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All kinds of different factors play into a woman's overall reproductive health. Her lifestyle choices and those of her partner, her general health, and other factors often have an impact on not getting pregnant.

If a baby is the ultimate goal, fortunately high quality medical help can increase the odds for conception. Some of the more well known risks to fertility include an abnormal weight, either too heavy or underweight, unhealthy lifestyle choices, and trying to conceive at the wrong times of the month. Here are a few that may not have occurred to a woman struggling to have a baby.

Obviously a regular period is a sign of a healthy, normal ovulation cycle. If a woman's periods aren't regular, the changes of not getting pregnant are much higher. Some diseases like thyroid problems and diabetes can affect period regularity.

Another possible cause of irregular cycles is the presence of a sexually transmitted infection. In these cases the reproductive organs are damaged by the infection causing scarring. Even when treated the damage may have already occurred. A woman in this situation will find that getting pregnant is much harder.

We have already discussed that idea that an unhealthy lifestyle can result in not getting pregnant. But what if a woman doesn't smoke or drink exercises often and eats right? The problem may still be environmental factors. If a woman works around harmful chemicals on a regular basis, they could easily adversely affect her fertility. Pesticides are a huge concern in this manner as are chemical compounds. If she does become pregnant these chemicals are also linked to miscarriage.

As unfair as it seems, age may be a factor for why a woman is not getting pregnant. It is a well known fact that woman after the age of 35 have a harder time getting pregnant and is at a higher risk for having a child with a birth defect. Times don't get really difficult until after age 40. Pregnancy is still possible, but not as likely. The reason for this is that as the body ages, even at such a young age as 40, the quality and health of a woman's eggs begins to decline. This is also the reason for a higher occurrence of birth defects.

The important thing for a woman who is not getting pregnant to remember is that often times these things happen through no fault of her own.

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