When To See A Doctor
Women who track their fertile window with the aim of getting pregnant should see their doctor for preconception planning.
As well as identifying barriers to conceiving, a doctor can advise on the use of folic acid or prenatal supplements to encourage a healthy pregnancy.
Most couples who engage in frequent, unprotected sex will conceive within 12 months.
Women under 35 years of age should see their doctor if they do not conceive after a year of trying. Those over 35 years of age should seek medical advice after 6 months of trying to conceive.
Anyone who has irregular cycles or does not appear to ovulate should also speak to their doctor. There may be an underlying medical cause that is preventing ovulation and conception.
Ovulation predictor kits and fertility monitors are available for purchase online.
Have A Cervical Screening Test
If you are aged between 25 and 49 you should have a cervical screening test every three years. Its best to get tested before you get pregnant because pregnancy can make the results of your test harder to interpret.
If youre planning a pregnancy contact your GP surgery to find out if your screening is due now or within the next year.
What Healthy Habits Can Do
Dont assume that your age is the only reason youre not conceiving quickly. When youre over 35, your lifestyle can also work against you as you try to get pregnant.
Your provider might suggest you try making some lifestyle changes, such as:
Diet and lifestyle can affect fertility. Eating healthier, letting go of fertility-busting habits, and maintaining a healthy weight can help you conceive faster and may even boost your odds for fertility treatment success if you do need treatment.
Dont forget about mind-body therapies as well. While research hasnt yet found a strong link between mind-body therapies like yoga and fertility, most everyone can benefit from adding stress-reducing activities to their life.
Its true that unhealthy habits can increase the rate of fertility decline, but changing your lifestyle won’t stop age-related fertility decline. Even if you eat a balanced diet, get regular exercise, and don’t smoke, you will still get older and experience age-related fertility decline just like anyone else.
Lifestyle habits have been linked to fertility challenges. For example, women who smoke have eggs that age faster.
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What To Do If You Have An Iud And Suspect Pregnancy
First, take a home pregnancy test. Todays tests are very good at diagnosing pregnancy early. If the test is negative and youre still worried, call your health care provider, who can answer your questions, perform an exam, or do additional testing if you need it.
If your test is positive, call your Ob/Gyn and explain your situation. The doctor can order an ultrasound and perform an exam. If you develop right- or left-sided pelvic pain with vaginal bleeding and cant be seen by your doctor right away, its reasonable to visit the emergency department because the cause might be an ectopic pregnancy.
IUDs are an incredibly good form of birth control for many women, but no contraceptive is 100 percent effective. If youre considering an IUD, talk to your doctor or other healthcare provider about whether this form of highly effective contraception is right for you.
Get Help To Stop Smoking
Smoking affects fertility in men and women. If you stop smoking now it will improve your chances of conceiving. Smoking has also been shown to damage the DNA of your baby. During pregnancy smoking is the biggest risk factor for serious complications in pregnancy that you can change.
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Are There Other Ways To Get Pregnant Without Having Sex
Interestingly, this study also brings up artificial reproductive technology . While the women in this study did not engage in any ART procedures, its possible to get pregnant without ever having penetrative sex through procedures like intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilization .
While this option works for those who require donor sperm or eggs, such as same-sex couples, its also an option for those for whom engaging in intercourse is either not desired or impossible.
Truth: Fertility Declines After Age 35
Unfortunately, no matter how good you look, and how healthy you are, your fertility declines with age. Your odds of getting pregnant at 40 are not as good as they are at 30. In fact, female fertility begins a steep downward path around age 35. This is why experts recommend that women who are over age 35 and trying to conceive should seek help for getting pregnant sooner than younger women.
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Now You Know So What’s Next
Get informed, decide what level of risk is okay for you, and choose what kind of contraception or protection to use. Remember that only condoms can protect you against both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections . The safest option is to use condoms and another form of birth control. If you’re taking the pill, you can track in Clue and get personalized advice on what to do if you miss a pill.
If after reading this you’re worried you might be pregnant, check out our guide to emergency contraception, advice about what to do if your period is late, and information on the symptoms of early pregnancy.
Whatever method of contraception or STI prevention you use, you can use Clue to track your sex habits, signs of pregnancy, and symptoms of STIs.
What Happens If I Get Pregnant With An Iud
The intrauterine device is one of the most popular and reliable forms of reversible birth control on the market. Its a small T-shaped device made of either copper or hormone-embedded plastic that is inserted through the cervix into the uterine cavity and designed to prevent fertilization. There are two strings attached that a doctor, advanced practice nurse, or physician assistant can use to remove the IUD when it expires , when a patient chooses to become pregnant, or, in rare cases, when a complication develops.
