My wife and I have been trying to conceive for 9 months without success. Our doctors have told us that we need to keep trying for another 3 months before we're "officially" considered infertile. That seems kind of arbitrary to us. Isn't the reality that we're probably infertile?

Most medical texts define infertility as the failure to conceive and successfully carry a pregnancy after one year of attempting. So, technically a physician can not make the diagnosis until you have been trying for a one year period.

Yet in many cases, this is not a reasonable standard. For those with a known infertility factor, waiting one year and ignoring a problem such as blocked fallopian tubes, or irregular menses does not make sense. Women over the age of 38 should also begin an evaluation earlier. Fertility declines rapidly after age 38; therefore, any delay in diagnosis and treatment only diminishes the chances for successful treatment.