Are There Any Foods I Should Avoid When Trying For A Baby
Professor William Ledger, Fertility Specialist
Most foods are completely harmless during pregnancy and it’s important to maintain a balanced healthy pregnancy diet with sensible amounts of the various nutritional categories. However, there are worries at present about listeria infection that can be caught from unpasteurised and raw foods. These include unpasteurised milk, soft cheeses, pre-prepared salads , unwashed raw vegetables, pate, cold diced chicken and pre-cut fruit and fruit salad. To prevent listeriosis avoid these high-risk foods and thoroughly cook raw food from animal sources, such as beef, lamb, pork, or poultry, keep and prepare raw meat separate from vegetables, cooked foods, and ready- to-eat food and wash raw vegetables and fruit thoroughly before eating.
Make The Day You Get Your Period A Celebration
The day your period comes plan something amazing for yourself. It can be getting together with your favorite people for dinner or drinks, going to your favorite restaurant, going to see a good movie, getting a massage, or whatever makes you HAPPY!
Try your best not to discuss the fact that your period came, or if you do, only talk about it in a positive light . If you are able to create something else to look forward to on that day, the pain and disappointment will be just a little less.
Don’t Forget Your Mental Health
Your mental health is an important part of your overall health. Here are some things to think about when preparing for pregnancy:
Stress. While we don’t know the exact connections between stress and fertility, we do know that high stress levels can affect your hormone function, which can in turn affect your menstrual cycles. We also know that stress isn’t healthy, and your goal right now is to become as healthy as possible.
So do what you can to reduce stress in your life. Eliminate unnecessary stressors as much as you can, and explore methods for reducing stress, such as yoga, meditation, massage, and deep-breathing exercises. Take time to de-stress with long walks, time with good friends, quiet time, and exercise.
Getting enough sleep can help you better cope with stress throughout the day and contribute to your overall health, too. If you need help dealing with stress, your healthcare provider can refer you to a therapist.
Depression. Women who suffer from depression are more likely to have problems with fertility than women who don’t, says Alice Domar, PhD., Chief Compassion Officer at Inception Fertility.
Domestic violence. Physical harm or emotional abuse by a partner is unlikely to get better during pregnancy or after your baby is born. If you’re the victim of domestic violence, reach out for help through your healthcare provider or by getting in touch with the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 799-7233.
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Perks Of Waiting For Labor To Start On Its Own
Most pregnant people at 40 weeks are likely ready to have their babies out of their bellies as soon as possible and in their arms.
However, there are plenty of perks to waiting until your body naturally decides to go into labor including recovery.
Women who werent induced typically recover more quickly than those who were. More time in the womb can mean both you and your new baby get to go home from the hospital sooner.
Infants who are born after a full-term pregnancy also experience other benefits. More time in the womb typically means:
- more time to build muscle and strength
- reduced risk of low blood sugar, infection, and jaundice
- improved breathing as infants born even as little as two weeks early can experience twice the number of complications
- better feeding once born
- increased brain development, with the brain growing a third of its size between weeks 35 and 40
Let your body do the work for a few more days and take the time to get as much rest as you possibly can.
We know, thats easier said than done when youre 9 months pregnant. You and your baby will need all your energy soon enough!
Make Sure Youre Using A Fertility
The kind of lubricant you use during sex can actually make conception more difficult, so much so that the Food and Drug Administration now categorizes certain lubricants as fertility friendly.
This is because the ingredients in many lubricants, such as petroleum, silicone, parabens and glycerin, can harm sperm function. A lubricants pH can also have an effect.
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Schedule An Appointment With Your Doctor
Since youre ready to conceive, visiting your doctor is one of the most important things you can do. Your doctor can give you advice on nutrition, lifestyle and overall health that can help you get pregnant more quickly and easily. Plus, beginning pre-natal vitamins before conception can help your body prepare to house a developing baby and help you sustain a healthy pregnancy.
And last, but not least, always remember… you and your partner got this. Here are some other resources to help:
Best Time To Have Sex To Get Pregnant
To boost your chances of conceiving, aim to have regular sex throughout your cycle so you know that there should hopefully be good-quality sperm waiting when the egg is released. An active sex life is all most people need to conceive.
If you know when you ovulate each month you can give yourself the best chance of getting pregnant by having sex in the days leading up to ovulation. Continue having sex during ovulation. After this your fertile time will be over for that cycle.
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Success Rates For Iui
The same study found a 40.5 percent success rate for IUI after six treatments.
