The short explanation
The usual guidance is a year of regular unprotected sex if you are under 35, and six months if you are 35 or older. Earlier than that if there is a reason to expect difficulty: periods that are absent or very irregular, known endometriosis or fibroids, previous pelvic infection or surgery, cancer treatment, or a known problem with sperm. Asking earlier is not wasting anyone's time. The first steps are simple and the results take weeks, so starting sooner mostly buys information.
What depends on your situation
The parts of this that change from woman to woman. Uncertainty is stated, not hidden.
- Age matters more than any single test, and it matters gradually rather than at a cliff edge. Both partners are investigated: roughly a third of difficulty is found on the male side, a third on the female side and a third in both or neither, so a plan that looks at only one person is incomplete.
- What is available locally, and what it costs, varies enormously in India. It is reasonable to ask what the whole pathway would cost before agreeing to the first step.
What this answer cannot determine
The boundary of online education. These need a clinician who can see you.
- This cannot tell you why it has not happened for you, what your chances are, or whether any treatment would help. Those need tests, both partners, and a clinician who can see the results.
Questions for your clinician
Take these with you. You can add any of them to an appointment card.
- What tests would you start with, for both of us?
- How long will the results take and what happens after them?
- What would each stage cost, including the ones we might not need?
- Is there anything worth doing now, while we wait?
When to seek help
Clinician-approved guidance for this topic. When in doubt, being seen is never the wrong choice.
- Do not wait the full year if your periods have stopped, if sex is painful enough to avoid, if you have severe period pain that stops you working, or if you have had a pelvic infection. Those are reasons to be seen now.
Sources
The evidence this explanation is built on.
No sources recorded yet.
Who wrote and reviewed this
Every AskHer answer names its author. A clinically reviewed answer also names the clinician who signed it off — if no clinician is named below, it has not been clinically reviewed.
- Author
- AskHer Editorial AskHer's editorial team — not an individual clinician Works in English, தமிழ், हिन्दी
- Clinical reviewer
- Nobody yet No clinician has signed this answer off. That is what the “Editorially reviewed” badge means, and why it does not say “Clinically reviewed”. It was written and checked by AskHer’s editorial team, and it is queued for a clinician who works in this area. No sources are recorded against it yet.
- Review status
- Editorially reviewed
- Last reviewed
- Last reviewed 26 September 2026
- Version
- 1
Correction history
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No corrections have been made since this answer was first published.
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