Here's how long it usually takes couples to get pregnant

Flickr / Frank de Kleine

Many women in their 20s and 30s assume that they can get pregnant whenever they want. And so, when the time is right and they decide to start trying for a baby, they typically figure that they'll get pregnant right away.

But in reality, most couples don't conceive immediately after they start trying, according to Dr. Shruti Malik from Shady Grove Fertility in Virginia.

"Most couples will conceive in about six months or less," Malik told INSIDER. "So it's interesting, because I have a lot of patients who spent a good portion of their adolescence trying to prevent pregnancy, and then later find out that it's more difficult than one would necessarily presume."

The fertility expert explained that couples who have no history of infertility, and are having regular unprotected sex, have a 15% to 20% chance of conceiving per cycle.

"So if you were to consider all of those, if you have six cycles of doing that, most couples will conceive in that six-month window," Malik said.

However, if a couple has been having regular unprotected intercourse without getting pregnant for 12 months, it is recommended that they either seek a fertility consultation to get more information, or consider treatment for possible infertility.

"If she has not conceived in that window, there is a higher likelihood that there may be other factors that are contributing to that couple's difficulty in conceiving. And at that point in time, it warrants seeing a physician or fertility specialist," Malik explained.

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