Be Realistic About Your Chances Of Conceiving After 40
As maternal age increases, the chance of pregnancy decreases. “We all see celebrities getting pregnant with twins when they’re in their 40s and think it can happen to anyone that age,” Dr. Ryley says. “But the vast majority of those are donor eggs, because women that age don’t have enough healthy eggs of their own.” Even if you look like a movie star on the outside, it’s important to manage your expectations and be open to various options for motherhood.
Do What You Can To Feel Beautiful
When we are pregnant, our bodies are constantly changing and that can lead to a lot of physical discomfort and emotional insecurity about our physical bodies. One thing I have learned is the importance of doing whatever you need to do in order to feel beautiful from the inside out. This May seem superficial but is actually important when it comes to having an easy pregnancy.
Feeling beautiful on the inside out could look like a lot of things. It can look like going shopping and getting some maternity clothes that make you feel like youre rocking that bump. It can look like pampering yourself by going to a spa or getting regular facials. For me in particular, I made a point of having pretty nails throughout my pregnancy and making sure I kept up with regular visits to the hair salon. For me, even the act of getting dressed doing my hair and makeup every day helps me feel beautiful, during a time where I would have otherwise felt insecure. Keeping up with regular grooming practices is a good way to keep feeling good day after day during pregnancy.
Reduce Exposure To Cigarette And Marijuana Smoke
“We already know that smoking clearly impacts blood supply to ovaries and results in a more exponential loss of eggs,” Dr. Ryley says. But passive smoke has been linked to increased pregnancy complications as well. There’s really no safe level of exposure, so limit your time around family members, friends, or coworkers who won’t kick butts. Along those lines, studies have shown that marijuana might negatively impact female fertility.
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Signs It May Be Easy For You To Get Pregnant
For most people, fertility is a bit of mystery until they begin seriously trying to get pregnant. But despite the many medical conditions and surprises that could make reproducing naturally difficult, there are also lots of little hints you can look out for that may be signs of fertility.
“Its hard to say someone can feel fertile,” Mache Seibel, M.D., Ob/Gyn, founder of dr.mache.com and member of Harvard Medical School Faculty, tells Bustle. Still, there are lots of ways your body may be communicating to you that it will be easy to get pregnant, if you do decide to try.
Even if you’re not ready to have kids yet, but may like to someday, it can be worthwhile to understand your fertility prospects so you can best take care of your gynecological health. A lot of issues that can cause infertility may also cause other health problems down the line. Plus, if you’re not ready to have kids, knowing that you’re potentially very fertile may help keep you motivated to have safe sex and use protection. So keeping an eye on the signs your body gives you is important at any stage in life.
Here are eight signs it may be easy for you to get pregnant, according to experts.
Don’t Feel You Have To Abstain From Sex
You may have been advised to wait a few days between sex because men need time to build up sperm. “That’s not true,” says David Ryley, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist at Boston IVF fertility clinic and clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School. “Ejaculation affects seminal volume, not the concentration of sperm. The concentration is more important and not influenced by the frequency of sex.” That said, having sex too often can lead to burnout, so use your judgement wisely.
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Get On The Wheelbarrow Position
If you and your partner are both adventurous, then you need to try this new sex position to conceive a baby.
The woman will hold herself up with her hands while her aroused and standing partner grabs her legs for support and pulls them around his thighs as he enters her.
Why is it one of the sex positions to get pregnant? It allows your partner to have deeper penetration and closeness to your cervix.
Running To The Bathroom After Sex
Many women rush to the bathroom after making love to clean up. It is essential to stay in bed for some time after sex to ensure that the sperm gets a chance to reach the egg and fertilize it. If you get up and rush, as soon as you are done with the act, you are letting gravity drag the sperm down and the rest of it is washed away when you clean up. And, this could be one of the natural reasons for not getting pregnant.
What next?
Focus on relaxing and lying in bed for a while after sex so that you can improve your chances of conception and pregnancy .
