If you are 35 years old or younger and have been trying to get pregnant for more than a year, you may have infertility. For women over 35 years old, infertility is diagnosed after only six months of trying.

Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system that impairs one of the body’s most basic functions: the conception of children. Conception is a complicated process that depends upon many factors, including:

• The production of healthy sperm by the man and healthy eggs by the woman
• Unblocked fallopian tubes that allow the sperm to reach the egg
• The sperm’s ability to fertilize the egg when they meet
• The ability of the fertilized egg (embryo) to become implanted in the woman’s uterus
• Normal chromosome arrangement
• Sufficient embryo quality

Finally, for the pregnancy to continue to full-term, the embryo must be healthy and the woman’s hormonal environment adequate for its development.

When just one of these factors is impaired, infertility can result. If you’re having difficulty becoming pregnant, we can help. Call Advanced Reproductive Center of Hawaii at (808) 949-6611 to schedule a consultation with one of our reproductive endocrinologists and infertility specialists.