My partner and I have been ttc for nearly a year now, we’re both young (21 and 20 when we started). It’s so very frustrating since this is supposed to be some of the most fertile years of our lives! Don’t worry, we’re financially stable, own our home, and have a wonderful relationship, but we’d love to start a family of our own! Since we’re coming up on the 1 year mark, we’re debating fertility testing. We’re both a tad overweight, and have both been smokers in the past (albeit not heavily), but other than that, we’re very healthy. My primary physician didn’t seem alarmed that it’s been taking us this long, but did recommend a good OBGYN if I choose to look into further testing.

My main concern in doing so is that I’ll be judged by a doctor or his parents for beginning any sort of testing. Don’t get me wrong, his parents are totally on board with us starting a family, but they’re a bit old-fashioned and don’t seem to understand that we might have underlying issues, plus there hasn’t been any issues with infertility in either sides of our families. Also, we’re young and unmarried (and plan to remain so for personal reasons), and I’m afraid a fertility specialist might shrug us off because of our age and relationship status.

Have any other young women pursued fertility testing? Or better yet, young, unmarried couples?

Does anyone have any tips? I’m not excessively stressed, my periods are normal, I track ovulation, but no luck :(