How To Get Pregnant Faster: Tips And Facts To Increase Fertility
ByCari Nierenberg, Sarah Wild23 March 2021
We’ve spoken to the experts to come up with 10 tips for how to get pregnant quickly and safely.
You may have many questions about how to get pregnant, particularly if you have an underlying condition. Taking care of your body is a good first step to optimize your fertility. But what else can you do to improve their odds of having a baby?
The most important advice for a woman who wants to get pregnant is to get to know her body, specifically her menstrual cycle, said Dr. Mary Ellen Pavone, a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist, and medical director of the in-vitro fertilization program at Northwestern Medicine’s Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility division in Chicago.
“It’s important to know how far apart her cycles are so she can more accurately time intercourse to try to get pregnant,” Pavone said.
We’ve highlighted the top 10 tips that may help increase your chances of becoming pregnant. As always with this type of information make sure to speak to a medical professional as this advice is broad and you may require specialist attention. You should still find this article and accompanying video on how to get pregnant useful.
Include Healthy Dietary Fats
Cholesterol is necessary for the synthesis of pregnenolone , which in turn makes progesterone. Cholesterol is also necessary for the production of thyroid hormone!
Fat will also help to balance blood sugar. Insulin sensitivity or blood sugar imbalance has deleterious effects on your hormones. Studies suggest that improving insulin sensitivity can dramatically increase progesterone levels in those with luteal phase defects.
Fat from trusted sources of grass fed meat, fatty fish, and plant-derived fats like coconut oil, olive oil, olives, nuts, seeds, and avocado are all good progesterone food choices . Women wanting to improve their hormones should aim to eat at 1-2 tablespoons of fat at every meal to support natural hormone balance.
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.
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Getting To Know Your Pregnancy Hormones
- May 14, 2021
When you hear the word hormones, what is the first thing that comes to mind?
Is it the raging hormones that teenagers experience during adolescence?
Is it the hormones that cause rushes of excitement when you are falling in love?
Is it the hormones that athletes sometimes take in an effort to become stronger and faster?
Is it the rise and fall in hormones associated with premenstrual syndrome and period symptoms, like bloating and mood changes?
Is it menopause?
Although all of the above are associated with hormones, women experience the most extreme hormonal shifts of their lives during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.
When Should I Seek Professional Help
If your mood swings last more than two weeks and do not seem to get better, you may want to ask your health care provider for a referral to a counselor. More than 11 million American women are affected by depression each year. Depression is most prevalent in women during childbearing years but can occur at any age.
Some symptoms of depression include:
- Recurrent anxiety and increased irritability
- Sleep disturbances
- Inability to concentrate on anything for very long
- Short-term memory loss
If your mood swings become more frequent and intense, it is crucial that you speak with your health care provider about options for dealing with severe mood swings, anxiety or depression.
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Refrain From Exercising Too Much
While exercise definitely helps curtail stress by keeping the production of the cortisol hormone under control, the exact opposite can happen if you tend to over-exercise. In such a case, your bodys hormone levels may go for a toss and your cortisol levels may end up increasing. As a result, your progesterone levels may end up being on the lower side.
If you are thinking about how to raise your progesterone levels to get pregnant, then you have many options to choose from. In short, you will need to stay calm, eat healthy foods, and avoid any food that can mess with the hormonal balance of your body. This will enhance your chances of getting pregnant and soon, you will have your little bundle of joy.
Talk To Your Partner And Kids
You might lose your temper, or start to cry unexpectedly. Let your partnerand your kidsknow its not them. Apologize in advance for those momentary periods of irritability. When talking to your kids, however, be careful not to blame the baby for your moods.
They are likely already nervous that theyll need to share you with another child. Keeping that in mind, you dont want to give them additional reasons to be unhappy about the upcoming family change. Instead, just explain that mommy isn’t feeling well lately, but everything is OK and will get better.
