SL 619 Health - Fertility - FINAL - Reg2_Layout 1 6 / 12 / 19 4 : 11 PM Page 1 H E A L T H “ I got engaged at 27 , married at 28 , and we felt like our lives were just getting started , ” says Perkins , a Paoli native . “ We both wanted kids eventually , and we knew it was something we had to plan for . Once you hit your early 30s , time flies . By the time we really started thinking about it , and when we started trying , I was 37 . You can probably guess , but it didn’t go as planned . ” As her 38th birthday came and went , a creeping suspicion became a realization : Perkins and her husband were having prob - lems getting pregnant . It was time to meet with a fertility specialist . Perkins ’ experience rings true for an in - creasing number of Americans , according to fertility experts such as Divya Shah , M.D . , MME , assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology for the University of Penn - sylvania Perelman School of Medicine . “ Culturally , we are seeing some indi - viduals delay marriage and child bearing until their late 30s and early 40s , which can have a significant impact on fertility , ” Dr . Shah says . “ Epidemiologically , the most common causes of infertility are male factors ( primarily abnormalities seen on semen analyses ) , and female factors related to ovulatory dysfunction . ” Infertility refers to the inability to get pregnant after one year of trying , or six Expecting months if a woman is 35 or older . By the numbers : About 10 percent of women in the United States between ages 15 and 44 have difficulty getting pregnant or staying Miracles pregnant , according to the U.S . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Advances in reproductive care help couples But the problem affects more than overcome infertility and realize the dream of women alone , according to Hayley Eichlin , DNP , APRN , WHNP - BC , a nurse practitioner starting or adding to a family . with Reproductive Medicine Associates of BY BILL DONAHUE New Jersey , which has fertility clinics in or near the Greater Philadelphia Area . “ The public awareness of male infertility For as long as she could remember , Janice Perkins * had four things on her “ to is still shockingly low , ” she says . “ People do ” list : get into an elite college , where she could earn an advanced degree in her typically believe it’s a woman’s problem , chosen field of study ( engineering ) ; get a well - paying job that would enable her to travel , but men are almost equally susceptible . ” buy a nice house , and enjoy a comfortable life ; find the right person with whom to share Also , a significant number of patients her life ; and have children , preferably a boy and a girl , if possible . present with what Dr . Shah refers to as She had crossed off the first three items on her list by her 30th birthday . But when it “ unexplained infertility , ” meaning there came to starting a family , though , she just wasn’t ready . SUBURBANLIFEMAGAZINE.COM JUNE 2019 12 |