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.
Truth: To Get Pregnant Have Sex Before You Ovulate
If you want to get pregnant, you should have sex before you ovulate. Sex in the two days before ovulation is most likely to help you conceive.
While at first glance, it seems to make sense that the egg needs to be present before you send in the swimmers. However, thats not how it works.
First of all, sperm can survive in the female reproductive tract for up to six days. The sperm will die off as the days pass, so the closer to ovulation you have sex, the better. But they dont need to get there “at the moment” of ovulation.
Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, the egg becomes nonviable very quickly. If a sperm cell doesnt fertilize the egg within 12 to 24 hours of being released from the ovary, pregnancy cant occur.
When you take into consideration this short viability window, sex after ovulation could be too late.
How Do I Get Pregnant If I Was On Birth Control
If youre on birth control and want to get pregnant, simply stop using your birth control method. With most methods , fertility usually comes back right after you stop using it often within the same month.
Birth control doesnt hurt your ability to get pregnant long-term, but a few types may temporarily affect your fertility for several months after you stop using it.
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And Pregnant: The Aftermath
Pregnancy at a very young age has its peculiarities. A 12-year-old girls body is growing and developing actively. But when a girl is pregnant all the resources and strength of her body are spent on fetal development. Apart from that, pregnancy requires a lot from all the young girls organs and systems which have already been under pressure due to age specificities. Such pregnancies take a difficult course and are very hard for teenage girls because of their immature bodies. Its always a true test for a girl who herself is still a child.
There is no doubt that pregnancy at an early age speeds up puberty. The estrogens and progesterone secretion is in no way inferior to that of adult pregnant women.
Teenage pregnancy is, as a rule, unplanned and unwanted. The length of gestation is 1-2 weeks less than that of adult women . A lot of young fathers are not ready to care for a family at such an age and thus run away from responsibility. As a result, a 12-year-old girl becomes a single mother.
Even if the babys dad does feel responsible for his child and its mother, the relationships between young people are usually not very stable, such marriages are often unhappy.
Some of the young mothers dont have time to complete their education and that leads to doing low-paid work for the rest of their lives.
Factors Associated With Marriage Before Birth
Young women are less likely now than in the past to resolve a premarital pregnancy by marrying. The proportion of women pregnant before marriage who resolved a premarital pregnancy by marrying dropped by 50 percent between 1971 and 1979 for both whites and blacks . The data show very little additional change between 1979 and 1982, although the data are not completely comparable, and the total number of pregnancies is underreported .
If we look only at pregnancies that end in a live birth, we see that of the total first births to white and black teenagers, the proportion conceived outside of marriage has risen, and the proportion premaritally conceived but legitimated before birth rose then declined to about the same initial level . As a result, the proportion born out of wedlock rose sharply.
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Where To Get Help
- Harris I, Fronczak C, Roth L, et al. 2011, Fertility and the aging male ‘, Reviews in Urology, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. e184e190.
- McGrath J, Petersen L, Agerbo E, et al. 2014, A comprehensive assessment of parental age and psychiatric disorders ‘, JAMA Psychiatry, vol. 4081, epub.
- Schmidt L, Sobotka T, Bentzen JG, et al. 2012, Demographic and medical consequences of the postponement of parenthood ‘, Human Reproduction Update, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 2943.
- Steiner AZ, Jukic AM 2016, Impact of female age and nulligravidity on fecundity in an older reproductive age cohort‘, Fertility and Sterility, vol. 105, no. 6, pp. 15841588.
- Biro MA, Davey M-A, Carolan M, Kealy M 2012, Advanced maternal age and obstetric morbidity for women giving birth in Victoria, Australia: A population based study ‘, The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 229234.
Talk To Your Gynecologist
Before you start trying to get pregnant, visit your gynecologist. Its ideal to schedule a preconception visit three to six months before your planned pregnancy. This gives you enough time to make any health improvements and lifestyle adjustments and complete any testing that may be recommended.
Here is a list of preconception tests a health care provider may suggest:
Your health care provider will also ask about your general lifestyle. They may suggest making a few changes to ensure a healthy pregnancy. This is the perfect time to ask any questions you might have about fertility and getting pregnant.
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Truth: Ovulation Can Happen From Either Ovary
Your body doesn’t systematically “schedule” ovulation to alternate ovaries from month to month. Ovulation can switch from side to side, but it doesn’t have to.
