his or her big sister.

Carol, age 34, and Dave, age 38: We are getting started on our baby-making a little bit later than a lot of couples: I'm 34 and my husband is 38. It's ironic that we have both been so successful in our careers and yet now seem to be having trouble having a baby! We have been trying for about 8 or 9 months, and it doesn't seem to be happening. My husband is a little on the macho side, so he's not too keen on having a semen analysis. But I'm sure that if I agree to have some tests, he will, too.

James, age 27, and Sabra, age 26: We've been trying to conceive for 10 months now. Soon we'll have to start counting in years, I'm afraid. It's been a rude awakening to discover that we can't control our ability to conceive. But since we are both still young, we aren't too worried yet. We are going to try tracking my wife's menstrual cycles and see if that helps before we take the next step. If that doesn't help, I'll consider having my sperm checked.