Know When You Ovulate
Many women have no idea what their normal menstrual cycle is, especially after years of regulated periods on the Pill. Contrary to popular belief that women have a 28 day cycle, some have a short one and others a longer one . The fertility cycle starts on the first day of your period but ovulation doesnt necessarily start mid-cycle.
If you do have a regular 28 day cycle then ovulation occurs around day 14, but if you have a 25 day cycle ovulation occurs around day 11 and if you have a 35 day cycle then ovulation occurs around day 21. For women whose cycles arent regular an ovulation date calculator can come in very handy.
Do women need to keep a menstrual diary? If youre seeing a period every month you dont need to maintain a menstrual diary, says Dr Koita. If your cycles are regular its an indication that youre ovulating every month. To keep an eye on your periods try using an app such as the Hormone Horoscope app .
Both: Mind Your Medications
Before you get down to baby-making business, review your meds with your doctor to be sure they dont affect your fertility — or wont cause harm to a future baby. For example, men who take testosterone may need to wean off, Eisenberg says.
Women should be cautious about testosterone, too, as well as any medications that treat thyroid issues, seizures, or psychiatric disorders, or those that have the hormones estrogen or progesterone, McLennan says.
Birth control pills use these hormones to prevent pregnancy. But if youve recently stopped taking them, theres no need to fret about a post-pill waiting period. Your body should be ready to conceive right away, even if you took them for years. The length of time you used any form of birth control doesnt affect your ability to get pregnant, Pollack says.
And if youre not already taking folic acid, nows the time to start. Taking a daily folic acid supplement not only helps prevent birth defects, it may increase fertility as well, McLennan says.
This Website Uses Cookies
We use cookies to optimize and personalize your experience, provide relevant content and analyze online traffic. We also share information with our analytics and website partners, who may use it to inform decisions about current or future services. By clicking Agree, you consent to use cookies if you continue to our website. You can manage your cookie settings by clicking the “cookie preferences” button.
Recommended Reading: Can Sea Moss Help You Get Pregnant
Go For A Preconception Checkup
To make sure your body is ready for pregnancy, you can also see your doctor or OB/GYN for a preconception checkup.
Let him or her know that you are about to try to conceive. Your checkup may include a physical exam and some expert advice.
Your doctor may also recommend genetic testing. This is a simple test that usually involves a saliva or blood sample from you and your partner. This test helps determine whether you are a carrier for serious inherited illnesses. While this particular test may not speed up conception, it is likely the single most important test you can have to ensure you will have a healthy baby.
Foods That Can Affect Fertility
Infertility affects about 9% of married women who are of childbearing age, according to a national survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While couples can’t control all of the causes of infertility, they can control their eating habits. And, nutrition and a healthy body weight for both partners can have a significant impact on the ability to conceive.
Women and Fertility
To prepare for pregnancy and enhance fertility, maintain a healthy weight and choose foods that will create a safe and supportive home for your baby’s nine-month stay. This should include sources of folic acid, iron, and other important nutrients.
Men and Fertility
Men also should try to maintain a healthy body weight and follow a balanced eating pattern, since male obesity may alter hormone levels. Plus, low sperm count and poor sperm motility are common in men with overweight and obesity. When it comes to food choices, load up on fruits and vegetables, which contain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that may help create strong sperm.
Find Your Healthy Weight
Avoid going on fad diets, which can deplete your body of the nutrients it needs for pregnancy and find a healthy eating plan that works for you by talking to a registered dietitian nutritionist.
Include Adequate Amounts of Iron
The “Fertility Diet” Pattern
Women following the “fertility diet” chose:
Don’t Forget Folic Acid
Tags
Also Check: Can I Drink Breakfast Essentials While Pregnant
Additional Resources You Might Find Helpful:
Naturally Knocked Up Donielle is highly researched and reliable source. I followed her blog for years when I first entered the world of natural fertility.
Making Babies Book by Shoshanna Easling from Bulk Herb Store I love this book and DVD series.
Bulk Herb Store is my go-to resource for all things herbs.
Foods That Increase Men And Womens Fertility
Eat Fat to Increase the Odds of Getting Pregnant :
One of the primary reasons couples have difficulty conceiving is inflammation. Chronic levels of inflammation are often the result of micro contaminants found in the air we breathe, the water we drink, but mostly in the foods we eat. Inflammation elicits an immune response, which sends our bodies into further turmoil. An overactive immune system can attack egg, sperm, embryo, and even a developing fetus. This can result in difficulty achieving pregnancy, maintaining pregnancy, or repeated miscarriages.
Eating fat is one of the easiest ways to reduce inflammation and improve immunologic function. Fat is an essential component of our diet and plays a vital role in total body health. Fat gives our cells structure. Its necessary for bone health, to protect our liver from toxins, make our immune system function correctly, and fat allows our bodies to absorb a number of essential vitamins.