It’s also common for women to ovulate more often on one side than the other, actually. That could be your left ovary or your right ovary it depends on a number of factors. This is also why you may notice you get ovulation pain on one side more frequently than the other.
Which ovary releases the egg has more to do with which ovary has a follicle that reaches the final stage of maturity. At the start of your cycle, several follicles in each ovary begin to develop. Only one will make it all the way through the stages of development to ovulation. When more than one follicle releases an egg, that’s how you may conceive non-identical twins.
The Resolution Of Teen Pregnancies
What happens to these one million teenage pregnancies? Many more young women under 20 become pregnant than bear a child, almost twice as many. In 1982 the total births to teenagers 15 to 19 represented 47 percent of the total number of pregnancies .
shows how pregnancies in 1982 were divided: 40 percent of the pregnancies were aborted, and 13 percent miscarried thus slightly under half, 47 percent, resulted in a live birth. The 47 percent which were live births are divided as follows: 13 percent were postmaritally conceived births, 11 percent were premaritally conceived but born postmaritally, and 23 percent were born out-of-wedlock .
The resolutions to a premarital pregnancy considered here are abortion versus having a live birth, marriage versus non-marriage, and adoption versus keeping the child.
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Soare You Ever Just ‘too Old’ To Have A Baby
Technically, as long as you are still ovulating and havent reached menopausewhich happens around age 51, according to ACOGits possible to conceive a child naturally, says Sridhar.
There’s no ‘right’ time to have a baby, so there’s also no ‘wrong’ time.
But advancements in fertility treatments and prenatal care has made becoming a mom in their forties or early fifties an option for more and more women.
Carrying a child is different than conceiving a child, so as long as your uterus is healthy and able to support the growth of a babe, its possible to have a child into your early fifties with in vitro fertilization or donor eggs, says Sridhar.
But keep in mind, IVF or using donor eggs is super expensiveit can run you about $13,000 to $15,000so it may not be a feasible option, depending on your financial situation.
Basically, there is no “right” age or time to get pregnant and have a babywhich means there’s also no “wrong” time. Instead, choosing what age to have a child hinges on a number of factors that are different for everyone.
Women look at it as a significant change in their life, so I think its valid for them to think about it and see what works best for them, says Sridhar. Its all about how you feel and when you can make up your mind.
Maintain A Healthy Weight
Maintaining a healthy weight is an important part of pregnancy. Being overweight reduces your chances of getting pregnant because it may interfere with ovulation.
Being underweight can also hurt fertility body fat levels that are too low interfere with cyclical hormonal changes. So if youre thinking about how to get pregnant quickly and naturally within two months, you might want to start a healthy exercise regimen that meets your weight goals and activity preferences.
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Social And Economic Consequences
Social consequences for unmarried pregnant adolescents may include stigma, rejection or violence by partners, parents and peers. Girls who become pregnant before the age of 18 years are more likely to experience violence within a marriage or partnership.16Adolescent pregnancy and childbearing often leads girls to drop out of school, although efforts are underway is some place to enable them to return to school after child birth, this may well jeopardize girls future education and employment opportunities.19
Truth: You Can Get Pregnant After 40
All that said, getting pregnant after 40 is entirely possible. Plenty of women have babies after 40 and even 41. Your risk of infertility increases at 40, along with your risks of miscarriage and pregnancy complications. It may also take a little longer for you to get pregnant. But youre not sterile just because you celebrated your 40th birthday. Even if youve started perimenopause, until youve actually completed menopause, you should use contraception if you want to avoid pregnancy.
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I’m Pregnant What Should I Do Next
If your pregnancy test is positive, it’s understandable to feel mixed emotions: excitement about having a child, worry about telling your parents, and anxiety about pregnancy and childbirth.
You may also be feeling worried or frightened if you’re not sure that you want to be pregnant.
Make sure to talk through your options and think carefully before you make any decisions. Try talking to a family member, friend or someone you trust.
Whatever your age, you can also ask for confidential advice from:
- a GP or practice nurse
- a contraception or sexual health clinic
- NHS 111 available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
It’s your decision, but do not ignore the situation, hoping it will go away.
Your options are:
- having an abortion
- continuing with the pregnancy and having the baby adopted
If you decide to continue your pregnancy, the next step is to start your antenatal care.
