Use A Fertility Monitor
If you have been trying to conceive for over 6 months, consider investing in a fertility monitor. I like the Ovacue Fertility Monitor because it measure the electrolytes in your saliva that correlates with the hormonal changes that occur in your cycle just prior to ovulation and it is very accurate.
The Ovacue fertility monitor is very popular because it’s easy to use. In my opinion, using Ovacue doubles, will double your chances of conception each month.
This monitor is the only one that can tell you 5-7 days in advance when your are about to conceive. Ovacue is recommended for all women who are trying to conceive with low ovarian reserve to help increase the chances of conception.
Day : Stop Birth Control
If you want to conceive, youll need to discontinue any form of birth control youre using. You can get pregnant right away after stopping some types of contraception like birth control pills. In fact, many women get their first period within two weeks of quitting the pill.
When you period starts, so does your first cycle of trying to conceive. Some women get pregnant right away, but for others, it takes a few months.
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.
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Strive For A Healthy Body Weight
A woman’s weight can also impact the chances of conceiving: Being overweight or underweight may reduce those odds. Research has shown that a woman who is overweight can take twice as long to become pregnant as a woman whose body-mass index is considered normal weight, Pavone said. A woman who is underweight might take four times as long to conceive, she said.
Having too much body fat produces excessestrogen, which can interfere with ovulation,according to the Cleveland Clinic. A 2017 study suggested that couples in the study in which both partners were very obese, with BMIs of at least 35, took from 55% to 59% longer to become pregnant, compared with couples who were not obese, the researchers reported in the journalHuman Reproduction.
In a study published in 2020 in the journal PLOS One, researchers looked at data from more than 50,000 couples in China trying to conceive over the course of a year they found that women’s ability to conceive within a given timeframe decreased as their BMI increased.
Male obesity, which can disrupt the male endocrine system as well as sperm viability and concentration, can also affect a couple’s ability to become pregnant, scientists reported in 2020 in the journalAndrologia.
Women who are underweight, with a BMI less than 18, might not be getting regular periods or could stop ovulating, which also hinders their ability to become pregnant, according to theUniversity of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority.
In Your 20s: Primed For Pregnancy
From a purely physical standpoint, this is the prime time for getting pregnant — and the earlier you are in your 20s, the faster you may conceive. The irregular cycles common in your teenage years have evened out, so ovulation is more predictable. Plus, your eggs are fresh and healthy, making them good candidates for fertilization, says Geeta K. Swamy, MD, an ob-gyn at Duke University Medical Center.
Not only is it easiest to get pregnant in your 20s, it’s also easier to be pregnant. “Usually, a younger body can best handle the additional load on the bones, back, and muscles during pregnancy,” says Cosmas J.M. van de Ven, MD, who specializes in high-risk obstetrics at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor. Your joints have been subjected to minimal wear and tear, and you’re likely in the peak condition of your adult life, possibly years away from medical problems that may arise with increasing age.
And if you’re young, chances are your own parents are, too — meaning more hands-on help for you and more fun times for your children. “Not only can younger grandparents help with childcare, but it’s wonderful when, in years ahead, they’re still able to attend school functions or even go along on field trips,” says Diane G. Sanford, PhD, coauthor of the Postpartum Survival Guide .
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Have Sex Every Two Days
If youre trying to conceive in your thirties, aim to get busy once every two days. Theres this misconception that you must have sex the day you ovulate, when thats not necessary for conception, Molinaro says. Some people are also concerned that if they have sex every day, it may decrease the efficacy of sperm, but theres not a lot of research on whether or not thats the case. Once every other day should cover your basesplus, its still fun that way and not a chore, which isnt what you want trying to conceive to become.
How Long Does It Take To Get Pregnant
Many couples assume theyll get pregnant quickly. However, its quite normal for it to take up to a year for a couple under 35 and in good health to conceive.
- Just over a third of healthy couples will conceive in the first month of trying.
- If youre under 35 and in good health, its perfectly natural for it to take up to a year.
- It can take longer if you are older, however, for women aged 38, 67% who have regular unprotected sexual intercourse will still get pregnant after two years of trying.
