If you've reached a point in your life where you and your partner are ready to have a child, it can be an exciting time. You may also feel nervous, because if you've never tried to conceive before, you might wonder if you and your partner are fertile.

Infertility is known as the inability to get pregnant, even though you and your partner have been having frequent unprotected sex for at least six months to a year. According to Resolve, the National Infertility Association, one in eight married couples has trouble getting pregnant or sustaining pregnancy.

Why does infertility happen?

There are a number of reasons why you and your partner are experiencing infertility. It can be a single cause, or a combination of reasons from both you and your partner, that is preventing you to conceive.

What can cause infertility in men?

If you and your partner have been trying to conceive for over a year, it may be time to seek professional help. Usually, your doctor would first want to test the male's semen, because it is a less invasive procedure and can determine his sperm count.

If an abnormal analysis comes back, your doctor will explore further testing. If a man is infertile, it could be from a medical condition like diabetes, unhealthy lifestyle habits like heavy alcohol use, or another medical issue.

What causes infertility in women?

In order for a woman to be able to conceive, she needs a healthy reproduction system. This includes healthy and normal functioning ovaries, eggs, fallopian tubes and uterus. A woman also needs to be having a normal ovulation cycle. If something in your reproductive system is off, or you're not ovulating normally, it could be contributing to your conceiving troubles.

Where Have All the Storks Gone, written by Chris and Michelle Miller, a couple who has gone through it all, offers a unique "his and hers" format that gives readers a perspective as to what struggling with infertility is like for both men and women.