A lot of couples want big families, and after the first baby arrives with no problem, they figure they can have as many kids as they want. However, some run into something called “secondary infertility” – the inability to conceive or have a full-term pregnancy after having had children before with no trouble. According to ABC News, it can be emotionally devastating for the couple who goes through it – especially the women. The frustration of not being able to have more children is often mixed with feelings of guilt, despair and obsession. In fact, some women are so addicted to having another baby that they ignore the children they already have!

Experts say that 30-percent of infertility in women is secondary infertility, and the condition affects two million women in North America. One mom mentioned in the article, who suffers from this condition, said it took her seven grueling years to become pregnant with her second child, and for years she felt like a failure. Another mom said she’s so obsessed with adding to the three children she already has, that’s she suffered eight miscarriages and poured over $250,000 into in vitro fertilization. Like many moms with this condition, she feels as though she ruined the first years of her older kids’ lives, because she spent every second thinking about her “next” child, instead of giving the kids she already had her attention and affection.  

The major cause of secondary infertility is age. Dr. James Grifo is the program director of the Fertility Center at New York University. Other causes for the condition include endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease or medical conditions that cause scarring and blockage in the fallopian tubes. There is treatment though. Doctors take the same steps for secondary infertility as they would for patients having trouble conceiving their first child, including fertility drugs, artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization. The good news is, doctors say once you’ve proven you can have a pregnancy, your chances of getting pregnant again are good! If you’d like to go further, check out the Secondary Infertility support group at DailyStrength.org.