Getting pregnant and having a baby seem like the most natural things in the world. After all, babies are born every single day and women get pregnant every single day. However, there are those who desperately want to have a baby yet struggle with infertility.
Whatever the reasons for being infertile it still helps to know the basics of the process and take steps towards increasing fertility. It is important to dispel the myths about getting pregnant and learn the truth about this natural process in order to make nature work for you in becoming pregnant.
Probably the most important step towards increasing your fertility and getting pregnant is to determine your own fertile time. There are only about 6 days during the month where intercourse can result in conception.
Knowing your cycles can help with increasing fertility. Every woman’s cycle is different and not too many women have periods exactly every 28 days. Most cycles fall within the range of 28 to 36 days but few are at 28 days every single month.
One of the best ways to make sure that you conceive is to have unprotected intercourse every other day from approximately day 10 to day 18. Always start counting the days on the very first day of your period.
However, there are also other signs of your fertile time. Conception can only occur around the time that your body is ovulating or releasing the egg from your ovaries. This only happens one time every month and you can only get pregnant from about 5 days before you ovulate and the day of ovulation. If ovulation has already occurred and the egg did not get fertilized in the fallopian tube, you will not become pregnant that month.
Increasing Fertility Naturally
You can learn to recognize when your body is ovulating by charting your temperature changes every month. Your temperature will rise a small amount right around the time of ovulation. You can also learn to recognize and chart your cervical mucus. During the time right before ovulation your body is preparing itself for a possible pregnancy and the mucus in your cervix becomes thicker and stretchy.
If you learn to recognize these signs you will always be able to know exactly when your most fertile time is every single month. This will help towards increasing fertility. If you do not see these signs at all it is possible that you are not ovulating, which means that you will not be able to become pregnant until you do ovulate. If you think that you are not ovulating consult your doctor.
It has been determined that the best way of increasing your fertility and assure pregnancy is to have intercourse at least every other day during ovulation time. More often may reduce sperm count and less often increases the chance that you will miss the fertile time.
Sperm can live up to about 5 days and it only takes one healthy sperm to fertilize the egg but you still need to make sure that your frequency is sufficient to become pregnant. Even though pregnancies happen every single day the chance of a sperm actually fertilizing an egg is very small percentage-wise.
Even if you do everything right towards increasing your fertility, you may not get pregnant right away. The chances of conceiving in any given cycle are actually quite low so just keep on trying. If you are under 35 and you haven’t conceived after about a year you should consult your physician.
If you are over 35 you may want to consult your physician earlier because fertility actually decreases with age and if you want a baby you will need to do it sooner rather than later because later might be too late. Becoming pregnant and increasing fertility sometimes takes patience. Keep trying.
Increasing Male Fertility
It takes two people to become pregnant and you and your partner both need to be healthy and strong. Research has shown that sperm thrives better in cooler and looser environments so boxers are preferred over briefs for a father-to-be. It has also been found that heavy cycling can reduce sperm count.
Smoking is also bad for sperm as it can reduce sperm count by as much as 20% or more. Smoking also decreases fertility for women. Quitting smoking is not only good for increasing fertility, it’s also good for you and your baby!
If you stop taking birth control pills your body may need a few months to adjust before you can get pregnant. You may not get pregnant right away after stopping birth control but it shouldn’t reduce your chances of conception in the long run.
You may want to schedule a complete check-up with your gynecologist before you try to conceive. Make sure that you are healthy and strong and able to sustain a pregnant. You can also talk to your doctor about what you should or should not do towards increasing fertility.
5 tips to increase your fertility
- Know your most fertile times
- Eat a healthy diet
- Take Vitamins
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day
In a nutshell, shed extra pounds if you happen to be overweight, eat healthy plus exercise every day. These types of life-style elements help towards increasing infertility, and enable you to become more fertile.
Resources
- How to Increase Fertility: 15 Steps… (My Expert Midwife)
- Female fertility: why lifestyle choices count (Mayo Clinic)
- Getting Pregnant: Easy Ways to Encourage Fertility (WebMD)