If you decide not to continue with your pregnancy, you can talk to a GP or visit a sexual health clinic to discuss your options.
They can refer you for an assessment at a clinic or hospital if you choose to have an abortion.
How Long Does It Take To Get Pregnant
The amount of time it takes to get pregnant is different for each person, and can depend on a lot of things .
If youre fertile and having unprotected vaginal sex, theres a very good chance youll get pregnant within 1 year. About 85 out of 100 people who try to get pregnant succeed within 1 year. But everyones different for some people its much faster, while it may take longer for others.
If youve been trying to get pregnant for 6 months to a year with no luck, talk with your doctor, or visit your local Planned Parenthood health center to see if they can help and make sure everythings okay.
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You’re On Birth Control
Birth controlwhether it’s the pill, patch, ring, implant, IUD, or the shot greatly decreases your chances of conception. These methods work in various ways for example, IUDs block sperm from reaching the egg, while hormonal contraception prevent the recruitment of a mature egg, explains Dr. Brauer. Even if you’re committed to taking your birth control, you still have to use it correctly and consistently.
Also, if you rely on contraceptive pills, take note: Some pill packs contain four to seven days of sugar pills without any hormones. In rare ocassions, this may be long enough to allow for recruitment of a mature egg. “This is often referred to as ‘escape ovulation’ and is one reason for oral hormonal contraception failure,” says Dr. Brauer. Missing doses of hormonal contraception could also increase the chances of accidental pregnancy.
How hard is it to get pregnant on birth control? If you’re on birth control and following all instructions, then your chances of getting pregnant are generally less than 1 percent. The effectiveness decreases with “typical use” .
Does The Pull Out Method Prevent Pregnancy
The pull out methodalso called the withdrawal method or coitus interruptusis when a reproductively fertile couple disengage before ejaculation occurs during sex. The purpose of this method is to stop sperm from entering the vagina to prevent pregnancy.
If you use the pull out method perfectly each time, it has about a 96% success rate. However, it is challenging to do it exactly right every time. So, in reality, it has about a 78% success rate. That means 22 out of 100 people who use the withdrawal method for 1 year will get pregnant.
What makes it so hard? The couple must have a very clear sense when ejaculation is about to happen, in order to separate successfully. They must also have the self-discipline to separate in time. It may be hard for some people to stop in the middle of a pleasurable moment, before climax.
Additionally, pre-ejaculate, a fluid that comes out of the penis before ejaculation, sometimes contains sperm. In this case, even if you do pull out successfully, a pregnancy can still occur.
Even though the pull out method is not as effective as other methods of contraception, it may still be a good option for some people. Using it is better than having no contraception at all.
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Start Taking Folate Supplements
Also known as vitamin B9, folic acid is incredibly important if you are trying to conceive. Folic acid supports the neural tube formation of your baby, ensuring proper brain development.
Doctors recommend taking at least 400 micrograms of folic acid a day leading up to conception and for the following 12 weeks after conception.
Why should you start taking folic acid before youre pregnant? The neural tube begins to develop quite soon after conception and is usually complete just four weeks into your pregnancy. Therefore, it might start to develop before you know youre pregnant.
Start taking a prenatal vitamin with folate as soon as you start trying for a baby. You can also get folate from eating beans, green leafy vegetables, and whole grains like brown rice.
What Is The Best Age For Giving Birth To Your First Child
Experts opinions on this point differ. Psychologists admit that the best age for giving birth to the first child is 28-35. By this time a woman has started a family, got a place to live and an education, accomplished some of her career ambitions. Shes getting tired of loud parties and wants peace and quiet, and all the comforts of home. This is the right time for carrying a baby.
But from gynecologists point of view, the best reproductive age is 20-25 when puberty has completely ended, the hormonal background has stabilized, and there are no chronic diseases.
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The Best Time To Conceive: When To Have Sex To Get Pregnant
Lets unpack what you need to know to maximize your chance of getting pregnant. Well explore when youre most fertile, how frequently to have sex, and which factors may impact conception.
Do you want to know the best time to try for a baby? You have come to the right place. Did you know you could get pregnant even during your period?
Getting pregnant happens when a male sperm fertilizes a female’s egg. For some people, this can happen quickly for others, it may take longer.
Out of every hundred couples actively trying to become pregnant, about 80 percent will do so within the year. The remaining 20 percent will take longer or may need medical help to conceive.
