Venus and Mars Again?

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You may live and breathe cycle counting and basal body temperature readings in your quest to become pregnant, but can the same be said for your partner?

The Scoop

According to a survey conducted by the maker of fertility tests for men, it's women who think and worry the most about their ability to conceive, with 42 percent of women classifying themselves as "obsessed" with getting pregnant, but only 10 percent of guys showing the same fertility focus.

What else did they find?

• Almost half (49 percent) of women who took longer than expected to conceive indicated their partner was not eager to have his sperm count tested as a way to rule out male infertility
• 23 percent of women who had conceived or were trying to conceive said they would not seek advice or testing for their significant other if it was taking longer than expected to get pregnant
• More than a quarter (27 percent) of women trying/planning to conceive say they are embarrassed to discuss fertility with friends and family; a similar number, 23 percent, say their partner is uncomfortable discussing male fertility issues

Guys also appear to take a very laid back approach to preconception health. Only 23 percent of the women surveyed who are currently pregnant or who have conceived a child say their partner did everything he could to get himself as healthy as possible before they started trying to conceive.

Your Fertility

Should men care more? This year, approximately seven million couples will experience conception issues and about 50 percent of these infertility problems will on the part of the male partner. Fertility experts report that women are typically the ones to take action when conception is slow to happen, often undergoing a battery of sometimes invasive and costly tests, while less than one-fifth of men (17 percent) ever get tested for their sperm count. (You can do it at home now, guys!)

On the other hand, should women care a little less? Preconception health, including mental health, is important, so if you count yourself among those "obsessed" with getting pregnant, it may be time to step back and take a deep breath. If you've had a preconception checkup (and your guy has, too), and all is well, it may be best to relax and just see what happens this month. After all, stress and anxiety are thought by many to have a negative effect on fertility—the very thing you don't want!