Many people that hope to have a baby wonder what the odds are of getting pregnant-and just how quickly can you get pregnant. However, the answer varies quite a bit from person to person. While some couples may conceive the very first month they try, most will take a bit longer, with roughly 75% conceiving within six months. Those who are not pregnant after a year should seek medical assistance, But with treatment, if needed, the odds are still in your favor to get pregnant.

How long it takes you to get pregnant will depend on how frequently you’re having sex, if you’re having sex during your most fertile days, your age, and whether fertility challenges exist for you or your partner. Learn more about your odds of getting pregnant, how to maximize them, and when to get help from an OB/GYN.

Odds of Getting Pregnant Right Away

Researchers in Germany wondered how quickly couples can expect to get pregnant. They were especially interested in how common infertility and subfertility are. Subfertility can be loosely defined as someone who takes longer than average to get pregnant, but eventually succeeds without help.

The researchers noticed that previous studies tracking time to conception eliminated truly infertile couples. Also, previous studies were biased because of their retrospective nature. In other words, the statistics were gathered after pregnancy was achieved and not collected from the beginning. What about all the couples who never conceived?

In this study, a group of 346 women were practicing natural family planning methods to get pregnant. Natural family planning includes things like body basal temperature charting and cervical mucus observation. They use these tools to determine their most fertile days.

This group of couples knew which days to have sex if they wanted to get pregnant, so mistimed intercourse would not be behind failure to conceive. The results:

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• After one month of trying, 38% were pregnant
• After three months of trying, 68% were pregnant
• After six months of trying, 81% were pregnant
• After 12 months of trying, 92% were pregnant
• Of 346 women, 310 conceived; the remaining 10.4% did not get pregnant

If the women who did not conceive are removed from the study results, the percentages change. In this group of 310 women:

• 42% conceived in their first month of trying
• 75% conceived by their third month
• 88% conceived by six months
• 98% conceived by 12 months

Couples Who Don’t Get Pregnant After One Year

What about those who don’t get pregnant after one year? If you’re not pregnant after one year of trying-or after six months if you’re 35 years or older-then you should see your doctor.

While 10% of couples may not get pregnant after 12 months of trying, half of this group will get pregnant after 36 months of trying. About 4% of couples will try for four years and still not get pregnant. ? ? This group of couples is unlikely to ever get pregnant without medical help.

How Long It Takes to Get Pregnant

This is a slightly different question but one that many people wonder about. If you do get pregnant in a given month, how long after you had sex did it happen?

First, keep in mind that fertilization of the egg isn’t pregnancy. Any couple that has gone through IVF treatment and had an embryo transfer that “didn’t stick” can tell you this. For pregnancy to happen, an embryo needs to implant itself into the endometrial lining.

Second, sperm can survive in the female reproductive tract for up to five days. This means if you have sex at 10 p.m. on Monday, but ovulation doesn’t occur until 7 a.m. on Thursday, fertilization of the egg can still occur, though is less likely.