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What Role Does Estrogen Play In Pregnancy
Along with progesterone, estrogen is one of the two main hormones that get the pregnancy party started. Produced by the ovaries and later by the placenta, estrogen helps the uterus grow, maintains uterine lining, regulates other key hormones and triggers the development of babys organs. And when its time to breastfeed, estrogen promotes the growth of breast tissue and helps milk flow.
Got a stuffy nose or blotchy skin? Estrogen is also behind swollen mucous membranes and it causes extra blood flow to your skin, which can result in a red, itchy complexion. And estrogen joins other hormones to cause hyperpigmentation like darker nipples and melasma, brown patches on nose, cheeks and forehead.
Progesterone Diet & Foods
As the cliched saying goes, you are what you eat. What you eat affects your whole body, including your fertility hormones. If youre struggling with low progesterone, you can use this principle to your advantage by tweaking your diet to try to raise your progesterone levels naturally. Here are some foods to increase progesterone if youre looking for a boost in production.
Healthy Fats
Sex hormones like progesterone are made from protein, fat, and cholesterol. When the body doesnt derive enough of these nutrients from its diet, hormone production can suffer. For this reason, women eating a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet may suffer from symptoms of low estrogen or progesterone.
Your body needs a steady supply of healthy fats in order to optimize hormone production. So, what types of fats are considered healthy? In general, fats that can be found in natural foods are good for you, while those found only in manufactured, processed foods are harmful to your health. Namely, you should avoid trans fats, found in hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated oils, which are manmade and contribute to a number of health problems.
Incorporate some of these healthy fats into your diet to boost progesterone production naturally!
Nuts
Thus, eating foods rich in magnesium, like nuts and seeds, can boost your progesterone levels by keeping ovulation on track. Try almonds, cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and pepitas to raise progesterone naturally.
Chocolate
Chicken
Oats
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Allow Yourself Plenty Of Rest
Yes, movement is important, but so is REST. Your hormones and body are doing SO.MUCH.WORK. to develop and grow that baby, making you exhausted as a side effect .
In a culture that values work and constant productivity, it can be challenging and guilt-inducing to let yourself rest and take it easy, but trust that this is exactly what your body needs right now. Even if youre not technically working as much, your body is doing PLENTY of work, so rest now and take care of yourself, which will help you feel better and more energized in the long run.
What Role Does Lh Play In Pregnancy
If a sperm and egg come together, the corpus luteum lives on, producing the right hormones, including progesterone, to ripen the uterus and nourish your growing baby.
If youre struggling to conceive, your doctor may check your LH levels. When these are higher than normal, ovulation may be impacted or your hormones may be imbalanced on the whole, which is sometimes behind a case of polycystic ovarian syndrome .
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Eat A Bigger Breakfast
Eating a substantial breakfast may help women with fertility problems.
One study found that eating a larger breakfast may improve the hormonal effects of polycystic ovary syndrome , a major cause of infertility.
For moderate weight women with PCOS, eating most of their calories at breakfast reduced insulin levels by 8 percent and testosterone levels by 50 percent. High levels of either can contribute to infertility.
In addition, by the end of the 12-week study, these women had ovulated more than women who ate a smaller breakfast and larger dinner, suggesting improved fertility.
However, its important to note that increasing the size of your breakfast without reducing the size of your evening meal is likely to lead to weight gain.
Check out these ideas for healthy, delish breakfast options if you need some inspiration.
How Do You Treat Hormonal Imbalances If Im Trying To Get Pregnant
Dr. Garde explains, There are various ways we can treat a hormonal imbalance and increase the likelihood of conceiving and maintaining a pregnancy. Treatments for hormonal imbalances are highly customized, as each hormonal imbalance is different. Medication is commonly used to:
- Restore thyroid function
- Induce ovulation
- Trigger the release of a matured egg
Since hormone levels can also be impacted by weight, we may also prescribe a weight-loss treatment plan to help naturally normalize your fertility. Dr. Garde adds.
