You don't have to figure this out alone.

A visit with an OB/GYN (obstetrician–gynecologist). ACOG says your OB/GYN usually does the first infertility assessment. The same doctor can do a prepregnancy checkup.

Women trying to conceive, with a partner or on their own. ACOG recommends an evaluation after 12 months of trying, after 6 months if you are older than 35, and talking with your OB/GYN now if you are older than 40.

Men's testing. ACOG says men may see a urologist, and ASRM says men should see a reproductive urologist who specializes in fertility.

• A prepregnancy checkup: your diet and lifestyle, medical and family history, medicines, past pregnancies, vaccines, and how to protect yourself from sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
• A first infertility assessment, which ACOG says your OB/GYN usually does.
• Basic tests that may include blood and urine tests for ovulation, thyroid function, prolactin and egg supply (ovarian reserve), and imaging such as an ultrasound.
• ACOG notes you may not have all of these tests. Some depend on earlier results.

ACOG says an infertility evaluation can be finished within a few menstrual cycles in most cases.

ACOG says you may also see a reproductive endocrinologist, an OB/GYN with special training in infertility. Men may see a urologist.

ACOG says treatment depends on the type of problem found, and may include lifestyle changes, surgery or medication. Some treatments may be combined.

An infertility evaluation with fertility specialists. ASRM says women and people with ovaries should start with a reproductive endocrinologist (an OB/GYN with special training in infertility, per ACOG), and men with a reproductive urologist who specializes in fertility.

• Female-male couples who haven't become pregnant after 12 months of trying, or after 6 months if she is 35 or older.
• Couples with a reason to go sooner, such as irregular cycles, known or suspected problems with the uterus or tubes, known or suspected sperm problems, or past cancer treatment.
• Individuals and couples planning treatment with donor sperm, donor eggs, donor embryos or a gestational carrier.

• A detailed medical history and a physical exam at the first visit.
• Testing for both partners. ASRM says any infertility evaluation should include both.
• A semen analysis, which ASRM calls essential, even if he has had children before.
• A check that the fallopian tubes are open and the uterus is a normal shape: a hysterosalpingogram (HSG, an X-ray or ultrasound procedure) or a saline infusion sonogram.
• A transvaginal ultrasound that checks the uterus and ovaries for problems such as fibroids and cysts.
• Ovarian reserve tests, such as AMH, a count of small follicles by ultrasound (antral follicle count), or FSH drawn on day 2 to 5 of the cycle.

ACOG says an infertility evaluation can be finished within a few menstrual cycles in most cases.

You're already at the clinic. ACOG says some of the imaging procedures used in testing can also treat certain problems if they are found.

Treatment depends on what's found. ACOG lists lifestyle changes, surgery and medication, and treatments such as IUI (sperm placed in the uterus close to ovulation) and IVF (egg and sperm combined in a lab, then the embryo transferred to the uterus).