Once a couple has decided they want to start trying for a baby, they usually hope to get pregnant fairly quickly. However, it doesn’t always happen this way. It is difficult to give an exact number when it comes to the question of how long it takes for a woman to get pregnant. There are various factors at play, such as the age and general health of both the woman and man, as well as how regularly they have sex. The contraception you/your partner was using before you started trying to conceive may also affect how long it takes for you to get pregnant, as it can often take several months for fertility to regulate. You will need to ovulate regularly again, have fertile cervical mucus and an “embryo friendly” uterine lining.
With all this said, it’s perfectly normal for different women to take different lengths of time to become pregnant. The majority of couples will successfully conceive within a year, sometimes two, of having regular unprotected sex. It would be wise to speak to your doctor if you have been trying to conceive for a year without success, as they will be able to help you figure out why you’re not getting pregnant. They will be able to help identify any problems with fertility and do a full health check up on both yourself and your partner.
Often, difficulty in conceiving is down to factors that can be easily remedied. For instance, if either of you are smokers or drink a lot of alcohol, your GP will tell you to stop. Sometimes, lack of conception is simply because a couple has mistimed their intercourse, because they aren’t aware of their most fertile days. A woman is most fertile on the day of ovulation, which usually happens around 10-16 days before her period starts, but it is possible to conceive in the 5 days before ovulation.
If your fertility problems are more serious, your doctor will be able to talk through some treatment options, such as IVF or sperm donation. Advancing age is one of the most common reasons that couples struggle to conceive, but your fertility doctor will be able to carry out a series of tests to determine which treatment method is most appropriate and why.
