Generally speaking, a woman’s fertility declines after 35 and falls sharply after 40. Once past 40, pregnant women are at greater risk of miscarriage, medical difficulties like pregnancy-related diabetes or pre-eclampsia, and difficult labours. Mothers over 40 are also more likely to have babies with chromosomal abnormalities and genetic disorders, though …

The World Health Organisation’s definition of infertility is ‘failure to conceive after 12 months of unprotected intercourse.’ You should seek specialist fertility advice if you have not conceived after 12 months of unprotected intercourse. If the woman is 35 or older, you should seek this advice after six months.

Generally speaking, 60-70% of couples will become pregnant after six months of trying and 80-90% of couples after 12 months of trying. But your chances of falling pregnant decrease with age. This is true for both partners, but more so for the woman than the man. A woman produces one …

This is a simple blood test used to measure the number of eggs a woman has left, by checking the level of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in your blood. AMH is produced by the primitive eggs in your ovaries – the ones you were born with but which haven’t started growing …