Saturated fat and omega-3 fatty acids may help reduce inflammation , whether its through dietary consumption or intravenous intralipids. Fat may suppress the activity of natural killer cells in our immune system and help dial back the immune response and thus inflammation. At CNY Fertility, Dr. Robert Kiltz recommends a high fat, moderate protein, and low to no carbohydrate diet. He calls this the B.E.B.B.I. Diet for its mainstay foods: Bacon, Eggs, Butter, Beef, and Ice cream made from full-fat heavy cream .
Antioxidants Can Boost Fertility
You May Like: How Does An Iud Work To Prevent Pregnancy
Keep Your Vagina Chemical
Avoid scented tampons and vaginal sprays as they can cause a pH imbalance in your vagina. Artificial lubricants, arousal oils and douches should also be avoided as these alter the normal acidity of the vagina, can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, and can affect the cervical mucus that transports the sperm.
The pH of the vagina changes naturally during each cycle from inhospitable to hospitable for sperm, so its important to just leave it be. Vaginal douching and washes can disturb this unnecessarily, explains Natasha.
How To Eat It
Sunflower seeds can make a great snack on their own, but you can also easily incorporate them into your favorite meals. Try sprinkling sunflower seeds on your salad, using them in trail mix, or substituting sunflower seed butter for peanut butter. You can also add a couple of tablespoons of sunflower seed butter into a smoothie, or stir it into yogurt, to add extra flavor as well as a little more nutrition.
Also Check: Can Folic Acid Help You Get Pregnant
Have Sex Every Other Day During The Fertile Window
The “fertile window” spans a six-day interval the five days prior to ovulation and the day of it, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Every month, a woman is most fertile on these days.
Many women are turning to new technology tools, such as fertility-tracking apps and websites, to help them keep tabs on when they may be more likely to conceive, but a 2020 review in the journal BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health suggests that there is limited independent research on their accuracy. In a study published in 2016 in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, scientists analyzed 50 popular fertility-tracking websites and apps with a hypothetical woman, and found that the results varied wildly, with many mistakenly tagging days outside of the fertility window, Live Science reported.
When a woman has identified that fertility window, should they have sex every day? Research has shown that there hasn’t been a big difference in pregnancy rates between couples who had sex every day during the “fertile window” compared with couples who did it every other day , Pavone said. “And having sex every other day might be easier for a couple to pull off,” she added.
- Glow Ovulation, Period Tracker
- Fertility Friend FF App
- Clue: Health & Period Tracker
But she said there are some water-based vaginal lubricants that can decrease the movement of sperm, so Pavone recommended using Pre-Seed rather than Astroglide or K-Y Jelly when lubrication is needed.
Day : Track Your Cycle
Whether youve been on birth control or not, nows the time to get intimate with your menstrual cycle. Narrowing down the window of when youre most fertile will help you get pregnant faster.
Plus, having an understanding of your cycles will help you discover if anything is off and might need addressing .
Start by simply recording when your period starts and ends to see how the length of your cycle changes from month to month. You can note anything like irregular bleeding and spotting, too. The average menstrual cycle length is around 28 days, but it can range from 21 to 35 days and still fall in the normal, healthy range. There are many apps out there to help you with tracking as well.
Recommended Reading: What Can I Drink During Pregnancy
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.
Tips To Increase Fertility In Natural Ways
Fertility problems have become a major issue in the modern world, with more than 10% of couples having to deal with this problem. Besides going to the doctors for medical treatments, there are naturalfertility boosters that can help you get pregnant faster. Lifestyle and diet adjustments are the easiest and best ways to naturally boost fertility, but here are 15 different ways for improving your chances of getting pregnant.
Don’t Miss: Is It Normal To Have Slight Cramping In Early Pregnancy
Reduce Your Caffeine Intake
Research shows that consuming too much caffeine while you are trying to conceive can increase the risk of miscarriage. The research shows that this applies to both women and men. Too much caffeine in pregnancy has also been shown to be harmful to the developing baby.
If youre planning to conceive, you and your partner should consider limiting your caffeine intake to 200mg a day.
How To Get Your Body Ready For Pregnancy
Before you ditch your birth control, heres what you need to do to get your body ready.
May 1, 2018
Illustration: Nica Patricio
For every woman who gets pregnant after a night of one too many drinks, theres another who meticulously plans out every detail of impending motherhoodsometimes years in advance. The majority of us fall somewhere in between: Some might give up smoking but not their beloved coffee, while others will take up yoga as a form of stress relief but get only five hours of sleep each night. With so much information out there , its easy to feel overwhelmed. The burning question, though, is how exactly do you get your body ready for pregnancy. Heres how to get into optimal shape before bidding farewell to birth control.
