By Alex Wright/reporter

Anyone not using contraceptives is trying to get pregnant, a local obstetrician told NW students April 29. 

Dr. Linda C. Elkins, an infertility specialist at Baylor Medical Center, presented some information on the causes and effects of infertility.

“Infertility is described as no conception after one full year of trying,” she said.

Elkins began her presentation with some low and high percentages to show students some other events that happen to people more often than becoming infertile.

“Ten percent of couples trying to conceive do not become pregnant after one year,” she said. However, “12 percent of women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.”

She also pointed out that 11 percent of all children are born premature.

Couples should focus on what they are doing right, instead of what they could possibly be doing wrong, Elkins said. The average chance of getting pregnant each month is 20 percent and does not exceed 30 percent, she said.

Elkins explained what age is best for a great pregnancy and what are some determining factors that can either help or keep someone from getting pregnant. Being 20 is around the most fertile time in one’s life, Elkins said.

“Most men’s fertility does not decrease until his late 70s or so,” she said.

When a patient comes to her office seeking help for what she thinks is causing her to become infertile, Elkins asks her patient the following questions: “Are you ovulating?” “Is there sperm?” and “Is your tube blocked?” She then explains to her patient what happens inside her body and gives her some ideas on how she can start to fix her situation.

“Once released, the egg only has 12-24 hours to live,” she said.

The two treatments Elkins thinks work best for her patients would be either in vitro fertilization or insemination.

Several factors in a woman’s life can decrease her chances of getting pregnant. Being obese, smoking, smoking marijuana and consuming alcohol are the main factors Elkins deals with on a day-to-day basis.

“I tell my patients that to want and to have a baby, you must maintain a clean and healthy lifestyle, and to keep your age in mind,” she said.