Family may not be on your mind, but you can still be mindful of risk factors.

To protect your fertility now:

• Avoid illicit drug use
• Quit smoking
• Maintain a healthful weight
• Avoid exposure to toxic chemicals, radioactivity and emissions
• Limit caffeine and heavy drinking
• Ask about certain heart and blood pressure medications.
• Practice safe sex

Chances are, you will conceive on your own, but for 1 in 8 couples, infertility presents a problem.

Warning signs that you may have trouble
getting pregnant:

• Irregular periods
• Painful periods
• Excessive facial hair
• 3 or more miscarriages
• You have had an STD or chronic illness
• You turn 35 (statistically, this is the
  turning point)

See a fertility doctor if you've tried longer than 6 months with no luck. Just 5% of patients see a fertility doctor.

Although you may feel and look
years younger, a woman's eggs
don't age gracefully.

Know your fertility treatment options:

• IVF
• PGD
• Donor eggs and donor sperm

What about the over-40 celebrity moms you read about? Those pregnancies frequently involve donor eggs.

You deserve star treatment, too.The sooner
you partner witha fertility specialist, the better.