After month 6 came and went with no pregnancy, I was really getting frustrated. I told my husband that I feared we had a problem. Mr. "Deer in the Headlights" was perfectly content for conception to take a while because -

1. He was scared to death of becoming a father.
2. He was enjoying the "perks" of trying to conceive.

So, he was not very happy when I told him that I had made an appointment to see an OB-GYN for a screening. My husband asked around and learned that most doctors will not screen for infertility until the couple has been trying to conceive for a year. I told him that this doctor (Dr. H) agreed to see me, so I was going.

Sitting in the waiting room was hard because there were several pregnant women waiting for their appointments, and I was jealous. Why were all of these women able to conceive when I could not? I fantasized that I was there because I was pregnant. I thought about how great it would be when I had a big round tummy, too. Blessedly, the nurse called me back for my appointment after a few minutes.

Dr. H was very nice and reassuring. He asked me questions about our family histories. He drew some blood and explained that sometimes hormone levels can be low, resulting in the inability to conceive. If he found any problems at this stage, then simply taking a pill might be all we needed to conceive. I was elated.

I thanked Dr. H for seeing me after 6 months rather than making me wait for an entire year. He said that, statistically, the number of pregnancies achieved between months 6 to 12 were low, so he saw no point in wasting half a year to start screening.

From what I understand, this is an unusual position for a doctor to take. I have heard that the medical community is now pushing to have couples wait for two years before screening for infertility issues. While I know this might save insurance companies some money, I think it is a mistake. Waiting two years would have accomplished nothing for me but increasing frustration and depression.

Related Topics:

• Using A Coach to Win the Fertility Game
• The Road To Pregnancy