Month Pregnant: Symptoms And Fetal Development
You might have noticed some changes in your body and started to wonder, âCould I be ⦠pregnant!?â Or, you might not have observed any signs of pregnancy other than your period being late. If you have your suspicions, you’ll probably want to take a home pregnancy test. If the result is positive, congratulations! Read on to find out more about early pregnancy symptoms, how your baby is developing when youâre one month pregnant, and what else is in store for you this month.
Talk To Your Gynecologist
Before you start trying to get pregnant, visit your gynecologist. Its ideal to schedule a preconception visit three to six months before your planned pregnancy. This gives you enough time to make any health improvements and lifestyle adjustments and complete any testing that may be recommended.
Here is a list of preconception tests a health care provider may suggest:
Your health care provider will also ask about your general lifestyle. They may suggest making a few changes to ensure a healthy pregnancy. This is the perfect time to ask any questions you might have about fertility and getting pregnant.
So When Are You Fertile And When Can You Get Pregnant
In general, women are only fertile about 24 hours, maybe 36 hours, in a month. Thats right, one day out of the month.
But that sperm is tricky!
Sperm can live up to 5 to 6 days in a womans reproductive tract. That means that you can have unprotected sex 6 days before you expect to ovulate and then become pregnant. Yikes! That sounds a bit scary, but really, its not.
Your fertile window is about 5 days before ovulation and then the day of ovulation. As explained above, you may ovulate 1-2 days after the LH spike, which is why the fertile window is said to be 6-7 days.
If youre a women using Fertility Awareness Method , you can dial this in so that you know when to avoid intercourse or use a barrier method like a condom. And these days, Femtech devices make it so much easier to know your cycle and avoid pregnancy naturally. Daysy is one fertility monitor that can help you do this. You can read more about it here.
Natural Cycles is another option to avoiding pregnancy. It is the first FDA approved contraceptive device that uses technology to help you avoid an unwanted pregnancy.
But even if you’re using a device, you still want to pay attention to your physical symptoms. Keeping reading and I’ll explain.
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When To Have Sex
“Timing sex as close to ovulation as possible is important,” Manglani says. Your best bet is to have sex often. Try doing it every day starting 5 days before ovulation. Keep going one day after ovulation.
Another option: Try the “sperm meets egg plan.” Have sex every other day starting on day eight of your cycle. Start an OPK on day 10. “Once you have a positive result on your OPK, have sex every day for three days,” Manglani says.
If you don’t get pregnant in 6 months, see a doctor. “Most regular OB/GYN offices can start a fertility workup,” Manglani says. Or reach out to a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist.
Having Sex Getting Pregnant
Here’s another common question from couples trying to conceive: How often should we have sex? In short, the answer is often.
A lot of couples trying to conceive spend a lot of energy timing sex, with mathematical precision, to calculate when a woman is prime for ovulation. Theoretically, the approach makes sense. Recent studies have shown the window of opportunity for a sperm to fertilize an egg is pretty small: Essentially, it’s only 3-5 days leading up to ovulation and the day of ovulation itself. Your best chances are 1-2 days prior to ovulation. Doctors recommend intercourse every other day starting the week before ovulation or beginning after the end of your period.
Continued
But while timing your lovemaking exclusively to those few days makes logical sense, it also has some drawbacks — primarily because your body doesn’t always behave with clockwork regularity. Even if your cycle is regular, ovulation can occur at any time during the cycle. If you’re having sex on the day you think you’re ovulating, and you’re off by a few days, you may be out of luck.
So the expert advice is to hedge your bets: Have sex at least two to three times every week. As long as the man has a normal sperm count, having sex every other day further increases your chances of getting pregnant.
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People Who Are Pregnant
COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all people 12 years and older, including people who are pregnant. If you are pregnant, you might want to have a conversation with your healthcare provider about COVID-19 vaccination. While such a conversation might be helpful, it is not required before vaccination. You can receive a COVID-19 vaccine without any additional documentation from your healthcare provider.
CDC recommendations align with those from professional medical organizations serving people who are pregnant, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologistsexternal icon and the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicinepdf iconexternal icon.
