Having your very own little bundle of joy may not be as simple as the birds and the bees, but rumors make it that much more complicated.
"Everybody knows someone," remarked gynecologist Dr. Eddye Blossom.
He hears misconceptions all the time, because after all, infertility "is a very delicate subject."
One of the biggest myths: You can control your fertility.
"Fertility is finite," explained Dr. Blossom. "Each woman is born with only a set number of eggs that dwindles down over time. [They start with] 250,000 at the time of puberty, so from there until menopause that number keeps decreasing."
As the clock ticks on those eggs, some women see age 30 as the magic number. But it turns out that 40 is the new 30!
"Some people turn 40 years old and say, 'OK, I just won't have any more kids,' as if their body just turned off," said Dr. Blossom.
He says after 40 it is still possible to conceive, but your chances do go down significantly.
Another big myth: Infertility is "my" problem.
Dr. Blossom says that many women feel responsible if they aren't able to get pregnant, but he suggests looking to your partner first before taking all the blame.
"Up to 35 percent of infertility can be only because of the male," explained Dr. Blossom.
If you're under 35, he recommends trying to conceive naturally for a year before looking for other methods.
Many myths surround in vitro fertilization, but Dr. Blossom gets this one often: "I don't want to be like Octomom!"
Dr. Blossom said some women are scared of in vitro because of the risk for multiple babies.
"Only two percent of in vitro fertilization babies are triplets or more. It is very hard to do," explained Dr. Blossom.
He also said other treatments exist and in vitro may be a last resort for some.
The final myth? Just relax and you'll become pregnant.
"Word got out that all you have to do is relax [to] have a baby," said Dr. Blossom. "De-stressing your life is not a bad idea, but relaxation may not be your only problem."
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