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Follow Your Baby’s Amazing Development
BabyCenter’s editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you’re seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 2020. Treating Infertility. https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/treating-infertility
American Society for Reproductive Medicine. 2012. Optimizing Male Fertility. https://www.reproductivefacts.org/news-and-publications/patient-fact-sheets-and-booklets/documents/fact-sheets-and-info-booklets/optimizing-male-fertility/
Better Health Channel . 2021. Age and fertility. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/age-and-fertility
Morris G, Mavrelos D, et al. Paternal age over 50 years decreases assisted reproductive technology success: A single UK center retrospective analysis. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. 2021 Oct 100:1858 1867. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34405396/
Leridon Henri. 2004. Can assisted reproduction technology compensate for the natural decline in fertility with age? A model assessment. Human Reproduction 19:1548-1553. https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/19/7/1548/2356634
Be Mindful Of Sperms Temperature When Trying To Get Pregnant Fast
Sperms optimal temperature is 94 to 96 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot tubs and extra hot showers may help set the mood, but are no-nos for your partner if youre trying to conceive quickly. Tight-fitting clothing can also raise the temperature of the testicles and affect sperm count, as can eating too much soy foods, according to the Human Reproduction journal.
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Keep An Eye On Your Weight
Being too far on either side of a healthy body mass index can affect the health of your eggs and result in pregnancy complications. “Women with excess weight are particularly challenged because they don’t ovulate as regularly, which can render them more infertile,” Dr. Ryley says. Aim to be within 15 percent of your target body weight when you start trying to conceive.
Know Your Ovulation Cycles
Regular menstrual cycles between 28-32 days are reassuring that you are ovulating every month.
Ovulation occurs approximately 2 weeks before the next expected menstrual period. Ovulation test kits are a helpful tool, as they predict when ovulation is about to occur.
You want to have daily intercourse before ovulation occurs. The egg only has 24 hours to be fertilized after it is released, so the sperm must be present and ready to fertilize the egg.
The odds of conceiving in any one menstrual cycle is only 20%, so dont get disappointed if you dont conceive right away just try again next month.
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Get Your Blood Pumping With Regular Exercise
“The rule is 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise five to six days per week, both before and during pregnancy,” Dr. Chaudhari says. Some doctors suspect that super high-impact workouts might hinder conception, as very athletic people tend to have irregular periods. But if you’re at a healthy weight and have regular cycles, don’t feel you need to give up that intense Spin class you love.
What Type Of Treatment Is Available For Women With Secondary Infertility
Secondary infertility is treatable, and many women diagnosed with it go on to have successful subsequent pregnancies.
There are various treatment options based on the womans specific fertility profile, including Intrauterine Insemination , where sperm is inserted into a womans uterus at the time of ovulation.
In Vitro Fertilization is another option, where sperm and egg are fertilized outside the womans body and a resulting embryo is transferred back into the womans uterus in hopes of implantation.
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When Is The Right Time To Try For A Second Child
When deciding whether or not to try for a second child, there are a number of factors to keep in mind, including how long ago you had your first child and how close together you want your children to be in age.
The period between pregnancies is known as interpregnancy. At a minimum, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends waiting six months between pregnancies. Ideally, however, ACOG says women should wait 18 months between pregnancies to reduce the risks of adverse health outcomes for the mother and the child.
When deciding if you should start trying for a second child, consider how long it may take you to get pregnant. For couples who do not struggle with infertility, it can still take six months to a year to conceive naturally. You should also keep in mind the nine-month gestational period when determining the age gap between your children.
You can use this information to calculate when to start trying for a second child based on how close together you want your children to be in age. For example, if you want your children to be two years apart in age, you may want to start trying to conceive as soon as six to eight months after the postpartum period. Between six to eight months of record, six months to a year of conception, and nine months of pregnancy, you will give birth to your second child about two years after your first.
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Health Problems That Can Make It Harder To Get Pregnant
You might be in a phase of life where you’re not entirely sure what you want things to look like in the future. What kind of job do you see yourself in long-term? Do you want to live in the city or in a quieter area? Do you want kids someday? While you might not know for sure if you want a child yet, it might be helpful to know what to expect in the event that you or your partner decide to get pregnant. For some folks conceiving a child takes a while. Others might be dealing with health problems that can make it harder to get pregnant. If you’re curious about what specific conditions might affect your chances of conceiving, some experts have some advice.
A number of lifestyle choices can affect your fertility, regardless of your gender, Dr. Joshua Hurwitz, board certified in both obstetrics and gynecology, reproductive endocrinology and infertility, tells Bustle. Smoking, for example, is toxic to everyone’s reproductive health, he says. A number of uncontrolled medical issues can also cause a problem, so if you’re hoping to get pregnant, make sure that you don’t ignore any negative health symptoms, but instead visit a doctor if anything seems amiss. If you’re taking care of your own body as best you can, you’re more likely to conceive, says Dr. Hurwitz, so care for yourself as you’re exploring the possibility of pregnancy.