If you got pregnant after receiving your first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine that requires two doses , you should get your second shot to get as much protection as possible. If you experience fever following vaccination, you should take acetaminophen because feverfor any reasonhas been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.
If you would like to speak to someone about COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, you can contact MotherToBaby. MotherToBaby experts are available to answer questions in English or Spanish by phone or chat. The free and confidential service is available MondayFriday 8am5pm . To reach MotherToBaby:
- Chat live or send an email MotherToBabyexternal icon
What Does A Gynaecologist Say
Other than the published data from Currie’s study, Dr Karen Morton, consultant gynaecologist and founder of Dr. Morton’s – the medical helpline, says there is no other scientific evidence concerning the best times of year for humans in the western world to either conceive or to deliver their young. She suspects opinions about this issue are due to human choice and knowledge rather than evolution at work leading to increased fertility at optimum times of the year.
Morton suggests that in western society, there can be little doubt that if you want your child to have the best chance in life, you will plan for their delivery at the beginning of the school year. In the UK this is September.
“Children, particularly boys, have an enormous advantage if they are the biggest in the class and the most mature in the class, and this advantage lasts their whole time at school,” she explains. Morton says some of the advantages include being more likely to be chosen for sports teams and more likely to sit still and pay attention.
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Chances Of Getting Pregnant After Ovulation
Also known as the luteal phase, this final portion of your cycle lasts a minimum of 12 days and a maximum of 16 days. Progesterone starts to rise, signaling that the ovaries don’t need to release any more eggs this month. Your cervical mucus will dry up and create a plug to prevent any additional sperm from entering the uterus.
It takes about six days for any fertilized eggs to travel to your uterus. If one implants in your endometrium, you’ll start to see the rise in human chorionic gonadotropin , the hormone measured by home pregnancy tests, within a week.
Your chances of conceiving: Low. Once the egg has been released, there’s not much that can be done until next month. But there’s certainly no harm in having sex if you’re in the mood!
Don’t sweat it if it’s time for your cycle to start over again and you’re still not pregnant. You may not have tracked your most fertile days accurately, in which case your guy’s swimmers never had the chance to work their magic. The vast majority of couples who are trying to conceive do so within a year, with only about half achieving their goal by 6 months. Talk to your doctor or a fertility specialist about any concerns regarding your chances of getting pregnant.
Reasons You’re Not Getting Pregnant
Even if your doctor has reassured you that it may take six months to a year to conceive, you might be wondering why it’s not happening quickly for you. Here are some possibilities.
- Luck. So much must happen for ovulation, fertilization, and implantation to occur, and for the embryo to be healthy and genetically stable. Up to 70% of early miscarriages are due to genetic defects in the embryo.
- Frequency and timing of sexual intercourse. You don’t need to drive yourself crazy trying to aim for your most fertile days . That said, if you’re consistently not having sex just before ovulation, or you’re having sex infrequently, this may mean you’ll need more time to conceive.
- Age. The older a woman get, the longer it may take for them to conceive. This doesn’t necessarily mean they will be infertilethough those odds also go up with time. But age can make it less likely you’ll conceive month by month. This is partially due to lower quality egg and sperm, with increased DNA mistakes.
- Weight. If you or your partner are obese or severely underweight, this can increase the time it will take you to get pregnant.
- Fertility problems. You may not be getting pregnant because there are female or male fertility issues. Sometimes, you have symptoms or risk factors, and you already know the odds of conceiving quickly might be lower for you. In other cases, the only sign that something is wrong is that you’re not pregnant after six months to a year of trying.
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What To Know About Getting Pregnant In Winter
Whether your conception revolves around evolutionary impulses, social factors or something completely spontaneous like a gorgeous guest at a holiday party there are a few things to keep in mind if you get pregnant or plan to start trying during cold-weather months.
When youre planning pregnancy, we encourage you to see your doctor or midwife for a pre-conception visit so we can review your health history, any medications youre taking and, ideally, help you be in the best position for a healthy start to pregnancy, Kopas says.
Even if you dont make it in for a pre-conception checkup, Kopas recommends all women of child-bearing age stay topped up on folic acid to prevent neural tube defects. Half of pregnancies are unplanned, she says, so its crucial to get folic acid from a prenatal vitamin or a balanced diet whether or not youre trying to conceive.
