# For how long did you try before finally getting pregnant? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 6, 2004, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398 "2004-11-06T21:34:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/1 "2004-11-06T21:34:01Z")
I am sure there’s something wrong with the thread title. Pay no attention to that. My now-husband and I have been together for an average of 7 years now (we broke up before getting back together and getting married). We didn’t avoid pregnancy for about 4.5 of those years, the remaining we were actively trying and planning to conceive. My husband travels a lot, so we sometimes have to skip ‘trying’ on days I would be fertile. We were both found to be as healthy and capable of conceiving as our doctor could tell but I am getting a bit too dissapointed. A lot of people tell me not to worry because a lot of couples try for years before finally conceiving. How long did you wait? ---
**Author:** ![klintypooh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@klintypooh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/klintypooh)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/2 "2004-11-06T21:42:18Z")
I try for about 3 minutes. 3 times a day. On my own ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/3 "2004-11-06T21:42:48Z")
I like the phrase “didn’t avoid pregnancy”. 🙂 I didn’t avoid pregnancy once, and I found myself pregnant not too long after. I have an aunt who had loads of unprotected sex all the time and it took her nearly three years to conceive her first, but the second came a lot quicker. We were equally healthy during the time before each of our pregnancies. My brother’s SO gets pregnant everytime he so much as looks at her, I swear. 😃 She’s been pregnant 4 times in their nearly-8 year relationship (2 successful). If you’re both healthy, just keep at it. Half the fun of pregnancy is in the trying, anyway. 😉 Good luck to you guys! ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/4 "2004-11-06T21:52:05Z")
> [@](#): > > I try for about 3 minutes. 3 times a day. On my own ☹ 😕 What do you mean? > [@](#): > > Half the fun of pregnancy is in the trying, anyway. Like you’d hear me disagree! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ShadiRoxan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@ShadiRoxan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadiRoxan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/5 "2004-11-06T22:18:28Z")
I took my last pill middle of June. Middle of July I tested positive. I think I’m really fertile though. I believe my mother got pregnant within the first month also. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/6 "2004-11-06T22:26:13Z")
You are not going to like me for this but it took exactly one try for my daughter to be conceived. Last month, we found out that my wife was pregnant again and it was another first try. I think we are both like the Nile River Valley or something. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/7 "2004-11-06T22:42:26Z")
I’ve always read if you haven’t gotten pregnant after a year of trying, go see a fertility doctor. (I can’t tell if the doctor you mentioned in your OP is a GP or a specialist.) Could be something really minor that’s throwing things off-kilter. A midwife friend of mine swears up and down that she’s seen fertility problems cleared up by vitamin supplements. Are you drinking lots of tea? Didya give up coffee? Did the Mr. switch to boxers? Pillow under your butt for 30 minutes afterwards? ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/8 "2004-11-06T22:54:34Z")
I got pregnant the first month I was off the pill. We eventually gave up on trying for a second child after a couple of years. So, apparently I was just lucky the first time. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/9 "2004-11-06T23:04:26Z")
After spending years and years avoiding pregnancy, and getting nowhere for 2 years after stopping all birth control, I finally had to resort to pills (clomid IIRC) in order to conceive. Both times. Turns out that I didn’t ovulate regularly when I did so at all. Irregular menses were just a clue. Both my mom and my sister were among those who could plan not only the year but the month to conceive and do so at will. Go figure. If you really want a child, don’t wait until the last minute to consult a fertility specialist if at all possible. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/10 "2004-11-06T23:13:08Z")
And here I come to throw the curve to hell. I got married in **1982**. I have never used any kind of contraception whatsoever. From the first day of my marriage (also the first day I ever had sex) the possibility of pregnancy existed. If you’ve been a doper for a while, you might remember my two threads [I’m Having a Baby – Right Now!!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=121333) and [I’m Having a Baby, Right Now – The Sequel!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=216341) from **2002** and **2003**. I have only those two children. You can do the math. In those intervening years, we went through all that assisted reproduction technology had too offer _except_ IVF, which we couldn’t bring ourselves to due to ethical constraints. We had resigned ourselves to being childless (different from child-free, let me assure you) and there is absolutely no medical explanation for why I got pregnant for the first time in my life at the age of 41 and even less of a medical explanation of how I got pregnant again at age 42 while still breastfeeding on demand. Life is weird. ---
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/11 "2004-11-06T23:26:55Z")
