"How long does it take to get pregnant?"

This is usually among the very first question that couples are asking when they try to get pregnant. There is usually no simple answer to this question because it usually depends on individual circumstances.

With regard to couples who make love regularly:

• About 50% of healthy couples get pregnant after 4-5 months
• 70% get pregnant after 9 months
• 85% get pregnant after one year.

But the sperm count has to be OK, the woman has to ovulate regularly, and her tubes have to be open.

Take the interactive fertility calculator test to find out your personal chances getting pregnant.

The five major factors affecting your chance of getting pregnant are:

1. Ovulation. With irregular or no ovulation (anovulation), you cannot get pregnant.  
2. Mother's age. The older you get the lower your chances getting pregnant. Old and bad quality eggs make getting pregnant more difficult. The older the woman is, the longer it takes to get pregnant.
3. Sperm count. The less sperm he has, the longer it may take to get pregnant. With an abnormal count (that is, below 20 million/cc) your chances getting pregnant are quite low. Here are some tips on how to improve his sperm count.
4. Patency of your fallopian tubes. They must be open and working well for you to get pregnant.
5. Timing of sex: You must make love regularly every weeks 2-3 times and especially during the 4-5 fertile days and the day of ovulation. 

If each of these five factors is OK, then your chance of becoming pregnant in each ovulatory cycle is about 25-30%. Your chances are lower or even zero when even one or more of these factors is abnormal. About 50% of couples get pregnant within four to five months of trying to conceive, about 75% of couples will conceive during the first eight months, and up to 85% of couples will conceive within the first year of TTC. The ability to conceive in any given cycle falls after age 30. Keep in mind that with irregular menstrual cycles it may take longer to conceive because it's harder to figure out when you're ovulating. If you haven't got pregnant after a year of trying (six months if you are over 35), you may want to talk with your doctor about your options.

Find out about other factors that affect how long it takes to get pregnant.

How long it takes to get pregnant is different from one couple to the next. For some it could take 1-2 months, but for others it can take up to a year. You can improve your chances getting pregnant by knowing your fertile days and making love regularly 2-3 times a week, every week. Use BabyMed's