When to be seen, in the fertility societies' own words
Twelve months, or six, or straight away. Which one applies to you depends on more than age.
In plain terms: if you are having regular sex without contraception, and nothing is already known to be wrong with either partner, get evaluated after twelve months if you are under 35, and after six months if you are 35 or older. The exact words:
In patients having regular, unprotected intercourse and without any known etiology for either partner suggestive of impaired reproductive ability, evaluation should be initiated at 12 months when the female partner is under 35 years of age and at 6 months when the female partner is 35 years of age or older.
The same document also states:
Nothing in this definition shall be used to deny or delay treatment to any individual, regardless of relationship status or sexual orientation.
The 2023 definition is no longer only about time. There are three ways to qualify. One is the twelve or six month rule. One is your clinical situation. One is needing medical help to conceive at all, including donor eggs or donor sperm.
So if you are told you cannot be evaluated because you have not been trying long enough, that is one route in, not the whole definition.
Do not wait for the clock if any of these apply. The evaluation document lists conditions where testing should begin without delay
:
- Irregular cycles, or cycles shorter than 25 days
- Bleeding between periods, or periods that are infrequent or absent
- Known or suspected disease of the uterus, tubes or peritoneum, or endometriosis
- Known or suspected male subfertility
- Sexual dysfunction
- Genetic or acquired conditions that predispose to diminished ovarian reserve
Over 40, the same document says more immediate evaluation and treatment may be warranted.
Note the wording. It says may be warranted, not should. This guide will not upgrade a society's hedge into a directive on its behalf.