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Q: Everywhere you look on TV women, even as young as their early 30s, are talking about freezing their eggs and worrying about fertility issues. Is there really an epidemic going on among women? How young is too young to be concerned about the possibility of having kids?

It does seem like there is an increased concern about having a baby nowadays.  Experts have seen a huge demand for fertility services, even though the number of infertility cases has been at a stable level over the years.  In other words, there is not an epidemic of women being infertile. So why does it seem so common now?  Well, it could be due to any of the following factors: a high demand of older women delaying having babies until later in life, the high publicity of technological advances seen in getting pregnant, and celebrities or high profile individuals opening up to the public about their fertility issues on television and/or other media outlets.

When it comes to infertility, it should actually be considered a medical condition involving a couple, rather than a single person (eg, the female).  In a study that looked at who is the culprit when a couple cannot get pregnant,  researchers noticed that 37% of the cases of infertility were due to the female, 8% just the male alone, and 35% were due to both male and female reproductive problems, while about 5% was unexplained.   This goes to show that the inability to get pregnant may not entirely be the woman’s fault!

About 80% -90% of couples can conceive within one year of having sex. Infertility typically becomes a concern when a couple has tried to have a baby after 12 months of sex without any use of contraceptives in women who are 35 years of age or younger.  For those who are older than 35 years, infertility issues come to mind when the couple fails to get pregnant after six months of sex without contraceptives.

Of course, there are certain risk factors that bring questions of infertility into play sooner rather than later. In women, we already know the higher your age, the less likely  you can become pregnant.  But also smoking, being overweight, problems with your menstrual cycle, fallopian tube issues (eg, due to previous history of STDs), endometriosis, or having fibroids decreases your chances of becoming pregnant.  In men, risk factors include having low viable sp*erm counts or the presence of any obstruction within their male genital anatomy.  There are also individuals who have been born infertile due to a genetic abnormality either directly or indirectly causing it.

The take home message is that there are many factors involved in being infertile.  In general, anyone can have fertility issues.  At birth, the doctors may already know if your child may have a condition that leads to infertility. But unless you have been given such a diagnosis as a child, I would not start to be concerned about the probability of not being able to conceive unless you have been desperately trying and have not been able to.

If you have tried for a year and did not use contraceptives during that time, you may want to talk to your doctor about this.  He or she can refer you to an infertility specialist who would do blood tests, physical exams, and image tests on you.  Your partner should also be tested, especially if you received a normal report.

Dr. Mercy Edionwe is a physician specializing in internal medicine. She earned her medical degree at the University of Texas Medical Branch, and afterwards, completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. During her free time, she loves to write and educate the public on medical issues. She currently resides in Texas. You can follow her on Twitter at @fuchsiamd.

Disclaimer: The information contained here are intended solely for the general information of the reader.  It is not to be used for treatment purposes, but rather for discussion between you and your physician.  Please consult your physician for further information in regards to your own general care.  Knowledge is power!  Be informed.

Even the most well-known and liked celebrities in Hollywood have faced challenges like the rest of us. For some celebs it’s drug or alcohol addictions, for others it’s medical problems like fertility issues. However, troubles conceiving weren’t enough to stop these now celebrity parents from expanding their families. Here are 14 celebrities who used a surrogate to carry their baby for them.

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Angela Bassett & Courtney B. Vance

For years Angela Bassett and her husband struggled to get pregnant and even after undergoing infertility treatment for seven years, the couple was still unable to conceive. But this didn’t stop them from starting a family of their own. In 2006, the proud parents welcomed fraternal twins named Slater and Bronwyn.