About 10 percent of women choose this type of birth control because the risk of pregnancy is so low less than 1 percent per year. Many women have an IUD placed right after delivery so they go home from the hospital with an established birth control method.
However, no form of birth control is 100 percent effective. While rare, its possible to become pregnant while using an IUD. Such was the case for a patient I saw in the spring of 2018. She had an IUD, and when she took a home pregnancy test, it was positive. The patient came in for an ultrasound, and the reason for the IUD failure was obvious the IUD was sitting in the cervix, not higher up in the uterus where it could have been three times as effective at preventing pregnancy.
In the rare event that pregnancy occurs when an IUD is in place, there are risks to the patient and the pregnancy. Women need to seek care from an Ob/Gyn to reduce the risk of serious complications.
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Understanding Your Menstrual Cycle
Your menstrual cycle begins on the first day of your period and continues up to the first day of your next period.
You’re most fertile at the time of ovulation , which usually occurs 12 to 14 days before your next period starts. This is the time of the month when you’re most likely to get pregnant.
It’s unlikely that you’ll get pregnant just after your period, although it can happen. It’s important to remember that sperm can sometimes survive in the body for up to 7 days after you have sex.
This means it may be possible to get pregnant soon after your period finishes if you ovulate early, especially if you have a naturally short menstrual cycle.
You should always use contraception when you have sex if you don’t want to become pregnant.
When To Get Help
If you’ve been trying for less than six months, don’t fret just yet. Keep trying. If you’re older than 35, and you’ve been trying for six months, see a doctor. Since age can be a factor, it’s important you don’t wait. You may still conceive on your own! However, it’s best to get checked out.
What if you’re younger than 35, have been trying for six months, and don’t want to wait until one year passes? Some doctors won’t do fertility testing until a year goes by for women younger than age 35. However, if you have timed intercourse each of those six months, you may be able to convince your doctor to investigate sooner. One way to show this is with a fertility calendar.
If you’ve been trying for a year and you’re not yet pregnant, you should definitely see a doctor. Some couples hold out hope, not wanting to face the possibility of infertility. This is completely understandable. But since the passage of time could lower the chances of fertility treatments working. It’s better to seek help sooner.
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Truth: Any Sexual Position Can Result In Pregnancy
Any sexual position that results in semen getting near the cervix can lead to pregnancy. For that matter, even if semen gets near the vaginal opening, pregnancy can occur.
The so-called “missionary position” of man on top, woman on bottom, is assumed to be the best position for conception. However, theres no evidence that youre more likely to get pregnant having sex this way.
Chances Of Getting Pregnant By Donor Egg Treatment
Donor egg treatment is the great equalizer. Treatment with donor eggs is the only fertility treatment option where the age of the female partner does not impact the outcome. The treatment is the same process as IVF except the egg used comes from a donor. Since donors are ages 21 to 32 and thoroughly screened, donor egg treatment is the most effective fertility treatment, with a 60 percent clinical pregnancy rate per embryo transfer.
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If I Check My Temperature Every Morning Will That Tell Me When I Can Get Pregnant
Carefully tracking your basal body temperature with a basal body thermometer will help you know when ovulation has occurred, but won’t predict when it will happen in the future. BBT is one component of certain Fertility Awareness-Based Methods of contraception, called symptothermal methods. By following careful rules that combine the changes in BBT with carefully-tracked changes in cervical mucus, you can estimate the days in your cycle when you have the highest likelihood of becoming pregnant . If you’re interested in using a FAM for contraception, talk to your healthcare provider to find out more. You can track your BBT and cervical mucus in Clue .
Truth: Having Sex Every Day Doesn’t Get You Pregnant Faster
You certainty could have sex every day if you wanted to. But theres no evidence that it will help you get pregnant faster. Its much more likely to lead to burnout and frustration, especially if you dont get pregnant in the first month.
Sex every other day, or sex during your most fertile days, is all you need to conceive. In fact, if you had sex three times a week, youd still be likely to hit your most fertile time.
The reason why more sex doesnt necessarily mean youll get pregnant faster is that conception is about much more than timing. There are a variety of physiological factors that impact whether you get pregnant in any given month. If timing were all it took, more people would conceive the first month they tried.
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Stop Taking Birth Control Pills
Stop taking your birth control a couple of months before you plan to start trying for a baby, says Robert A. Greene, M.D., co-author of Perfect Hormone Balance for Fertility. This gives you some time to evaluate your natural menstrual cycle and figure out when you’re ovulating, the time of the month when you’re most fertile. If you’ve been taking the pill for a while, your cycle could be different from what it was before you started. It can take a while for hormone levels to get back on track after ditching the pill, but if your period’s still MIA after three months, you should see your doctor.