During these dreary winter days, its also important to mind your vitamin D levels, something thats particularly tough in the Pacific Northwest. You should get at least 2,000 IUs per day, either from a supplement or foods you eat.
We also strongly recommend that all pregnant women get their flu shot, Kopas adds. Pregnancy is a risk factor for getting a severe case of the flu, and the antibodies you make from the flu shot will also pass on to your baby via the placenta and give that infant some protection after theyre born.
Get Help For Violence
Violence can lead to injury and death among women at any stage of life, including during pregnancy. The number of violent deaths experienced by women tells only part of the story. Many more survive violence and are left with lifelong physical and emotional scars.
If someone is violent toward you or you are violent toward your loved onesget help. Violence destroys relationships and families.
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What Research Says About Pregnancy After Miscarriage
Where did the advice to wait three months after miscarriage come from? Historically, one of the reasons we recommended it was because we wanted an accurate way to date a pregnancy. Before we had ultrasound, if you had a miscarriage and became pregnant before you had another period, we couldnt quite tell how far along you might be. But if you waited three months and had one or two regular periods before becoming pregnant, we could calculate your due date more accurately. Now, ultrasound is readily available and we can accurately assess gestational age.
We also were concerned that the body needed time to recover from the pregnancy, as some studies had shown that short intervals between pregnancies were associated with complications like low birthweight babies and preterm delivery.
However, those studies were looking at the time between a full-term delivery and another pregnancy. A miscarriage doesnt carry the same demand on the body that a full-term delivery does. For example, we dont normally see the same sort of nutritional depletion or blood loss with a miscarriage as we would with a full-term delivery.
These results absolutely dont mean you need to rush into trying to conceive right after a miscarriage. Everyone is different. You may need more than three months to deal with the loss. However, for women who are motivated to try again, this study suggests there is no reason for us to tell them to wait.
Curious When You Can Get Pregnant How To Support Fertility Get Pregnant Naturally And Ovulate Regularly After Birth Control
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Try An Ovulation Predictor Kit
OPKs are at-home test kits that detect a surge in luteinizing hormone , which your body releases 24-48 hours before you ovulate.
In the middle of your cycle, you’ll test your urine every day for 5-10 days. When your LH goes up, it’s time to start trying to conceive.
There are two types of OPKs:
Ovulation test strips. These are paper strips you dip into a cup of your urine. A few minutes later, a line shows up. Depending on how dark it is, you’ll know if you’re about to ovulate.
Digital ovulation tests. They’re typically more expensive than test strips. With a digital test, you hold a stick under your morning stream of pee. The digital monitor tells you if you’re likely to start ovulating.
You can get OPKs at many drugstores and supermarkets. Most have clear instructions and a toll-free number for questions.
OPKs are helpful if you have sex less often or you’d like to time it more precisely, Marut says, but they’re not always accurate.
Planning Sex Can Help You Increase Your Chances Of Becoming Pregnant
Meredith Shur, MD, FACOG, is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology, as well as a certified medical examiner.
If you want to get pregnant faster, you might be interested in knowing when you should have sex, how frequently to have sex, and whether there are factors that can increase or decrease your chances of becoming pregnant each month.
It’s important to know that you can get pregnant at any time during your menstrual cycle, even if you are having your period. This is one of the reasons that birth control methods like the “rhythm method” are not very reliable in preventing pregnancy.
While unprotected sex doesn’t lead to pregnancy every time, you can become pregnant if you have sex just one time. In general, fertility declines with age, and teenagers are far more likely to become pregnant with only one or a few sexual encounters than older women are. If you are having a hard time getting pregnant, there are some things to know that can help you maximize your chances.
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Prevent The Spread Of Covid
After you are fully vaccinated, you may be able to participate in many of the activities that you did before the pandemic. Learn more about what you can do when you have been fully vaccinated.
If you have a condition or are taking medications that weaken your immune system, you may NOT be fully protected even if you are fully vaccinated. Talk to your healthcare provider. Even after vaccination, you may need to continue taking all precautions.
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.
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