I often have to remind my patients, while some herbal remedies promise to improve hormonal imbalances, these claims are not scientifically substantiated. Herbal remedies and similar natural supplements are not regulated by the FDA and therefore their impact on a persons body cannot be predictedand may even be harmful. As such, our team does not encourage the use of these types of remedies, advises Dr. Garde.
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Estrogen Dominance Can Cause Hypothyroidism
Post-partum, there can be two types of thyroid dysfunction: postpartum thyroiditis characterized by transient hyperthyroidism or transient hyperthyroidism followed by transient or rarely permanent hypothyroidism
Low thyroid function can cause a number of physical effects
- Cold intolerance
- Bradycardia
- Dyspnea on exertion
Remember, postpartum estrogen dominance doesnt necessarily mean a higher amount of estrogen is in your systemits that the level of estrogen is high relative to the drop in progesterone you experienced following.
Fertility Foods And The Follicular Phase
The follicular phase of the menstrual cycle begins the day your period starts. During this phase, luteinizing and follicle-stimulating hormones reach your ovaries via the bloodstream. These two hormones stimulate growth for the ovarian eggs that are contained in a shell or follicle. Hormonal balance is necessary for limiting the number of follicles eventually maturing. At the end of the follicular phase, only one follicle is left to dominate within one ovary.
Women with endometriosis or fibroids may have excess estrogen, which interferes with fertility. Cabbage, kale, and broccoli contain diindolylmethane. This phytonutrient promotes better metabolization of estrogen to reduce excess estrogen. Food supporting follicle development include eggs, nuts, seeds, fish, and green vegetables.
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Reduce Caffeine & Alcohol
Caffeine is a stimulant drug that can further promote the stress response in the body. Stress is linked to progesterone imbalances, so lowering caffeine intake when we have low progesterone will cause the body to increase progesterone naturally. Caffeine also affects the way women metabolize estrogen. This is why decreasing caffeine intake is beneficial to increase progesterone naturally when the prior levels are low.
Furthermore, reducing alcohol is also important when learning how to increase progesterone to get pregnant because alcohol stimulates our inflammatory and stress response. Furthermore, alcohol can change the way our body eliminates estrogen, which can be what causes high estrogen when we over-consume alcohol. Studies have shown that this relationship is because alcohol can decrease or slow the estrogens oxidation process, which inhibits its ability to turn into its preferred form to be eliminated.
How Childbirth Affects Hormones
A womans body produce many different hormones during pregnancy to maintain it and then to help with childbirth. The effects of your post pregnancy hormones may impact your day-to-day activities
Relaxin, for example, is a hormone that is secreted by woman’s ovaries, placenta and even uterine lining during whole pregnancy. During first and second semesters it inhibits muscle contractions preventing premature childbirth and at the end of pregnancy promotes rupture of the membranes surrounding the fetus and opening and softening of the cervix and vagina and relaxing of ligaments of the pelvis to aid the process of childbirth
Relaxin loosens the muscles and ligaments in the body, so pregnant women may be more prone to spraining or overstretching muscles during physical activity and their joints may be in danger. Even after delivery, relaxin is still active so it may take up to five months before you feel more stable in your body
Prolactin the hormone which stimulates milk production in your bodyremains in your body from pregnancy and as long as you breastfeed. Besides it may influence your behavior, metabolism, immune system and fluids regulation which explains your possible mood swings and water retention after childbirth
Though all women produce these hormones during and after pregnancy and delivery, not all women will share the same emotional experiences.
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Pregnancy Hormones And Mood Swings
One big reason for pregnancy mood swings is your rapidly changing hormonesspecifically estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen levels soar during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, increasing by more than 100 times.
Estrogen is associated with the brain chemical serotonin. You may know serotonin as the happy hormone, one that many anti-depressant medications attempt to boost. But serotonin isnt a straightforward connection to happiness. Imbalances and fluctuations in this neurotransmitter can cause emotional dysregulation.