Here are a few health conditions that can affect your chances of getting pregnant, according to experts.
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Learn When Ovulation Happens
Its a good idea to understand the basics of how ovulation works so you can monitor your body for signs and symptoms. Its a common misconception that ovulation always occurs on the 14th day after your period starts, but that only happens if your menstrual cycle is consistent and 28 days long. Every womans cycle is different. The average cycle is anywhere from 24 to 35 days, and it doesnt vary by more than three to four days on any given month, Levens says. Depending on how long your cycle is, ovulation can actually happen between 11 to 21 days after the first day of your last period . But while the timing of ovulation depends on the womans unique cycle, all healthy women will get their periods 12 to 14 days after ovulation.
Trying For Pregnancy After 35
3-minute read
Many women try for a baby after 35. Almost one in four pregnant Australian women are aged 35 and over. But there are risks and challenges you need to know about.
If you’ve been trying to get pregnant for six months or more, you should see a doctor to discuss your fertility.
It can be harder to get pregnant than when you were younger. You’re at your most fertile in your early 20s. In general, fertility starts to decline faster after the age of 30, and declines more significantly after the age of 35.
The older you are, and your partner is, the more likely it is to take a long time to conceive.
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You Have Other Signs Of Regular Ovulation
If you have regular periods, but are still looking for more signs that it might be easy for you to get pregnant, it might be worthwhile to pay attention to ovulation.
Signs that you are regularly ovulating symptoms such as watery vaginal discharge followed by thicker cervical mucus and breast tenderness , Dr. Lucky Sekhon, fertility specialist in Progynys Provider Network, tells Bustle. If you notice your body going through these changes, there may be a higher chance youll conceive quickly.
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Know When To Get Help
Infertility is defined as the inability of a sexually active couple who are not using birth control to get pregnant after one year of trying, according to The American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Robins said he tells couples that a woman who is under the age of 35 and her partner should try to become pregnant for one year without success before seeking an infertility evaluation. For women who are 35 or older, the time before seeing an infertility specialist shortens to 6 months in couples who are having sex regularly without using birth control, he noted.
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Sex Positions That Can Make It Easier To Get Pregnant According To Ob
If youre trying to make a baby, youll need to have sex, obviously. But are some positions better than others? Many ob-gyns are skeptical, and theres scant science proving that one position will lead to more pregnancy success. When it comes to conceiving, the most important factors include the age and health of parents-to-be, say fertility experts, not to mention getting it on at the most optimal time in your cycle.
That said, the ob-gyns we spoke to did say that certain positions can make it more likely for sperm to reach an egg and conception to commence. If youre hoping for a bun in the oven, these are the six positions they advise you to add to your bedroom repertoireand why they might increase your chances.
Missionary
Of all the possible sexual positions, missionary gives you the best odds of success, Scott Roseff, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist at IVFMD in Boca Raton, tells Health.
Doggy style
Lots of couples love this sex style because it allows the male partner to go deep. And any position that offers more depth will increase your chances of having a baby, Jennifer Landa, MD, an ob-gyn at BodyLogicMD in Orlando, tells Health.
Legs on shoulders
Side-by-side scissors
Know When To Seek Help
Both the woman and the man should consider having an infertility evaluation if the woman is 35 or older and has not become pregnant after six months of having sex regularly without using birth control, Pavone said.
Pavone also recommended that a woman who is under 35 and her partner should consult a fertility specialist if she hasn’t become pregnant after one year of having unprotected intercourse on a regular basis.
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Is It True That The First Pregnancy Resets Your Fertility
Theres a common saying that giving birth resets your fertility, making new moms ultra-fertile during the postpartum period. In reality, the truth is more complicated than that.
As you already know, women cannot conceive if they do not ovulate. How soon a new mom can conceive after birth depends on when she begins ovulating again. On average, women tend to ovulate 45 to 94 days after delivery, but it may happen sooner or later than that.
You may have heard stories of couples struggling with infertility that later went on to conceive their second child naturally. Spontaneous pregnancy is less likely, but still possible if you and/or your partner are infertile. Being infertile doesnt mean zero chance of pregnancy it just means much lower odds of conceiving.
However, its important to recognize that the majority of couples who cannot conceive naturally the first time do not go on to get pregnant a second time without medical assistance. About 17 percent of patients who have conceived through in-vitro fertilization go on to have a second child without IVF. This is more likely to happen in women under 35.
