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Few people will deny that we live in a society that wants everything NOW! Letting nature take its course is passé. If technological intervention can make something happen faster, it is inevitably seen as a positive occurrence.

Conception can easily fall into this modern day speed trap. When a couple decides to have a baby and the pregnancy does not occur in the first couple of months, they automatically start to assume that something is wrong and are anxious to seek the services of a fertility specialist and their bag of technological tricks.

• Rather than something being wrong, in most cases they are simply in too much of a rush to accomplish their goal.

Before rushing out to see a specialist, and possibly spending huge sums of money and subjecting yourself to painful and invasive procedures, ask yourself a few pertinent questions.

• How long have you actually been working at trying to get pregnant? If it has been less than a year, keep trying the 'natural' method of conception.
• Did you use birth control pills or any other form of hormonal birth control prior to trying to conceive? If you did, it can take you body a year or more to readjust to its normal fertile state.
• Are you under or over weight? If you are, gain, or lose weight, as needed. You may find that this is all that is necessary to conceive.
• Have you, or your partner, been sick lately? This includes being sick with the common cold. Any illness may naturally impede your ability to conceive. This is nature's way of allowing your body to heal, without the added burden of a pregnancy. Illness can also lower sperm counts.
• Eat a well-balanced diet and exercise regularly. The healthier and the fitter you are the better your chances of conceiving naturally.
• Don't smoke, drink, or use drugs. Any substances that alter the natural balance of the body, including caffeine, can impede your ability to conceive. These substances can also lower sperm counts.
• Stress can also impede your ability to conceive. Try to relax, and let nature take its course.

Have you really tried for a year? Trying means one full year of unprotected intercourse, on a regular basis. Did you make use of your Natural Fertility Indicators, so that you were sure to try your hardest when you were likely to be the most fertile? If you did not know when you were fertile, did you try every day - so that you never missed an opportunity to conceive? The less you 'tried', the less your chances where of becoming pregnant during that year.

• Make an appointment for both you and your partner to see a general practitioner for a complete physical. This will help rule out any overtly physical conditions that may be impeding fertility.
• Ignore the advertisements and magazines that advocate getting pregnant as quickly as possible. Fertility treatments are not without risks. These risks can include an increased incidence of maternal death as well as birth defects or death for any children conceived as a result of fertility treatments.
• If you do not present any obvious sign or symptoms that would lead you or your doctor to suspect that you are infertile, keep trying the natural method for another year or two before seeking the aid of a specialist. According to Dr. Egbert te Velde, head of the Department of Reproductive Medicine at the Utrecht Medical Centre, in the Netherlands, about 50% of women that do not become pregnant during the first year of trying, will do so, naturally, if they simply try for awhile longer.

In the end, deciding to consult a fertility specialist is an individual decision. However, if after diligently trying for a year to get pregnant, you and your partner may wish to consult a specialist if:

• You are over 35, as your biological clock is ticking down and you may not have the luxury of waiting for nature to take its course.
• You have an irregular menstrual cycle.
• You have suffered multiple miscarriages.
• The male partner has a testicular or prostate problem.
• You or your partner has had a STD. Such diseases increase your risks of becoming infertile.
• You or your partner comes from a family with a history of infertility problems.