I conceive easily, usually it takes me a month to get pregnant but I miscarry. How old are you? The general advice is that it can be normal for it to take a year of unprotected sex to conceive in the absence of problems. Have you seen a specialist? 4.5 years of unprotected sex and no conceptions is getting outside the norms and you might want to consider investigations. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/12 "2004-11-06T23:36:30Z")
It has been ‘investigated’. I am very regular and do ovulate. I have no problems that my gyn (a specialist in fertility too) could detect. We are both reasonably healthy. I did a short stint with hormones to re-align my cycles with the times my husband was here. We broke up shortly after that and got back together (and married) 19 months ago, all these months actively seeking to get pregant again. I am willing to do IVF as a last resource but I am hoping we don’t have to get there. I am 34 BTW. We both are. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/13 "2004-11-06T23:43:57Z")
I apparently get pregnant pretty easily. With the first child, we were actively trying _not_ to get pregnant; child two took about three weeks of trying; child three took eight months, but only because hubby was out of town during the week, and I miscalculated when I was ovulating. Using an ovulator predictor, it took, I think, three months, to get pregnant. Have you tried ovulation predictors yet? You might not be ovulating when you think you are. ---
**Author:** ![Apricot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@Apricot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apricot)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/14 "2004-11-06T23:59:11Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > Have you tried ovulation predictors yet? You might not be ovulating when you think you are. Or basal body temperature testing? _Taking Charge of Your Fertility_ is a good book, and the methods are compatible with other tipes of medical testing. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/15 "2004-11-06T23:59:56Z")
Life is just so unfair sometimes. WhyKid was conceived the first time I had sex, at age 17. For the record, I was using a Today Sponge, and extra tube of spermicide and the sperm donor wore a condom with it’s own spermicide, which did not break. (Yes, I was paranoid.) I know that’s when I conceived, because we didn’t have sex again, nor engage in risky sexual behavior until after the test came back positive two weeks later. He’s my .000001% kid. As a result, I suspect he may be the messiah. WhyFetus was concieved first time at bat as well. My husband and I have been using FAM, with condoms on fertile days, for about three years to avoid pregnancy. We decided to go ahead and conceive and it happened. We timed it four days before ovulation to better our baby girl odds. This can be risky, as it makes it less likely to conceive, but it worked for us. (The conception, we’ll find out about the gender selection.) As I always do in fertility threads, I’ll recommend [Taking Charge of Your Fertility](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060937645/qid=1099785936/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-5316202-4855824?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by Toni Weschler. Not only is it helpful for preventing or timing conception, it can help you learn your cycle. There are certain fertility tests that are best done at very specific times during your cycle, and Toni’s book can help you and your doctor in diagnosis and treatment strategy. ---
**Author:** ![foxymoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@foxymoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foxymoron)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/16 "2004-11-07T00:12:09Z")
**Mighty\_Girl** , has your husband been checked by a specialist as well? The issue could well be with his sperm and not your eggs. And, to answer your OP, I took my last b.c. pill at the end of April 2000 and became pregnant in mid August of that same year. Good luck with your endeavor! ---
**Author:** ![MrFantsyPants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MrFantsyPants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFantsyPants)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/17 "2004-11-07T00:13:23Z")
10 months. 10 fun months ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/18 "2004-11-07T02:40:21Z")
Got pregnant with BabyGirl one month after going off Pill. BabyBoy was conceived almost immediately after discontinuing condoms. One of my friends had no trouble getting pregnant with her first, but no luck at all in next 6 years. Then a routine check-up revealed she had a low-grade infection ( (PID) with no symptoms. She took antibiotics for a month and was pregnant two months later. Everyone’s different. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/19 "2004-11-07T03:27:22Z")
Re: what kittenblue said, a friend of mine kept getting pregnant but would lose the baby around the 6 week mark (lost 4 babies IIRC). She had some kind of infection in her uterus (not sure if it was PID or not) and as soon as they put her on antibiotics, boom. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398/20 "2004-11-07T03:40:29Z")
It took about six months, though we had gone back to birth control for a month or two during that period because I had lost my job. We happen to know the day and location when it happend, which put it about a month after we started trying again. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-how-long-did-you-try-before-finally-getting-pregnant/273398.md?page=2)