- As many as one in two couples may be trying to conceive at the wrong time. Because you can only conceive on the days before and the day of ovulation, it is important for intercourse to happen during this time.
- It is estimated that approximately one in seven couples has difficulty conceiving.
- are at least 99% accurate at detecting your luteinising hormone surge which occurs 24-36 hours prior to ovulation.
- While severe stress is never healthy, unless its interrupting your periods or sex life, it wont stop you from conceiving.
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I Had A Termination In The Past Could It Affect My Ability To Get Pregnant Now
Professor Michael Thomas
Usually a pregnancy termination will not affect your ability to get pregnant in the future. On rare occasions, you may develop adhesions in the uterus that can cause issues with future fertility. If you are having normal monthly cycles, the chances of these adhesions affecting your fertility are low. Seeing your fertility specialist or gynecologist will be helpful in making sure your uterus has not been affected if you have been attempting pregnancy for one year, are under the age of 35 and have cycles between 23-35 days long. If you are over 35, consider a consultation after six months, and immediately if over 40.
Day 1: Gather Family Medical History
Your babys health will also be influenced by genetic factors that have roots in your family tree. Before you get pregnant, you may want to ask your parents or other relatives if there are any genetic conditions that run in your bloodline. The same goes for your partner.
Uncover something? You can make an appointment with a genetic counselor to discuss your concerns and get further testing.
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Risks And Complications Of Pregnancy After 30
Pregnancy complications can happen at any age. However, pregnancy after 30 might have an increased risk of the following.
- Miscarriage or early pregnancy loss
- Birth defects
- Preterm birth or premature birth
- Low birth weight babies
- Preeclampsia
- Pregnancy-induced hypertension
- Labor difficulties or premature labor
- Higher chance of multiple pregnancies
- Increased chance for a C-section delivery
- High risk for ectopic pregnancy
Women’s Age And Pregnancy Complications
The risk of pregnancy complications increases with age too. The risk of miscarriage and chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus increase from age 35. Complications such as gestational diabetes, placenta previa , caesarean section and still birth are also more common among older women than younger women.
Conditions that may affect a woman ‘s fertility include endometriosisand polycystic ovary syndrome.
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Other Questions About Getting Pregnant
Can you get pregnant while breastfeeding?
Yes, a woman can get pregnant while breastfeeding. It is possible to become pregnant as soon as three weeks after giving birth, even if the person is exclusively breastfeeding and has yet to begin menstruating again according to the U.K.’s National Health Service .
Can you get pregnant on your period?
Yes, it is possible to get pregnant if a woman has sex during their period, according to theCleveland Clinic. A woman is less likely to get pregnant during menstruation, but it is still possible. Women are most fertile around the time they ovulate, but predicting this window is not an exact science and this is particularly true for women who have irregular periods.
How to get pregnant fast
Many people want to know how to get pregnant as quickly as possible. There is no sure-fire way of ensuring a speedy conception, however by following the science and evidence the above tips can help you find the most optimal times to have sex and get pregnant.
Are pregnancy tests accurate?
When used properly, pregnancy tests are claimed to be up to 99% effective, according to the Mayo Clinic. If your test reads positive, this is rarely an error, however false negatives are more common, according to the NHS.
A pregnancy test works by detecting the human chorionic gonadotropin hormone . Around six days after successful fertilisation, the body produces this hormone.
Age Is A Major Factor For Women
Youve probably heard the phrase your biological clock is ticking. This phrase refers to your fertile window. Women cant conceive after their menstrual cycles stop, usually sometime in your 40s or 50s. Men produce sperm throughout their lives, but women are born with a set number of eggs that decreases as you age.
At birth you have about two million eggs but naturally lose hundreds of thousands of them by the time you reach puberty, says Cross. Your body continues to lose eggs no matter what you do. And the rate at which women lose eggs accelerates around the age of 37.
The quality of eggs stored in the ovaries also declines over time. The eggs youre born with are naturally paused in the process of dividing their DNA, Cross explains. They complete that process, or ripen, when you ovulate them 20 to 40 years later. The longer eggs are stuck in the mid-division stage, the more likely that process will go wrong creating eggs with the wrong number of chromosomes. That results in not becoming pregnant, experiencing miscarriages or having babies with genetic syndromes due to chromosomal abnormalities.
