Dr. Tayo Adeiyi, a gynecologist, emphasized the need for couples to seek medical attention if they experience infertility after a year of trying to conceive.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos, Dr. Adeiyi, who serves as the Medical Director of Amuwo Odofin Maternal and Child Centre, recommended that couples seek help if they don’t get pregnant within 12 months of unprotected sex, as this is typically the timeframe for a normal pregnancy to occur.

He stated, “If there’s regular sexual intercourse, and by regular, we say between two and three times weekly.

“If the sexual exposure is unprotected, no use of any family planning method, no use of condoms, if all is well, a couple should be able to achieve pregnancy within 12 months, which is one calendar year.”

Dr. Adeiyi, a gynecologist, identified several risk factors that can affect conception, including age, infections, ovulation and menstruation issues, hormonal imbalances, damaged or blocked fallopian tubes, and abnormal sperm parameters.

Additional factors include pelvic inflammatory disease, surgical removal of fibroids, and a history of sexually transmitted diseases. While hormonal imbalances can be treated with medication, conditions like blocked or damaged fallopian tubes or certain types of male infertility may require assisted reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization.

The gynecologist emphasized that infertility is not solely a female issue, as both men and women can contribute to fertility challenges.

“Infertility is not a woman’s problem but that of a couple. That’s the first thing we must get right.

“If there’s infertility in a couple, it could either be the result of a male or female factor.

“If there are issues of the sperm parameters not being too good, such a woman cannot get pregnant.

“Even if all other factors are right in the woman but the male that is supposed to fertilise the egg sperm parameters are not good, then there’ll be infertility,” he mentioned.

Dr. Adeiyi recommended that couples in their advanced years and women over 35 shouldn’t delay seeking medical help if they experience difficulties getting pregnant. Instead of waiting a year, they should investigate the cause of their delayed conception sooner.

Additionally, he advised women who have experienced multiple first-trimester miscarriages to take folic acid supplements to prevent neural tube defects in their future pregnancies.