According to an article in the Journal of Andrology , pregnancy success rates for IUI are higher after six cycles of IUI compared with the same amount of ICI cycles. This is likely due to the more direct placement and preparation of highly concentrated sperm. According to the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, preparing a sperm sample in a laboratory increases the concentration of sperm by 20 times.
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Is Morning Or Evening Sex Better When Youre Trying To Conceive
Morning may be the best time to have sex for conception, at least as far as sperm are concerned. Some studies have suggested that sperm count and quality are slightly higher early in the morning, which may mean better odds of conception if theyre deposited right after a good nights sleep.
However, there isnt a clear medical consensus, so if you and your partner are in the mood, you shouldnt let the time of day stop you.
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Male Partner With Severe Male Infertility
Infertile couples facing severe male infertilityazoospermia or extremely low sperm countmay consider donor sperm.
For some of these couples, IVF with ICSI and TESE or TESA may be another option they consider before moving onto donor sperm. TESE stands for testicular sperm extraction, and TESA stands for testicular sperm aspiration.
TESE involves testicular biopsy, while TESA involves aspirating sperm cells from the testicles.
The sperm cells mature in the lab until theyre ready to inseminate an egg via IVF-ICSI, wherein a sperm cell is directly injected into an oocyte.
However, this isnt an option for all couples. For some men, even TESE and TESA cant retrieve viable sperm cells for IVF.
Another issue with IVF-ICSI with TESE/TESA is it can be prohibitively expensive. Donor insemination isnt cheap, but its significantly less costly than IVF-ICSI with TESE/TESA.
Another reason why a couple may choose donor sperm over pursuing IVF-ICSI with TESE/TESA is the increased risk of passing on male infertility to a male child. Some intended parents are okay with this risk, while others are not.
Iui And Other Forms Of Insemination
IUI, intrauterine insemination, is the most commonly used method because it has the best success rate. While IUI usually includes treatment with fertility drugs, this is not required.
Keep in mind when looking at success rates for IUI that these studies primarily look at couples with fertility problems. If your only difficulty in conceiving is pain during sex or being LGBTQ, and there are no additional fertility issues , your success rates may be higher.
Artificial insemination is difficult for someone who cannot tolerate any penetration IUI requires the placement of a gynecological speculum. There may also be slight cramping upon insertion of the catheter. However, for those who only experience pain with penile penetration or thrusting, IUI could be an option.
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Finding The Right Time To Inseminate
The most fertile time of your cycle is on average between day 11 and day 21, from the first day of your LMP. Every womans body is different, so ovulation may occur on a different day each month and at different times during your cycle. Make sure to track your ovulation carefully.
When using an Ovulation Predictor Kit , you are looking to get a positive result for your LH surge. This is typically 36 hours prior to ovulation, but it can also be between 24 48 hours. The days between your LH surge and ovulation are your most fertile time for home insemination with frozen sperm.
Your egg drops during ovulation and lives for only 24 hours. Chances of conception drop down to 0% the day after ovulation, so be sure to understand the right timing for your body.
Ways You Can Get Pregnant
Whether because of broken condoms, forgotten pills, or poor choices after too much tequila, there are lots of surprise pregnancies that come through my practice. But, truth be told, some of these surprise pregnancies really shouldnt be a surprise at all the couples werent using reliable contraception. In fact, its not unusual for me to see being careful listed as the method of contraception on a patients intake paperwork . Even though effective contraception is more accessible than ever, there are still a lot couples practicing alternative or inconsistent means of avoiding pregnancy.
If youre taking a DIY approach to contraception, and you truly do want to avoid pregnancy, its important to understand just how effective your approach really is:
If you are serious about avoiding pregnancy, your best bet is to use a medically-proven method of contraception. Your doctor can help you sort out the options and choose the right one for you and then you can go from being careful to being truly protected.
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Maintain A Healthy Lifestyle
If youre wondering how to increase your chances of getting pregnant fast, self-care can go a long way. Its no secret that your body goes through some major changes and challenges during pregnancy and delivery, so be sure to start your pregnancy journey in tip-top shape by taking important steps toward living a healthy lifestyle. Here, weve outlined some simple health tips to get pregnant .
How Do I Increase My Chances Of Getting Pregnant
One of the best ways to increase your chances of getting pregnant is knowing what days you ovulate , and planning vaginal sex or insemination around those days.
Everyones body is different, but ovulation usually happens about 14 days before your period starts. An egg lives for about 1 day after its released , and sperm can live in the body for about 6 days after sex. So people are usually fertile for around 7 days of every menstrual cycle: the 5 days before you ovulate, and the day you ovulate. You can also get pregnant a day or 2 after ovulation, but it’s less likely.
