Hi, I'm 30 , and my husband and I have been trying to conceive for about 5 months. In that time I've had 3 maybe 4 chemical pregnancies. My last period was also very painful but ended quickly, and now I'm spotting quite a bit during my ovulation time. I've heard I should wait until a year before going in, and I also had a premarital exam in August, and he said everything looked fine. I've heard chemical pregnancies are very common and not to worry too much, and just start testing later. Should I see a doctor or not? How soon?

The usual advice is that first, you should see your doctor when you decide to begin trying to get pregnant. The doctor should give you some solid advice on taking care of yourself to be prepared for a pregnancy. Generally, they will assess whether you are a healthy weight for a pregnancy (if you are very overweight you can be at higher risk for complications like gestational diabetes; if you are very underweight you can have difficulty getting pregnant and can face other risks). They will generally prescribe prenatal vitamins, and also give you dietary advice. For example, you should stop smoking and other unhealthy behaviors before you get pregnant - by the time you know you're pregnant, these things could already have impacted your child. To improve your chances, it's also not a bad idea to learn about tracking your ovulation and taking advantage of your most fertile times.

Then, if you do not get pregnant within a year, it's time to return and possibly see a fertility specialist. Many things can interfere with efforts to get pregnant, from hormonal imbalances, to low motility or sperm count, to blocked tubes. They can figure these things out, and if there are issues, address them.

I have never heard your terminology of "chemical pregnancy". I am guessing that you mean you get early, positive pregnancy test results but then experience early miscarriage? If this is the case, the "wait a year" approach does not apply. If you have had multiple early miscarriages, you should report these experiences to your doctor, or ideally, a fertility specialist. They can run some tests now and see why your pregnancies are not continuing and hopefully resolve the problem sooner rather than later.