What vitamins should I take before trying to get pregnant?Research shows that taking a daily multivitamin with folic acid dramatically lowers the risk of neural tube defect , a birth defect of the spine or brain, such as spina bifida and anencephaly, that affects between two and four of every 1,000 babies born in Canada, according to Motherisk, a clinical, research and teaching program. Run out of The Hospital for Sick Children, Motherisk promotes healthy development of the fetus and infants and is a helpful resource for everything from questions about prenatal vitamins to whether its safe to take cold medicine while pregnant.
Recommended Reading: How Soon After Stopping The Pill Can I Get Pregnant
Other Tips For Getting Pregnant
Changing your sex practices isnt the only way to improve your likelihood of conceiving. Here are a few other things you can do to boost your fertility:
- Orgasm. For a man, ejaculating is essential to getting his partner pregnant. Though a woman doesnt have to climax to get pregnant, the movement of her orgasm can help propel sperm closer to their destination.
- Control your weight. Being too heavy or too thin could lower your fertility.
- Dont smoke. Smoking increases the odds of infertility and miscarriage, and reduces sperm motility.
- Limit caffeine. In large amounts more than five cups of coffee a day caffeine can lower fertility.
Tips For A Successful Fertility Diet
Choose whole foods over processed options. To witness the power of whole foods in action, look to our sisters in the Mediterranean. Their diet, which is rich in whole grains and vegetables with less processed meat, may protect against ovulatory dysfunction. A Spanish study of more than 2,000 women showed that only 17 percent of women who follow a strict Mediterranean diet had fertility issues, compared with 26 percent of women who ate fattier meats and more processed foods.
Take your vitamins. Take a daily multivitamin that contains at least 400 micrograms of folic acid and 40 to 80 milligrams of iron. Women in the Harvard study who took daily multivitamins containing 400 micrograms of folic acid were 40 percent less likely to experience ovulatory infertility over the eight years than women who didn’t.
Mix up your plate. Regardless of how virtuous your fertility diet plan seems, too much of anything is never good for the body. “Even if you’re eating homegrown tomatoes every day of your life, you might be getting too much of something in your soil,” Krieger says. Now’s the time to kick food jagslooking at you, mac ‘n’ cheese addictsand round out your fertility diet with a variety of foods from different parts of the country, even the world. “The more variety you have, the more likely you’re able to complete the nutrient gaps you may be lacking,” Krieger says
Also Check: How Likely Are You To Get Pregnant After Your Period
Getting The Timing Right
The best way to increase your odds of getting pregnant quickly is to make sure that youre having sex at the right time in your cycle.
If you have regular cycles, you will ovulate around two weeks before your period. This means your fertile window will be the seven days before your expected ovulation.
If you have irregular cycles, it can be a little more difficult to predict when you will ovulate and when your fertile window will be.
There are a number of techniques that you can use to more precisely pinpoint your ovulation and fertile window.
Day 1: Quit Tobacco Alcohol And Drugs
Smoking, using drugs, and drinking alcohol can harm an unborn baby in a number of ways. Smoking exposes your baby to harmful chemicals, restricts blood flow, and may even cause preterm labor.
Drinking puts baby at risk of fetal alcohol syndrome . Using drugs is not only illegal, but it also may cause birth defects, miscarriage, or stillbirth.
Also Check: How To Predict Sex Of Baby During Pregnancy
Start Taking Folic Acid Now
Folic acid needs to build up in your body to provide maximum protection for your baby against neural tube defects. Many women conceive within one month of trying so it is ideal to start taking folic acid two months before you stop contraception. If you have already stopped contraception, start taking a 400mcg folic acid supplement daily until you are 12 weeks pregnant.
Some women may be prescribed 5mg of folic acid.
Stick To A Fertility Diet
Choose wholesome foods, such as leafy greens, fresh fruits, lean proteins, and healthy fats like avocado and olive oil. Healthy eating enhances reproductive health and may address ovulatory infertility, which accounts for one-quarter of all fertility complications. This is when a woman either ovulates infrequently or not at all.
Consuming the right kinds of foods encourages consistent egg production. Instead of red meat, swap in tofu, beans, and other legumes in at least one meal a day. Opt for full-fat dairy products such as whole milk and regular yogurt instead of skim varieties.
Keeping your carb intake low and avoiding refined carbs can help maintain a healthy weight and lower levels of testosterone and insulin. Both of these hormones contribute to infertility.
Eggs, nuts, and fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and cod provide omega-3 fatty acids, a compound your body doesnt produce on its own. Omega-3s encourage egg production and improve blood flow to your reproductive organs.
While pregnant, your body needs more iron than usual due to an increased blood supply. You can ward off anemia and foster oxygen circulation throughout your body by eating beans, pumpkins, tomatoes, and beets.
Don’t Miss: What Is Ttts In Pregnancy
