When Infertility Strikes After You are a Mom from the Chicago Sun-Times

Reading part of this article, I was surprised that the doctor interviewed was so blunt about age and fertility. I know that in my experience, my gp was very laid back about my questions about infertility. At the time I was in my early 30s, and very informed about the rates of fertility, but her and my midwife were very unconcerned. Which, at times, I wonder is a good thing or a bad thing.

Here is the section that got me thinking:

FREDERICK, LICCIARDI, MD: Most people who have a child and then can't get pregnant the second time probably suffer from unexplained infertility. That means everything is working just fine, the tubes are normal, the uterus is normal, the sperm is fine, there's ovulation, but it's just not happening for some reason.

ANNOUNCER: Most often, the ultimate cause of secondary infertility comes down to age.

FREDERICK LICCIARDI, MD: A lot of people are surprised. They say to me, "Listen, I'm healthy. I eat the right things. I don't smoke. I feel young. And just because I'm 43, does that mean it's going to be hard for me to get pregnant?" And the answer is yes. It's going to be very difficult.

The article goes on to suggest that the best approach for this type of undiagnosed infertility is to have IVF, or some sort of medical intervention to increase the odds of having a biological child.

And to make that biological clock tick even louder,

ANNOUNCER: Other treatments would include artificial insemination and hormone therapy, but no matter what treatment you choose, the best advice is to not wait too long to seek care.

FREDERICK LICCIARDI, MD: As a woman waits, she gets older, and the older she gets, then the harder it is for her to become pregnant.