The bottom line: The quality and number of eggs a woman has decreases throughout her lifetime and egg loss accelerates around the age of 37, which makes it more difficult to become pregnant.
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Modern Motherhood: Everything That No One Tells You
The same goes for women who have major health issues, including women who have cancer and are getting ready to undergo chemotherapy or radiation.
“Most infertility doctors can see those patients almost immediately,” Edelstein said. “There’s an option to quickly freeze their eggs, and we have special programs and abilities to get free or significantly reduced medicine, and that’s really important for women to know.”
“There’s so much emotion going on in those situations that even the oncologists can sometimes forget to mention that,” he continued. “So those women do have the option of maintaining their fertility.”
For many couples, fertility can be a sensitive subject. But rest assured that most couples will be able to get pregnant without any problems, and for those who don’t, there are many options and resources available.
Optimizing Pregnancy Odds In Your Late 30s
One month from age 39, I became pregnant on my honeymoon. I miscarried at 19 weeks and, 10 months later, miscarried again at 16 weeks. My doctor sent my husband and me to a fertility specialist, who uncovered an underactive thyroid, cleaned out fetal tissue from one of the earlier losses, and made a controversial diagnosisembryotoxic factorin which theoretically my immune system fought off pregnancy as a foreign invader.
The specialist prescribed progesterone supplements to boost my body’s ability to hold on to a subsequent pregnancy, explaining that no one knew exactly why the progesterone helped. You will have your child, he promised us at our last appointment. That fall, when I was 41, I discovered I was pregnant again. Between thyroid pills, progesterone, and sheer good fortune, that pregnancy lasted. Our daughter, Ursula, was born on June 1, 1998.
Women in their late 30s can do much to improve their chances of getting pregnant. The fertility odds are workable: About two-thirds of women ages 35 to 39 can become pregnant within a year. Given these odds, women can take a number of steps to improve their fertility.
Some are simple common sense: Stop smoking reduce or eliminate use of alcohol and caffeine maintain an appropriate weight reduce stress. Even moderate alcohol useas few as five drinks a weekcan impair fertility. Likewise, consuming more than two cups of caffeinated coffee a day has been associated with lowered conception and increased miscarriage.
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Day 2: Learn The Dos And Donts
There are a lot of things youll hear about whats safe and whats not during pregnancy. Some of this isnt so scientific. Other items are incredibly important for your growing babys health. One of the hottest items for debate? What foods to shun during pregnancy.
Pregnant women are more likely than other healthy adults to contract listeria from contaminated foods. Start reading labels on your favorite foods now to make sure they are pasteurized.
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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Plan For Good Prenatal Care
Keep in mind that women older than age 30 can have successful pregnancies and deliveries. Advances in medical care for both mother and baby can help prevent and treat many of the risks they face.
Early and regular prenatal care is key to having a healthy baby at any age, Dr. Ragsdale says. Its important to make sure youre in good health before and during your pregnancy. Eat a nutritious diet and exercise regularly. Avoid cigarettes and alcohol, which can harm the baby.
In addition, Dr. Ragsdale advises taking 400 mcg of folic acid every day before and during pregnancy to help reduce the risk of birth defects. For women who have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, the American Diabetes Association recommends taking low-dose aspirin starting at the end of the first trimester to lower the risk for preeclampsia. Talk with your health care provider to determine your exact dose and frequency.
Discuss any pregnancy plans with your provider, who can identify any special needs you may have and help make suggestions. Together, you can make pregnancy and motherhood wonderful experiences, Dr. Ragsdale says.
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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Have Your Partner Ditch His Briefs
Time to say goodbye to briefs and hello to boxers. Some studies have found that men who wear boxers have a higher sperm concentration and total sperm count than those who dont. Its also a good idea to have your male partner avoid placing his laptop directly on his lap or spend too much time in hot tubs. Thats because heat can impair sperm formation, explains Kecia Gaither, MD, MPH, FACOG, a maternal fetal medicine specialist.
