One-Time Moms Facing Secondary Infertility

April 23 -- After giving birth to her first child 11 years ago, Julia Indichova was trying desperately — and unsuccessfully — to have a second.

Doctors said she had no chance of conceiving another child, because of her age, 42, and a high hormone level.

Indichova was facing something known as "secondary infertility." The term refers to infertility in women who became pregnant at an earlier stage of their life but are now having difficulty conceiving. By some estimates, the problem accounts for one-third of all visits to fertility specialists. An estimated 3 million couples struggle with secondary infertility, almost double the number from 1995.

Indichova succeeded in finding her own path to becoming pregnant for a second time, which for her consisted of practicing both vegetarianism and yoga. She has written a book about her experience, Inconceivable: A Woman's Triumph over Despair and Statistics, and teaches classes to other mothers dealing with secondary infertility.

Late Start on Motherhood

Dr. Sami David, a fertility specialist from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York who has treated many women with secondary infertility, said the numbers are on the rise for a reason.

"It is often because women are waiting longer to start having children," David said. Most of his patients had their first child when they were about 35, then waited several years to have a second. But by ages 39 or 40, it becomes more difficult to conceive.

Often, doctors can pinpoint the problem by looking at the woman's medical history, along with the man's.

"Find out if anything has happened to either of their lives or their health in the interim," David said. "[Women] might have hormonal problems, or the quality of their eggs may have declined."

Doctors will typically ask whether a woman's menstrual cycle has changed, and measure her hormones with blood tests. Progesterone is the most important hormone involved in pregnancy, and a low progesterone level is the most common cause for secondary infertility. The low levels occur either because of a woman's age or from too much strenuous exercise, David said.