Drinking and smoking during pregnancy? We don’t need to tell you they’re major don’ts. If you indulge in either, start scaling back now, says Jennifer Wider, M.D., author of The New Mom’s Survival Guide and medical advisor to the Society for Women’s Health Research. “If you’re a moderate drinkeryou have a couple of drinks on a Thursday night or over the weekendyou probably don’t need to change anything, as long as you’re sure you’re not pregnant yet,” she says. “But drinking most nights of the week or downing five cocktails in a sitting can be more of a problem.” The same goes for your partner, too. Excess alcohol intake has been shown to interfere with your fertility and can also lower sperm count in men.
Why Cant I Get Pregnant
When youre ready to start a family and youre not getting pregnant, it can be frustrating and overwhelming. Especially if youve tried the conventional methods to maximize your chances: having frequent intercourse during your fertile window, tracking your temperature every morning and using tools like ovulation tracker apps and predictor kits.
You may start to wonder is this a medical problem or do I simply need to be more patient? Youre not alone. One in 8 couples struggles to conceive. Chantel Cross, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist with the Johns Hopkins Fertility Center at the Johns Hopkins Health Care & Surgery Center Green Spring Station in Lutherville, Maryland, explains what factors might be affecting your ability to get pregnant and when you might consider infertility treatment.
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Can You Get Pregnant From Anal Sex
Not technically, but….
The distance between the rectum and vagina is very small. So if you are having anal sex without a condom, then it’s possible that some sperm can also get into your vagina and cause a pregnancy. There isn’t good data around how often this happens, but it’s generally accepted that it’s possible but unlikely. Sperm inside the anus can’t lead to pregnancy directly. STIs, however, including HIV, can be passed to or from an anal sex partner, so using condoms is always a good idea.
Truth: It Can Take Multiple Months To Get Pregnant
You may have gotten the impression in your high school sex education class that getting pregnant is almost too easy. One time in bed and thats ityoull be expecting. Years of using birth control can also put you into this mindset. When you spend so much time worrying that you might accidentally get pregnant, you may be surprised when you dont conceive instantly.
The truth is that few couples get pregnant the first month they try. Its completely normal to take up to six months to get pregnant. Some couples take up to a year to conceive, and thats also within the realm of normal.
How quickly can you expect to get pregnant? One study found that after three months of trying, 68% of the couples were pregnant. After a year, 92% conceived. Additionally, these women were using fertility tracking techniques. So, it wasnt hit-or-miss intercourse that got them pregnant.
What if youre not pregnant after a year? Go see your doctor. If youre age 35 or older, go see your doctor after six months.
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How Long Does It Take To Get Pregnant
With frequent unprotected sex, most healthy couples conceive within one year. Of all couples trying to conceive:
- 30 percent get pregnant within the first cycle .
- 60 percent get pregnant within three cycles .
- 80 percent get pregnant within six cycles .
- 85 percent get pregnant within 12 cycles .
- 92 percent get pregnant within 48 cycles .
Your best chances for conceiving naturally are during your 20s. Your fertility begins to decline as you age. A healthy 30-year-old has about a 20 percent chance of getting pregnant each month, but by the time youre 40, you have only about a 5 percent chance. By age 45, very few women get pregnant naturally.
Age Fertility And Conception
The most important factor for the chance of getting pregnant and having a healthy baby is your age. Starting at about age 32, a womans chance of conceiving starts to decline. From age 35, the fertility decline speeds up and by age 40, fertility has fallen by half.
The impact of the males age is less dramatic, but matters too. Men aged 45 and older are less fertile and some health conditions are more common in children with older fathers.
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Existing Issues With Male Fertility
While there are many issues with male fertility that can be sorted out through lifestyle changes, some are problems that men are born with. If its a natural conception, there could be issues with a lacking or inadequate sperm count, reduced sperm motility or high abnormal forms of sperm.
Most cases of abnormal semen parameters are unexplained, however in some cases it could be due to inherent defect in sperm production due to testicular damage or blockage in the outflow tract. Dr Nandi says, Some men have difficulties in erection or ejaculation.
Whether or not this is the case, its important to look after the quality of sperm when trying for baby. I would strongly advise men to avoid testosterone supplement to build muscle. This can have detrimental effect on sperm production, Dr Nandi suggests.
Any factors that can potentially increase the temperature of the scrotal area should be avoided as it can lead to DNA damage of the sperms, increase oxidative radicals. Research shows that even 1 degree centigrade rise in temperature can lead to 14% drop in sperm production. Prolonged sitting, driving, hot bath, saunas should be avoided.