How exactly estrogen and serotonin interact with each other isnt fully understood. What does seem to be apparent is that changes in estrogen levelsand not a particular level of estrogenare what cause mood imbalances. Anxiety and irritability, in particular, are associated with estrogen changes.
But its not just estrogen thats increasing. The hormone progesterone also rapidly increases during pregnancy, especially during the first three months. While estrogen is usually associated with energy , progesterone is associated with relaxation.
In fact, thats just what progesterone does in the body during pregnancy. It tells the muscles to relax, partially to prevent premature contractions of the uterus. This muscle relaxation is also a factor in why women experience constipation during pregnancy. Progesterone doesnt only act on the uterine muscles but also affects the intestinal tract. When your bowels slow down, constipation can be a result.
Get Enough Omega 3 Fatty Acids:
Unfortunately the maximum sources of fat we consume are rich in Omega 6 fatty acids, whereas the one which is beneficial to us is Omega 3. What actually happens is, that hormones are made up of cholesterol and fats. If we provide our body with polyunsaturated fat and omega 6 fats , then how can the resulting hormones be healthy?Therefore, avoid Omega 6 sources such as soybean oil, canola oil, peanut oil, safflower oil and sunflower oil, conventional meats, grains etc.Opt for healthier options such as olive oil, coconut oil, butter and munch on walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds etc. Non-vegetarians can include fish such as salmon and tuna or fish oil supplements
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How To Track Your Progesterone Levels
With the Mira fertility tracker, measuring your hormone levels is easy and intuitive. Mira uses test wands to measure hormone concentrations in your urine. After inserting the wand into Mira, it reads your results and sends them to the Mira app, which graphs your exact hormone curve to give you insight into your menstrual cycle. You can use these results to determine if your progesterone levels are too low, too high, or just right. To get the Mira digital fertility tracker, .
Medically Reviewed by Katerina Shkodzik, M.D., OB-GYN
Dr. Katerina Shkodzik is a certified OB-GYN with a special focus on reproductive endocrinology and infertility issues. She has been practising since 2015.
Dr. Shkodzik completed her residency program in the Department of OB/GYN at the Belarusian State Medical University and fellowship program in the Department of Gynecological Surgery at the Medical University of Bialystok, Poland.
Dr. Shkodzik is extensively involved in digital health projects providing her medical expertise and integrating of cutting edge technologies in medical science and clinical practice since 2018.
Dr. Shkodzik has participated in several studies focused on PCOS, endometriosis, menstrual cycle characteristics and their abnormalities based on big data of digital health in collaboration with leading universities.
She believes that paying special attention to women’s health is a crucial step to improving the world we live in.
Ways To Increase Estrogen Level For Pregnancy
Ways to increase estrogen level forpregnancy: Estrogen is a type of hormone, due to which pregnancy becomes impossible, if you are planning pregnancy, then there should be sufficient amount of estrogen hormone in your body, if it is not there, then with the help of diet, medication, healthy habits, you can help your body. May increase estrogen levels. To increase estrogen levels, include phytoestrogen rich foods in your diet, dont skip workouts, stay away from chemicals, and stay in touch with your doctor. In this article, we will discuss ways to increase estrogen levels, with the help of which you will be able to hear the good news of becoming a mother soon. For more information on this subject, we spoke to Dr Deepa Sharma, Gynecologist at Jhalkaribai Hospital, Lucknow.
Treatment of low estrogen level
Your doctor may recommend a blood test to see if your estrogen levels are increased. The blood test is done on the second or third day of the periods. If the level of estrogen in the test is low, then talk to your doctor, the level of estrogen can be increased through pills, creams, gels or therapy. If you are older and there is a long gap between periods or if the periods have stopped, then it can be a sign of some disease, you should inform your doctor about it. Pregnancy is a delicate process, do not try any medicine or remedy to get pregnant without first asking your doctor. To increase the level of estrogen, you should focus on these methods-
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