Some people have very regular cycles, and some peoples cycles vary from month to month. Many people track their menstrual cycles and other fertility signs to help them figure out when theyre ovulating. This is called fertility awareness some people use it to prevent pregnancy, and others use it to try to get pregnant.
You can use a fertility chart to keep track of your cycle and when youre most fertile . There are apps that can make it easy to chart your cycle and figure out your fertile days.
You can also use ovulation predictor kits urine tests that tell you when youre ovulating. You can buy ovulation predictor tests in the drugstore, usually near the pregnancy tests. Ovulation predictor tests look for a hormone called luteinizing hormone, which increases in your body right before you ovulate.
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Limit Your Exposure To Radiation
There’s not a lot of data about what happens when people go through newer security scanners at the airport. TSA says they’re safe for pregnant people, but “because we don’t know the cumulative effects of repeated exposure, I recommend frequent flyers do a security pat-down instead to minimize any radiation that could affect reproduction,” Dr. Chaudhari says.
Getting Labor Started At 34 Weeks
1. Red Raspberry Leaf Taken either as a tea or pill, red raspberry leaf can be taken at about 34 weeks. Opinion is divided as to whether it will start labor, but it definitely strengthens the uterus, leading to a shorter labor, because each contraction is more productive. It has been shown in one study to shorten the pushing stage of labor.
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We Are Planning To Try For A Baby Are There Any Dietary Supplements Apart From Folic Acid That Can Help Me
Professor William Ledger, Fertility Specialist
Folic acid is the most important. However, its worth having your vitamin D level checked and taking a replacement if you are deficient . If you have a diet that is light in red meat then you may need an iron supplement and if you have a vegan diet then other supplements may be worth considering. However, there is a large industry designed to sell vitamins and supplements to women wanting to be pregnant, and there’s not much evidence that healthy young people with a balanced diet need to take all of these potions.
Feed Your Body Healthy Foods
Sounds easy enough, right!? Introducing or maintaining a healthy diet is a great first step to getting your body in peak condition for conception. Fueling your body with the right foods and maintaining a healthy weight will help regulate your hormones and strengthen your body for the amazing pregnancy journey ahead of you.
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About Conception And Pregnancy
Conception is the moment of fertilisation, when the sperm meets and penetrates the egg.
During natural conception, sperm moves through the male genital tract and is ejaculated into the female genital tract, usually near the cervix of the uterus during sexual intercourse. The sperm and eggs need to then meet somewhere in the fallopian tube. Once the sperm has penetrated the egg, fertilisation occurs and an embryo is created.
Over the next four to six days the embryo moves down the fallopian tube to the uterus, and implants in the lining of the uterus where it will hopefully continue to grow.
This is a complicated sequence of events, because all the following need to be in place for the process to occur:
- Regular egg production by the ovaries
- Healthy sperm, with the ability to swim and the correct shape
- Unblocked and healthy fallopian tubes and uterus
What are the first signs of pregnancy?
Some women experience symptoms early on in their pregnancy, while others may not have any symptoms at all. Symptoms experienced can include missed period, swollen or tender breasts, nausea, feeling tired or run down, bloating and constipation, or urinating more often than usual.
The only way to know for sure is to take a pregnancy test, either at home, or at your doctors office.
Have Frequent Sex During Your Fertile Window
One of the most common questions among people trying to conceive is: How often should I have sex if Im trying to get pregnant?
The short answer is that it depends on your preferences as a couple, and whether there are any known fertility issues.
Overall, studies have shown that couples who have sex every day or every other day during the fertile window have the highest rates of pregnancy. Also, doctors often recommend sticking to just once a day during the fertile window.
If having sex every day or every other day isnt possible or enjoyable, set a goal to have sex throughout your cycle. This can get you and your partner into a regular sex routine, which can carry you into the fertile window.
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Eat Foods Rich In Antioxidants
Antioxidants like folate and zinc may improve fertility for both men and women. They deactivate the free radicals in your body, which can damage both sperm and egg cells.
One 2012 study of young, adult men found that eating 75 grams of antioxidant-rich walnuts per day improved sperm quality.
A study of 232 women showed that higher folate intake was associated with higher rates of implantation, clinical pregnancy, and live birth.
The jury is still out on how much antioxidants will or wont affect fertility, but theres evidence pointing to the potential.
Foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains are packed full of beneficial antioxidants like vitamins C and E, folate, beta carotene, and lutein. Eating more of these healthy foods shouldnt hurt in the effort.
